JMU Set for Friday Night Showdown at Louisville

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison heads to the Bluegrass State on a short week for game two, as it faces off with Louisville out of the Atlantic Coast Conference on Friday, Sept. 5.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium, and the game will be nationally televised on ESPN2.

Friday marks the second all-time meeting between the programs, with the Cardinals taking the 2022 meeting, 34-10.

The 2025 season is sponsored by CarMax.

James Madison (1-0) at Louisville (1-0)
Friday, September 5, 2025
Kickoff: 7 PM
Louisville, Ky. | L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium

Game Information
TV: ESPN2
Online: Watch ESPN (cable subscription required)
Radio: WSVA 92.1 FM/550 AM
Listen: Morris Insurance & Financial JMU Radio Network
Live Stats
JMU Game Notes

SEEKING THIRD STRAIGHT AGAINST THE ACC

Entering Friday's game, JMU has won games against Atlantic Coast Conference teams in back-to-back seasons.
Both wins were also the two highest-scoring games for the Dukes versus a power-conference program.
The Dukes are 4-10 all-time against the ACC, with two wins over Virginia and one each against North Carolina and Virginia Tech.
Last season, JMU had a 53-point first half en route to a 70-50 win at UNC. Alonza Barnett III scored a JMU-record seven touchdowns, becoming the first Sun Belt player to register five passing touchdowns and two rushing scores in the same game. He had career highs of 388 passing yards, 99 rushing yards and 487 total yards, which ranked third in JMU single-game history for total offense.
The 70 points were an opponent record at Kenan Stadium, and the 120 combined points marked the highest-scoring game in JMU history.
The season prior in 2023, JMU stormed back from 11 down in the fourth quarter to defeat Virginia in Charlottesville, 36-35, in the teams' first meeting in 40 years. JMU's defense held UVA to 18 rushing yards while Ty Son Lawton rushed for two touchdowns and Jordan McCloud threw the game-winning touchdown to Kaelon Black with 55 seconds remaining.
In each of the wins, JMU blocked a punt for a touchdown in the first quarter. Last year, Terrence Spence blocked a punt, and Jayden Mines picked it up for the score. In the UVA win, Aiden Fisher blocked the punt near the goal line and D'Angelo Ponds scooped it up for the touchdown.

LAST TIME JMU & LOUISVILLE MET

Back on Nov. 5, 2022, Louisville scored all 24 second-half points to defeat JMU, 34-10, at Cardinal Stadium.
JMU took a 10-7 lead late in the first half on a Percy Agyei-Obese touchdown run before a LU field goal as the half expired tied the game at 10 heading into the break.
Malik Cunningham threw for 223 yards and three touchdowns while Tiyon Evans and Jawhar Jordan combined for 243 rushing yards on 14.3 yards per carry to lead the Louisville offense.
JMU was paced by Agyei-Obese's 102 rushing yards, while the defense tallied 10 tackles for loss.

SIX DUKES WHO FACED LOUISVILLE IN 2022

Six players on the 2025 roster have playing experience against the Cardinals, as two returners started in the 2022 game.
Trent Hendrick made his first career start at linebacker for an unavailable Jailin Walker, making seven tackles with a TFL.
Josh Toner started for the second time in his career at left guard.
The four others who saw action versus Louisville were Wayne Knight, Jacob Thomas, Kye Holmes and Jayden Mines. Knight made a tackle in that game.

LAST TIME OUT – JMU BEATS WEBER IN OPENER

JMU opened the 2025 season with a dominant 45-10 win against Weber State on Aug. 30.
The Dukes scored touchdowns on their first four drives, and they rushed for an FBS-era high 313 rushing yards.
George Pettaway ran for 99 yards, while Wayne Knight had a career-best 89 rushing yards, highlighted by a 59-yard touchdown.
Three quarterbacks found the end zone, as Alonza Barnett III and Matthew Sluka each had one passing and one rushing touchdown. JC Evans capped the scoring with a rushing score.
JMU out-gained Weber by a 458-148 margin, which marked the fewest yards allowed by JMU's defense since its first FBS game when conceding 119 to Middle Tennessee.

WELCOME BACK AB3

Nine months to the day after suffering a season-ending knee injury, Alonza Barnett III returned to the field, starting for the Dukes in the opener.
He was 14/22 for 130 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 30 yards and a score.
He opened JMU's season with a touchdown run on the first offensive series of the year.
Barnett has been named to preseason watch lists for the Maxwell Award, Davey O'Brien Award and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award.

DEFENSE SHINES IN OPENER

JMU's defense held Weber State to just 148 yards, and the Wildcats didn't pass 100 until early in the fourth quarter.
The 10 points JMU conceded were scored following a fumble and a turnover on downs in JMU territory, setting up short field for Weber.
Outside of those two drives, JMU forced five three-and-outs and registered three interceptions, two of which came on the drive's second play.
Play up front was strong, as Weber managed just 64 rushing yards and 2.1 per rush. The defense also allowed just two explosive plays, on a 16-yard pass and 16-yard rush.

BLOCK THAT KICK

Last season, JMU blocked three kicks, one of which was a punt.
In the opener, JMU's special teams blocked a pair of punts, as Chase Regan got in on one midway through the second quarter to set up the team's fourth straight scoring drive.
Early in the fourth, Xavier Holmes got his hand on the punt, setting up JMU in Weber State territory.
By virtue of defense and special teams, JMU's averaging starting field position was its own 41.

UP NEXT

JMU is off next week and returns for game three on Saturday, Sept. 20 at Liberty.
Game time is set for 6 p.m. with a network to be announced next week.
It will be the 19th meeting between the teams, with JMU leading 12-6. It's also the first matchup between the squads as FBS programs, as the two last met in the first round of the 2014 FCS playoffs.

BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: ESPN2
Online: Watch ESPN (Subscription required)
Listen: Morris Insurance & Financial JMU Radio Network
On the radio – WSVA 92.1 FM/550 AM
Online: The Varsity Network

Broadcast Talent
ESPN2: Anish Shroff (pxp), Andre Ware (analyst), Paul Carcaterra (sideline)
Radio: Dave Riggert (pxp), Que Reid (analyst)

Calendar

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Alonza Barnett III

JC Evans

Trent Hendrick

Kye Holmes

Xavier Holmes

Wayne Knight

Jayden Mines

George Pettaway

Chase Regan

Matthew Sluka

Terrence Spence

Jacob Thomas

Josh Toner

JMU Footer

Scoreboard

Calendar

Completed Event: Football versus Weber State on August 30, 2025 , Win , 45, to, 10

Completed Event: Football at Louisville on September 5, 2025 , Loss , 14, to, 28

Upcoming Event: Football at Liberty on September 20, 2025 at 6 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Football versus Georgia Southern on September 27, 2025

Upcoming Event: Football at Georgia State on October 4, 2025

Upcoming Event: Football versus Louisiana on October 11, 2025

Upcoming Event: Football versus Old Dominion on October 18, 2025

Upcoming Event: Football at Texas State on October 28, 2025 at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT)

Upcoming Event: Football at Marshall on November 8, 2025

Upcoming Event: Football versus App State on November 15, 2025

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