6-0 James Madison Dominates Georgia Southern In Harrisonburg

The James Madison Dukes improved their record to 6-0 on the season with a 41-13 defeat of Sun Belt rival Georgia Southern on Saturday. As the scoreline

© Hannah Pajewski-USA TODAY Sports

The James Madison Dukes improved their record to 6-0 on the season with a 41-13 defeat of Sun Belt rival Georgia Southern on Saturday. As the scoreline indicates, JMU ran into minimal issues dispatching their SBC East compatriots and fellow former-FCS champion (alongside blowing the 3.5-point spread out of the water).

James Madison are technically ineligible for the postseason due to FCS transition rules, but could receive a bowl bid if not enough teams with eligible records meet academic requirements.

As the Dukes continue their season, they'll next have to prepare for the Marshall Thundering Herd, who they face on October 19.

Here's what stood out in Week 7 statement win for James Madison.

Revenge Game

Like this week, JMU entered their 2022 matchup with Georgia Southern with a 5-0 record. JMU lost that game 45-38. The Dukes were clear they wanted a different result, this time on their home turf. This was Georgia Southern's first visit to Harrisonburg since the 1991 season.

JMU moved the all-time series to 8-2, in favor of Georgia Southern 

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Jordan McCloud Responds

Jordan McCloud is DEALING from the pocket today and Elijah Sarratt is on fire for JMU pic.twitter.com/LnwG26e7X0

— Cam Mellor (@CamMellor) October 14, 2023

Prior to James Madison's bye week, head coach Curt Cignetti made public comments about "bad habits" that needed to be removed from Jordan McCloud's game. McCloud rose to the challenge with his performance in the JMU win. 

McCloud finished with 20 completions on 31 attempts for 259 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. McCloud had previously thrown three picks over the course of his last two games. 

Dukes' Pass Defense Shines

While the Dukes entered the weekend with the best rushing defense in FBS, it was their passing defense that answered the call on Saturday. They held the SBC's leading passer Davis Brin to 271 passing yards in this game, about 50 yards below his average. They also picked off Brin twice and held the Eagles to 304 passing yards, JMU's second-lowest total against an FCS opponent this year.