App State Beats James Madison 34-31 in Overtime, Ends Dukes' Unbeaten Season

Three years ago, App State walked into Harrisonburg and ended a 10-0 James Madison season in overtime. On Thursday night, the Mountaineers ran the same play back, only this time they did it at home, under the lights, in front of a sellout crowd that was on the field about four seconds after the ball cleared the crossbar.

James London's 40-yard field goal in overtime gave App State a 34-31 win over James Madison at Kidd Brewer Stadium, ending the Dukes' unbeaten season at 7-1 and handing Billy Napier his first loss as JMU's head coach. App State moved to 5-2 and 2-1 in the Sun Belt. JMU fell to 4-1 in league play, and with that, every team in the Sun Belt East now has at least one conference loss.

Boone has a way of doing this to people.

JMU looked like the better team for a half

The Dukes came out like a team that had not lost all season. Their opening drive went 75 yards in eight plays, included a fourth-down conversion near the goal line and ended with George Pettaway punching it in from a yard out. London answered with a 48-yard field goal, and then the first real swing of the night went JMU's way.

Facing fourth-and-2 at the App State 30 in the second quarter, Napier sent out the field goal unit for a 48-yard try. Ricky Lolohea blocked it. App State could not cash it in, going three-and-out, and JMU's JC Evans hit Braeden Wisloski for a 70-yard touchdown to make it 14-3.

The JMU defense forced punts on App State's first four possessions. Then, with 1:02 left in the half, Malachi Singleton found Alexander Sanchez for a 19-yard touchdown, and it was 14-10 at the break.

JMU got the ball back at its own 25 with about 54 seconds and two timeouts and did not push for points. "Didn't feel like we could get it into field goal range at that point," Napier said. File that one away.

The fourth quarter turned into a fistfight

App State opened the third quarter with an 11-play drive that stalled inside the 10, and London's 27-yarder cut it to 14-13. JMU answered with an 11-play, 67-yard march that survived a muffed punt and a dropped interception before Camden Coleman hit Cole Keller for a 19-yard score. The Dukes led 21-13 going into the fourth.

That lead lasted less than two minutes of the final quarter. With 13:15 left, Singleton threw a 5-yard touchdown to Chris Lofton, and Sam Pickett III converted the two-point try to tie it at 21. Morgan Suarez put JMU back in front with a 47-yard field goal, and London matched him from 36 yards out to tie it at 24 with 6:16 to go.

Then came the play that flipped the night. Colton Phares picked off Coleman and returned it 21 yards to the JMU 25. A pass interference flag moved the ball to the 4, and App State brought in Henry Hasselbeck, who threw a 4-yard touchdown to Luke Douglas. App State 31, JMU 24, and the building shook.

Coleman's answer and Napier's choice

JMU did not fold. Coleman led a 15-play, 71-yard drive that needed a fourth-and-3 conversion, a 3-yard catch by Jeremiah Harrison, to stay alive. With three seconds left, Coleman ran a quarterback draw in from 6 yards out.

That made it 31-30, and Napier had one snap to decide the season's first real gamble. Go for two and win it right there, or kick and play for overtime. He kicked. "It was a little bit sensitive to the fact that they've got two timeouts," Napier said. He said he considered going for two and chose to carry the momentum into overtime.

It is a defensible call. It is also the kind of call that gets replayed in Harrisonburg for months when it does not work.

Overtime took two possessions and one eye injury

App State won the toss and chose to defend, and the Mountaineers got a gift on JMU's first snap. The Dukes ran a trick play, with Seth Cromwell taking a direct snap and handing off to Evans, and Ja'Den McBurrows dropped Evans for an 11-yard loss. That pushed Suarez back to a 47-yard attempt, and it hit the left upright.

The celebration of that miss nearly cost App State its kicker. London was struck in the right eye by a teammate during the excitement, which is why he was late coming out for the winning kick. It did not matter. Hasselbeck picked up 5 yards on a keeper, and London drilled the 40-yarder.

"I prepared for this moment," London said. He said he simply "trusted my process" and picked his line.

The players who swung it

London was perfect, going 4-for-4 on field goals from 48, 27, 36 and 40 yards. In a game decided by three points, his counterpart went 1-for-3, and that is the margin in one sentence.

Phares was the best defender on the field. He finished with a game-high 13 tackles, including one for loss, and his interception produced the touchdown that put App State ahead for the first time all night. McBurrows made the play that turned overtime. For JMU, edge Turner Schmidt had two sacks.

Singleton was efficient and patient, going 26-of-40 for 271 yards and two touchdowns. Combined with Hasselbeck's short-yardage work, App State threw for 285 yards and three scores without an interception. Coleman went 22-of-39 for 232 yards with a touchdown, an interception and the rushing score that forced overtime, while Wisloski turned two catches into 84 yards and Harrison caught six balls for 59.

The numbers that matter

JMU outgained App State 423-366, which tells you the Dukes did enough to win and found ways not to. The bigger number is 92. That is how many rushing yards App State allowed on 30 carries, and against a JMU offense built on a power run game, that was the foundation of everything.

It got worse for the Dukes late. Pettaway, who ran for 57 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, left in the fourth quarter with an apparent left hamstring injury, ending a streak of four straight 100-yard games. JMU won the first half 14-10 and lost the rest 24-17. Kicking decided it: London made all four of his tries, and JMU had one blocked and one clank off the upright.

What it means

For JMU, the math is blunt. The Dukes were chasing a second straight playoff appearance, and a loss to a team that came in 4-2 hurts in every room where those decisions get made. They are still 4-1 in the Sun Belt and very much alive in the East, but there is no margin left. JMU hosted Troy on Thursday, Oct. 29.

For App State, this is a reset. The Mountaineers have now won two straight since a loss to Old Dominion, they are 2-1 in league play and the East is wide open again. Next on the schedule was a trip to rival Georgia Southern, which is never a calm afternoon. App State's official game recap (opens in a new tab) has the full scoring breakdown.

The last word

Dowell Loggains has been coaching in a hurry lately, with App State playing three games in roughly two weeks. He sounded like a man who would gladly do it again.

"Unbelievable win for our team," Loggains said. "I'm really excited for this group of players that believed and fought in those three games in I think 13 days."

JMU will hear about the extra point all week. App State will hear about London's eye, the upright and the field storming for a lot longer than that.

Sources: App State Athletics, JMU Athletics via WDBJ7, The Associated Press, the Watauga Democrat, Saturday Down South and BroBible. More college football coverage on Undrafted.

Photos: App State Athletics.