HARRISONBURG, Va. – The No. 23 nationally-ranked Chanticleers were held to a season-low seven points in a 47-7 road loss at James Madison in the regular-season finale in Harrisonburg, Va., on Saturday afternoon.
The loss dropped CCU to 9-2 overall and 6-2 in SBC play. With the win, JMU finished their season at 8-3 overall and 6-2 in league play.
CCU will now set its sights on the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship game on Saturday, Dec. 3, while JMU's season will come to an end. The Dukes are not eligible for a bowl game due to being in the University's first year of transition from the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) to the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS).
The Chants were outgained by the Dukes 502-183 in total yards, the lowest yards total by the Coastal offense all season long. CCU also had just 11 first downs to 25 by JMU.
Quarterback Jarrett Guest, who got the second start of his career on Saturday, was 10-for-23 for 99 yards, a touchdown, and an interception through the air and rushed 14 times for 26 yards. He was sacked four times in the game.
The rushing attack was held to just 90 yards in the loss, as senior Reese White had a team-high seven rushes for 29 yards, while seven other Chants had at least one carry on the day, combining for 61 yards.
No Chant had more than 38 yards receiving for the game, as graduate transfer Sam Pinckney and redshirt senior Xavier Gravette each had a team-high three catches, while redshirt sophomore Tyson Mobley recorded a team-high 38 receiving yards.
For the Dukes, quarterback Todd Centeio was 17-for-32 for 287 yards and four touchdowns through the air and rushed six times for 25 yards and a score, totaling five touchdowns in the win.
Six different Dukes had at least one catch on the day led by Kris Thornton with a team-high six receptions for 93 yards, while fellow wideout Devin Ravenel hauled in five receptions for 102 yards and two touchdowns. Wide receiver Reggie Brown and tight end Drew Painter each added a touchdown catch in the win.
On the ground, the Dukes were led by veteran running back Percy Agyel-Obese with a game-high 79 yards on seven carries, while two other Dukes in Latrele Palmer (61 yards, TD) and Kaelon Black (50 yards) finished with over 50 yards on the ground.
Defensively, redshirt junior linebacker JT Killen led the way with six tackles for the game, while redshirt freshman bandit Joah Cash had a career-high six stops of his own. The Chants' lone sack came by way of Adrian Hope in the first half, while Cash also had a team-high 1.5 tackles-for-loss.
JMU's defense not only kept the Coastal offense in check but had one interception and one forced fumble in the win. Jalin Walker led the Dukes with a game-high nine tackles, while both Chris Chukwuneke and Taurus Jones finished with eight tackles each. Chukwuneke finished with 1.0 sack and 2.5 tackles-for-loss, while defensive lineman Jamare Edwards had 2.0 sacks, 3.5 tackles-for-loss, and forced a fumble.
After going three-and-out and losing six yards on their opening offensive series, the Chants' defense was able to come up with a big stop on JMU's opening series, as Hope came up with a sack on first-and-10 to put the Dukes behind the chains on the CCU 14-yard line.
The play helped force the Dukes to settle for a 32-yard field goal by Camden Wise to put the home team in black on top at 3-0 with 10:46 to go in the opening quarter.
The "Teal Team 6" offense woke up on the next offensive drive, as Guest used both his arm and legs to drive the Chants 75 yards in 12 plays, highlighted by a 33-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Mobley for a touchdown on a fourth-and-1 play. The score pushed the visitors in white in front at 7-3 with 4:50 left in the first quarter of play.
Neither team would score on their next offensive possessions, as JMU punted and CCU turned the ball over on downs, before the Dukes would cut into the Coastal lead with another field goal, this time a 43-yarder from Wise to put the score at 7-6 just minutes into the second quarter.
Following a second CCU punt, the Dukes went to the air, as a 43-yard pass and catch from Centeio to Devin Ravenel put the home team in Coastal territory. Two plays later, Centeio connected with Brown across the middle for a 34-yard touchdown catch to put the Dukes back in front at 13-7 with 6:57 in the first half.
The trend continued the rest of the first half, as CCU was forced to punt for the second time in the quarter to give the home team the ball at their own 33-yard line with 4:30 to go before the halftime break.
JMU again went to the air as the Dukes completed a 27-yard pass to Thornton on a third-and-10 to keep the drive alive. Two plays later, JMU completed another pass to Thornton for 16 yards on a second-and-12 to move down to the CCU 26-yard line. Just one play later, Centeio found a leaping Ravenel in the back of the end zone from 26 yards out for another JMU touchdown and pushed the home team's lead out to two scores at 20-7 heading into the halftime intermission.
The Dukes picked up where they left off in the third quarter, as on the opening drive they used just five plays to go 75 yards, using a 30-yard rush by Agyei-Obese to start the drive then added to the lead on a 17-yard pass to tight end Painter. The PAT was no good, putting the score at 26-7 with 12:54 to go in the third quarter.
While the Coastal offense could not get on track, the Dukes tacked on three more scores over the final 28 minutes of play to outscore the Chants 27-0 in the second and pull away for the 47-7 conference win.
The Chanticleers (9-2, 6-2 Sun Belt) will now turn their sights to the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship game on Saturday, Dec. 3, at 3:30 p.m. ET. Coastal will play the West Division Champion, either Troy or South Alabama, and the site of the game will be determined after all the games have been played this Saturday.
Notes
· For the second time in three years, the Chanticleers have won the Sun Belt Conference East Division (2020 and 2022). (James Madison is not eligible to win the East Division due to their transition from FCS to FBS – NCAA rule).
· The loss drops Coastal to 9-2 overall and 6-2 in the Sun Belt Conference.
· The Chants finished 6-2 in SBC play for the second consecutive year.
· The road loss snaps the Chants' road winning streak at five consecutive games.
· With the loss, CCU falls to 1-2 all-time versus James Madison.
· CCU's loss marks the first conference road loss since falling at Appalachian State on Oct. 20, 2021.
· Despite the loss, CCU finished with a winning record in conference play for the third straight season.
· Quarterback Grayson McCall missed his second straight game due to a lower-body injury.
· The seven points scored are the fewest by the Chants' offense in a game since falling to Louisiana 48-7 on Nov. 7, 2019.
· The 47 points allowed by the Chanticleers were the second-most allowed this season, behind the 49 points they surrendered in the 49-21 loss to Old Dominion.
· The Chants will play in their first Sun Belt Championship game on Saturday, Dec. 3. CCU was set to host the 2020 Sun Belt Championship game but had it canceled due to COVID-19.
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