LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville defensive end AJ Green recovered a fourth-quarter fumble in the James Madison end zone, and the Cardinals rallied to beat the Dukes 28-14 Friday night before 48,717 at L&N Stadium.
Green gave Louisville a 20-14 lead when Alonza Barnett III fumbled while being sacked by Clev Lubin. The Cardinals (2-0) trailed 14-6 early in the second half, but after that, JMU punted three times, committed two turnovers and ended the game at Louisville’s 1-yard line.
On a night when both offenses struggled, the Cardinals’ defensive front made the difference.
Louisville’s Miller Moss threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Chris Bell and ran for the two-point conversion to tie the game at 14 with 8:37 left in the third quarter.
The Cardinals sacked Barnett in the end zone two minutes into the final period on a third-and-10 play at the Dukes’ 8-yard line. That was one of six sacks recorded by Louisville.
Barnett completed 15 of 25 passes for 102 yards and a touchdown. He split time at quarterback with Matthew Sluka, who rushed for 83 yards and a TD.
Louisville’s Isaac Brown had 12 carries for 104 yards, and his 78-yard touchdown with 3:31 left secured the game for Louisville.
JMU (1-1) opened the scoring with four minutes left in the first quarter, 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 college catch and score on a 3-yard pass.
The Dukes fell to 4-11 all-time against Atlantic Coast Conference teams. They won at Virginia in 2023 and at North Carolina last season.
The takeaway
James Madison: Give the Dukes credit; they are not intimidated by ACC competition. However, committing 12 penalties did not help.
Louisville: The Cardinals’ defense held James Madison to 126 yarrds on 47 carries. The Dukes rushed for 313 yards on 44 carries last week against Weber State.
Feast or famine
Through two games, Brown has 230 yards on just 18 carries. However, his three touchdown runs account for 177 of those yards.
Up next
JMU is off next week and plays at Liberty on Sept. 20.
Louisville also does not play next week and will host Bowling Green on Sept. 20.
