James Madison puts away Marshall 35-23 to remain undefeated in Sun Belt play
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (WCHS) — The Marshall Thundering Herd played host to the James Madison Dukes on Saturday it its annual '75' game, in remembrance of the Marshall football team plane crash in 1970 that killed all 75 people on board, including 37 players.
However, the Thundering Herd could not knock off the undefeated-in-conference Dukes, as JMU disposed of Marshall by a score of 35-23.
Marshall QB Carlos Del Rio-Wilson struggled, going just 16/35 for 154 yards, but he did have a touchdown pass to Tracy Stephens as well as zero interceptions.
However, James Madison QB Alonza Barnett III went just 14/24, but registered 270 passing yards and two touchdowns along with an interception.
Marshall kept it close, never trailing by more than nine points until the tail end of the game, but JMU had a lot more efficiency in moving the ball, as evidenced by the Dukes needing just 59 plays to put up 35 points, whereas Marshall ran 86 plays to put up 23 points.
Marshall also settled for field goals on three of its drives, whereas JMU capitalized on all its scoring drives with touchdowns, which shifted momentum directly in favor of the Dukes.
The Thundering Herd never led at any point in the game, and was only level with JMU when the score was 0-0. The Herd had a chance to tie the game early at 7, but a missed extra point left the score 7-6, and Marshall could never rally from there.
West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey was in attendance at the game, making the coin toss before the game began.
James Madison is now 8-1 on the season and an undefeated 6-0 in conference play in the Sun Belt. The Dukes head back to Virginia to host the Appalachian State Mountaineers at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 15, with kickoff slated for 3:30 p.m. on ESPN+
Marshall now falls under .500 for the first time since late September, falling to 4-5 on the year and 2-3 in conference play. The Thundering Herd head back to the state of Georgia for the second time this season on Saturday, Nov. 15, this time to take on the Georgia State Panthers. Game time is slated for 2 p.m. on ESPN+
