Ball State hopes to catch the Dukes in a trap fresh off the latter’s upset win over North Carolina.
The Ball State Cardinals (1-3, 0-1 MAC) look to turn around their season after letting a win slip away last weekend, but they draw yet another tough assignment in the form of the James Madison Dukes (3-0) on the road fresh off a trouncing of an Atlantic Coast Conference foe for the second-straight season.
Can the Cards trap the Dukes, or can JMU ride the talent gap to a fourth-straight win to catch the attention of pollsters?
Game notes
- Time and date: Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern time
- Location: Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, Virginia
- Viewing options: The game will be available exclusively on ESPN+. A valid subscription is required for viewing. Curt Dudley (play-by-play) and Brian Barlow (color) will provide the commentary.
- Radio options: For Ball State, Mick Tidrow (play-by-play) and Chris Radican (color) will provide the Ball State call for WMUN-AM 1340.
- Gambling considerations: James Madison is a 21-point favorite on Family Weekend, with an over/under of 57, per DraftKings.
- All-time series: The teams have played once, when James Madison was a member of what is now the FCS. The Cardinals won 24-6 in a contest played in 1997.
Getting to know the Dukes
Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images
James Madison, once a perennial FCS national title contender, is now a big dog amongst the non-Autonomous schools, immediately establishing themselves as one of the Sun Belt’s top programs over the last two-plus years.
The Dukes, led by first-year coach Bob Chesney, are coming off a jubilant victory over North Carolina on the road, dumping 70 on the hapless Tar Heels in a game where both teams combined for 1,200 yards and 120 points. The win marked the first time in JMU program history where a debutante coach started their career in Harrisonburg with a 3-0 mark— and also put them in position to receive votes in both the Coaches Poll and the Associated Press Top 25 poll. A rowdy win over Ball State would go a long way towards helping their case.
The Dukes are 42nd in total offense after their electric performance, with 436.3 yards per game on average. JMU stands in top 50 in rushing average (181 yards per game) and are just outside the top 50 in passing offense (247.3 yards per game.)
The offense is built around superstar quarterback Alonzo Barnett Jr., who stands at 46-of-74 passing for 742 yards, seven touchdowns and an interception— while also leading the rushing effort with 31 carries for 203 yards and two touchdowns.
George Pettaway is the primary back, with 34 carries for 201 yards and a touchdown on the ground while also picking up six catches for 71 yards and a receiving touchdown to pace the backfield. The passing attack is multi-faceted, with six different players catching at least one touchdown pass from the hand of Barnett. Cam Ross (12 catches, 183 yards, one score) and Yamir Knight (eight catches, 108 yards) handle the majority of the action, though long threat Omarion Dollison (41 yards per reception on five catches) is always a possibility to go the distance, leading the team with two scores.
The Dukes defense is one of the stiffest in a strong Sun Belt Conference, ranking first in the country in turnover margin (+2.33), fifth in takeaways (10), eighth in interceptions (six) and red-zone defense (62.5 percent), 10th in fumble recoveries (four) and 12th in third-down defense (25.6 percent.)
Cornerback Terrance Spence was the hero of last week’s blowout of UNC, with two interceptions— including a pick-six— and a blocked punt which eventually turned into a scoop-and-score touchdown to help pace the defensive performance. He’ll be one to look out for in coverage after transferring in from FCS Holy Cross.
Jacob Dobbs is the Dukes’ leading tackler, with 24 total tackles, including 10 unassisted stops, and also holds 1.5 tackles-for-loss, a sack, a fumble recovery and two QB hurries. He has eight more tackles than the next-best JMU player, an impressive mark considering their success to this point. Trent Hendrick is JMU’s best havoc point person, with 3.5 TFLs, two sacks, two QB hurries and a forced fumble through three games.
Even special teams is fairly intriguing; Noe Ruelas is 5-of-6 on field goals with a long make of 50 yards and has a two-point conversion to his name after his toss to holder Ryan Mowrey was converted successfully.
Getting to know the Cardinals
Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The Cardinals are coming off a heart-breaker conference loss to Central Michigan last weekend. In that contest, BSU looked the part of a conqueror at points, racing out to a 10-0 lead and owning the ball for all but 2:09 of the third quarter to take command of the pace of the game.
But the result was the result, as Ball State couldn’t stop Joe Labas from tossing his best ball of the day to Chris Parker III for a touchdown with 16 seconds left on the clock to take another loss on the season.
Now they take to the road once again for their third non-conference contest of 2024, looking to prove they can make noise in the MAC’s postseason outlook.
BSU has not been a particularly stellar unit to this point on offense, ranking 110th in the NCAA in total offense (327 yards per game), with 218.7 passing yards per game (80th) and 108.3 rushing yards per game (110th.)
Mike Neu and staff have tried to find ways to generate offense, utilizing Kiael Kelly— a quarterback turned cornerback— as an option runner under center and giving starting duties over to Kadin Semonza (74-of-105 for 658 yards, seven touchdowns, two interceptions) in order to keep defenses off balance.
Eastern Kentucky transfer Braeden Sloan (45 carries, 210 yards, two touchdowns) has carried the rushing burden for most of the year, with Vaughan Pemberton (12 carries, 44 yards) as the backup. Qian Magwood (11 catches, 122 carries, two TDs) and Malcolm Gillie (nine catches, 115 yards, two TDs) have started to step up on the outside to give the offense variety, while tight end Tanner Koziol (20 catches, 211 yards, two TDs) has been a reliable security blanket.
Defensively, Ball State is best described as a sieve.
They’re 121st in rushing defense and gave up over 300 yards to the Chippewas last week— including over 150 yards to third-string back BJ Harris. The passing defense isn’t much better, coming in 130th of 133 eligible programs.
Ball State’s main issue has been the inability to create penetration or turnovers; BSU as a unit has two sacks and one interception in three contests. Part of that can be blamed on the strength of schedule so far, but there’s some promise to be seen, as seven of their 17 tackles-for-loss were all against Central Michigan.
The one major player to watch for will be Keionte Newsom, the former safety turned linebacker. He currently leads the team in total tackles (15), unasssited tackles (10) and tackles-for-loss (three.) Fellow backer Branden Berger hsa three tackles-for-loss to lead the Cardinals.
It’s to be determined if starting kicker Jackson Courville will play after suffering an injury before last week’s game. Carson Holmer, his backup, performed admirably in relief, sinking both his field goal tries vs. CMU.