Bowl Victors! Dominant 2nd Half Lifts JMU to First Bowl Win

On By Littum


JC Evans





17




Western Ky.
WKU

8-6, 6-2

27




Winner

James Madison
JMU

9-4, 4-4


Western Ky.
WKU

8-6, 6-2

17

27


James Madison
JMU

9-4, 4-4

Winner





















Score by quarters
Team 1 2 3 4 F

WKU
Western Ky. 		0 14 0 3 17

JMU
James Madison 		7 0 10 10 27


Game Recap: Soccer | | Mike Barber





By Mike Barber
JMUSports.com correspondent

BOCA RATON, Fla. – A pair of quarterbacks who hadn’t led a scoring drive this season led James Madison to its first-ever bowl victory.

Freshman JC Evans ran for a touchdown and threw for a sophomore and redshirt junior Billy Atkins threw a game-winning score in the fourth quarter as JMU beat Western Kentucky 27-17 in the Boca Raton Bowl on Wednesday night in South Florida.

“At some point that light shines on you,” Duke’s coach Bob Chesney said. “When that happens, it’s either going to expose you for all the work you did, or it’s going to expose you for the work you didn’t do. To be the backup and the backup to the backup, they fought, they were the course, and they never ever gave up.”

20 years and one day after JMU won its first FCS national championship, the Dukes celebrated their first bowl title, a victory secured using the formula that made them successful all season.
JMU ran the football, played suffocating defense and capitalized on a few turnovers.

In front of an impressive and energetic crowd of purple-clad fans, the Dukes piled up 212 rushing yards, collected three sacks and 11 tackles for loss and recovered three fumbles, bringing their season total to 12.

Defensive Khairi Mann’s strip sack and fumble recovery with 3:02 left helped JMU (9-4) improve to 3-2 in one-score games and 3-3 when trailing at the half.

Starting QB Alonza Barnett III Atkins, sidelined with an injury, made his first start since 2022. He went 16 for 23 for 181 yards and finished with tight end Taylor Thompson for a 21-yard touchdown with 9:20 left.

Evans ran for his most significant effort of the season for a 5-yard touchdown, JMU’s first score of the game, and later went for his first career pass for a 1-yard touchdown. He rushed for 64 yards and a score.

“I didn’t know how much I wanted to play tonight, but I knew I wanted to make the most of it,” said Evans, a Miami native. “I just have so much confidence in the guys around me and I know these guys have confidence in me.”

George Pettaway ran for 100 yards on 14 carries, his second 100-yard game of the season.

Wednesday night’s contest was a clash of color — JMU wore purple pants and jerseys with white helmets, while WKU went all red — and style.


The Dukes came out running the ball on 22 of their first 34 snaps, while the Hilltoppers and star quarterback Caden Veltkamp put it in the air. He threw on nine of the team’s first 14 snaps.
After a three-and-out on its opening possession, JMU’s offense got a spark from Evans.


Alternating almost snap-for-snap with Atkins on the kickoff, Evans broke off a 27-yard run, gained 43 yards on four carries and capped the drive with a 5-yard touchdown run, giving the Dukes their first-ever lead in a bowl game.


The Hilltoppers (8-6) answered with a pair of touchdown passes from Veltkamp. The Conference USA Player of the Year, who placed his name in the NCAA transfer portal before the bowl game, threw a 17-yard scoring strike to Moussa Barry and an 11-yarder to Dalvin Smith.

Outside of its second drive, the Dukes’ offense sputtered, missing opportunities for big plays and points and was shut out for the remainder of the first half.


In the second quarter, kicker Noe Ruelas missed a 47-yard field goal attempt wide right and had a 56-yard attempt on the final snap of the half blocked by WKU.


The Hilltoppers led 14-7 at the half and had the ball to start the third quarter with a chance to fully seize control of the game.


But the Dukes’ defense forced a three-and-out and the offense came up with a 71-yard drive to tie the game. Evans, with his first career touchdown already secured, recorded his first scoring pass and threw a 1-yard touchdown to the tight end Kyi Wrightand tied the game 14-14 with 8:09 left in the third quarter.


JMU went up 17-14 on a 28-yard field goal by Ruelas with 2:25 left in the third. WKU tied it again, 17-17, on a 31-yard field goal 47 seconds into the final frame.


That set up the dramatic finish, with Atkins delivering a back-shoulder throw into the end zone that Thompson lofted and caught working against a pair of WKU defenders.


“I saw that one-on-one, I threw it up, trusted Taylor and he came down with it,” Atkins said. “Big time play.”


The catch, followed by the defense ending things, gave the first-year coach Bob Chesney a remarkable performance to cap off a season that began with a total rebuild of the JMU roster and ended with the Dukes winning nine or more games for the ninth time in the last 11 seasons.


“Just a great moment in the history of our program,” Chesney said. “Being the first ever to do something for the first time is a big deal.”

Bowl Awards

Playing notes

  • JMU outgained WKU 203-136 in the second half, with 65 Hilltopper yards coming on one pass in the third quarter and 33 on the final desperation drive.

  • JMU led in rushing yards 212-16, including 102 to -2 in the second half.

  • The rushing yardage difference led to a 13-minute advantage in time of possession (36:32-23:28).

  • Overall, JMU outgained Western 394-318 and averaged 4.6 yards per carry. rush, compared to 0.8 for WKU.

  • JMU was among the national leaders in turnover margin all season and finished +3 in the bowl win, which led to six points on a pair of field goals.

  • In its 20th postseason appearance all-time, JMU improved to 25-17 in postseason games.

  • JMU won nine or more games for the ninth time in the last 11 seasons. The only exceptions were the eight-game 2021 spring season and the 8-3 season in 2022, when the program had only scheduled 11 games and was ineligible for the postseason due to reclassification.

  • With his two field goals in the second half, Noe Ruelas made 16 field goals in 2024 and is up to 31 in his career.

  • Pettaway had his eighth game this season with at least 75 rushing yards and topped 100 for the second time in his career.

  • Dollison caught six passes, tying his career high, and finished with a team-high 82 yards.

  • Thompson’s touchdown in the fourth quarter was his sixth score of the season.

  • The Sun Belt Conference improved to 2-0 on the Bowl season as JMU followed South Alabama’s 30-23 win over Western Michigan on Dec. 14 in the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl.