Late Touchdowns Down Dukes at Louisville

Friday, September 5

Louisville, Ky.

7 p.m.

James Madison University

1-1 , 0-0

Louisville

2-0 , 0-0

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

James Madison

Louisville

9/5/2025 11:30:00 PM | Football

Box Score Photo Gallery

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisville scored three unanswered touchdowns in the second half to hold off James Madison, 28-14, in a defensive slugfest on Friday night in front of 48,717 at L&N Stadium.

With the game tied at 14-14 entering the fourth quarter, Louisville (2-0) had a game-changing play with a strip sack in the end zone that was recovered by the Cardinals to give the hosts a 20-14 lead with 13 minutes remaining.

Following the Dukes' (1-1) touchdown to take a 14-6 lead, JMU punted three times, committed two turnovers and ended the game at Louisville's one-yard line.

JMU ran its most diverse offensive set in recent years, featuring quarterbacks Alonza Barnett III and Matthew Sluka. Barnett finished 15-of-25 for 102 yards and a touchdown, while Sluka rushed for 83 yards and his second score on the ground of the season.

George Pettaway, Jordan Fuller and Wayne Knight also split a combined 17 carries, accruing 64 rushing yards, led by Fuller's 31 yards.

Defensively, Gannon Weathersby had a career-high seven tackles with a sack, while Jacob Thomas made six stops with a strip sack and two breakups. Louisville's defense tallied six team sacks, as T.J. Quinn paced the UL defense with 11 tackles, one sack and one tackle for loss. Meanwhile, Clev Lubin totaled 10 stops to go along with 1.5 sacks and a 1.5 TFL.

Miller Moss led the way for the Cardinal offense, throwing for 151 yards and a touchdown. Chris Bell made four catches for 83 receiving yards and a score, while Isaac Brown led the way on the ground with 104 rushing yards.

HOW IT HAPPENED

JMU opened the scoring with four minutes left in the first, taking advantage of a fourth-down stop. Needing just 39 yards, JMU took a 7-0 lead, as Barnett found Lacota Dippre for his first career catch and score on a three-yard pass.
The Cardinals threatened to tie it in the second, but a third-down breakup in the end zone by Jacob Thomas forced UL to settle for a Cooper Ranvier 22-yard field goal, making it 7-3 with 5:21 to go before halftime.
After a short punt, the Cardinals trimmed the JMU lead to 7-6 at the break on a Ranvier 38-yard field goal.
Teams combined for 163 total yards of offense in the first half and 15 first downs, as JMU's defense recovered a fumble on a strip sack and made a fourth-down stop, while the UL defense also held once on fourth down.
Both teams traded 75-yard touchdown drives to open the second half. After Nick DeGennaro made a remarkable one-handed grab on fourth down, Sluka rushed up the middle two plays later for an eight-yard score to up the lead to 14-6.
Four plays later, Moss tied the game at 14-14 with 8:37 left in the third, finding Chris Bell for a 64-yard touchdown pass, followed by a two-point conversion on the ground.
Louisville took its first lead with 13 minutes to play, after Barnett was sacked in the end zone and AJ Green fell on the loose ball for a touchdown. The point after was no good, keeping the score 20-14 for the Cardinals.
The Cardinals added insurance with a 78-yard rushing touchdown from Brown followed by a successful two-point conversion to make it 28-14 with 3:31 left to play.
Moving into Louisville territory at the 1:31 mark of the fourth, a pass deep down the right sideline by Sluka intended for Nick DeGennaro was intercepted by Jabari Mack.
On their next possession, the Dukes drove down to the Cardinals' one-yard line, but time expired before getting one final snap off.

GAME NOTES

Louisville edged James Madison in total yards, 264-263.
The Cardinals were a perfect 2-for-2 in the red zone, while the Dukes finished 2-for-3.
JMU managed to convert 1-of-3 fourth downs compared to 1-of-2 for Louisville.
Yards after the catch heavily favored Louisville (124-63)
JMU's defense held Louisville's offense to just 30 rushing yards until Brown's 78-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth.
With its 7-6 lead at halftime, JMU has now led an ACC opponent at the half in each of the past three seasons.
With the loss, JMU falls to 4-11 all-time against the ACC.

UP NEXT
JMU is off next week and returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 20 with an in-state battle at Liberty. Kickoff from Williams Stadium is set for 6 p.m. on a network to be announced later.