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Jalen Green And The JMU Dukes Wrangle In The Thundering Herd For A 20-9 Sun Belt Win

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Football

Jalen Green tied the school sack record with five as James Madison's defense shut down Marshall en route to a 20-9 Sun Belt Conference win on Thursday night at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.

The Dukes remain unbeaten with a 7-0 overall record while improving to 4-0 in Sun Belt play, while the Thundering Herd suffered their third straight loss, dropping to 4-3 and 1-2. The win for JMU was the program's first ever against Marshall in four tries.
 
Green turned in the best game of his career, taking down the quarterback five times while also matching his career best of 5.5 tackles for loss. Jamree Kromah also made 2.0 TFL and a sack in the win. JMU's defense lived in the backfield, racking up 15 tackles for loss and eight sacks.
 
Aiden Fisher and Jailin Walker tied for the team lead in tackles with 10 tackles while eight players had at least four stops. The 10 stops tied Fisher's career high while it set a new career best for Walker, who also had a career-high 2.0 tackles for loss and pair of forced fumbles. JMU also forced a pair of Marshall turnovers in the form of a Francis Meehan interception in the redzone and a Chris Chukwuneke fumble recovery after Walker jarred it loose.
 
The Dukes kept Marshall out of the endzone until the fourth quarter, leading by as many as 18, 20-2, early in the fourth.
 
Offensively, Jordan McCloud was 21-of-31 for 264 passing yards with a touchdown and interception while rushing for 69 yards, which included a career-long 47-yard run. His 69 rushing yards was a career high, besting his previous of 64 at Oregon on Sept. 25, 2021.
 
Reggie Brown made six receptions for 126 yards and a touchdown, which included a game-long 53-yarder. Elijah Sarratt made seven grabs for 70 yards, while Phoenix Sproles also added six catches for 55 yards.
 
For Marshall, Cam Fancher finished 17-of-30 for 173 yards and an interception, while Ethan Payne rushed for 62 yards. Dyoni Hill led the Herd defense with 10 tackles and a pair of breakups.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

  • A scoreless first featured a trio of Ryan Hanson punts that pinned Marshall at its own one. JMU out-gained Marshall 106-54 in the stanza.
  • A career-long 47-yard run by McCloud set up the first score of the game, via a 27-yard field goal from Camden Wise to make it 3-0.
  • JMU registered eight tackles for loss with four sacks and held Marshall to 92 yards to grab a 3-0 lead at the break.
  • Marshall's 24 rushing yards in the first half was the fewest yards it had gained this season in the opening half.
  • After being pinned at its own one early in the third, Marshall got on the board with a safety to make it 3-2.
  • On the ensuing possession deep in JMU territory, Fancher's pass was underthrown, and Meehan nabbed his third interception of the year to keep the lead intact.
  • After a 53-yard pitch and catch from McCloud to Brown, that set up a 38-yard field goal to extend JMU's lead to 6-2 mid-third.
  • JMU finally found the endzone with 1:12 to go in the third, as McCloud kept it and walked in untouched from six yards out to make it 13-2.
  • After Walker forced a Marshall fumble and Chukwuneke recovered, McCloud opened the fourth with a 28-yard dime to Brown to go up 20-2 with 14:08 to go.
  • Marshall finally found the endzone on the ensuing kick, as Jayden Harrison went 94 yards on the kickoff return to trim the lead to 20-9.
  • Green put an exclamation point on the night, picking up his fifth solo sack of the night as Marshall turned the ball over on downs with 1:05 remaining to secure the 20-9 road win.

GAME NOTES

  • JMU dominated the offensive yards, out-gaining Marshall 405-169.
  • That included out-rushing Marshall 131 to -4. JMU held a 274-173 advantage in the pass game. The Dukes' defense now boasts two games in 2023-24 in which their opponent finished with negative rushing yards.
  • JMU was 5-of-14 (.357) on third down while holding MU to 5-of-16 (.313).
  • JMU held a 33:49 to 26:11 advantage in time of possession.
  • Wise's two field goals moved him into a tie for 10th all-time at JMU with 22 career field goals, tying Ryan Maglio (2014-15) and Mike Glover (1997, 1999-01).
  • Hanson's first three punts all got downed at the one, while Marshall's first five drives started at the average of its own four. He finished with seven punts inside the 20, a career best.
  • Green's sack total tied with Jim McHugh and Bob Dunn, who both accomplished the feat in 1975. Additionally, the last JMU player to record four or more sacks was John Baranowsky, who took down Towson's quarterback four times on Nov. 17, 2007.
  • Brown's 126-yard receiving night marked his second time hitting the century mark this season. Previously, the redshirt senior racked up 160 yards and two touchdowns at Utah State on Sept. 23. 

UP NEXT
JMU returns home for Homecoming, as it hosts Old Dominion on Saturday, Oct. 28. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. and will be televised on ESPNU.