CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Trailing 35-24 entering the final frame and following a lengthy weather delay, James Madison clawed its way for a thrilling 36-35 victory at Virginia on Saturday afternoon at Scott Stadium.
 
In the teams' first meeting in 40 years, the Dukes scored the game-winning touchdown on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Jordan McCloud to Kaelon Black with 55 seconds remaining, capping off an 80-yard drive.
 
The Dukes (2-0) had a balanced attack with 228 passing yards and 167 on the ground. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers (0-1) flourished in the passing game, with 377 yards, but were held to just 18 rushing yards.
 
McCloud finished 20-of-31 for 234 passing yards and a touchdown, while adding 32 on the ground. Additionally, Taji Hudson registered his first career TD pass on a trick play in the first quarter. Ty Son Lawton led the rushing attack with 79 yards and two touchdowns.
 
In the air, Phoenix Sproles made seven receptions for 40 yards and a touchdown. Hudson made four grabs for 46 yards, while Reggie Brown had 60 yards on three catches.
 
For Virginia, Anthony Colandrea was efficient, going 20-of-26 for 377 yards and a touchdown. Malik Washington had a game-high 119 receiving yards and a score. Mike Hollins rushed for 28 yards and a pair of scores.
 
This was Virginia's first home game since last November's tragic event that took the lives of UVA players Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D'Sean Perry. It was also the 500th game at Scott Stadium with an attendance of 56,508.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• JMU opened the scoring on the game's opening drive and in trick-play fashion, as Taji Hudson took a lateral from McCloud and found Sproles in the back of the endzone on a four-yard pass.
• On the ensuing drive, JMU doubled its lead to 14-0, as Aiden Fisher blocked a Daniel Sparks punt past the goal line, and D'Angelo Ponds recovered it for a Dukes touchdown with 7:13 left in the opening stanza.
• After a 63-yard Washington score to get UVA on the board, JMU answered with a 38-yard field goal from Camden Wise to make it 17-7 after one.
• With just over a minute before halftime, Hollins powered his way in for a four-yard touchdown to cut JMU's lead to 17-14 at the break.
• On the first play of the second half, Colandrea connected on a 75-yard touchdown to Kobe Pace to give the hosts a 21-17 lead.
• Virginia stopped JMU on a fourth-down try and extended its lead to 28-17 with 10:29 left in the third on a three-yard swing pass to Pace.
• After a Francis Meehan interception, JMU pulled to within 28-24 after Lawton gained 28 yards on consecutive rushes, capped off by a four-yard score, with 2:07 left in the third.
• JMU was thought to have recovered a fumble, but after the call stood, Hollins flipped past the goal line to make it 35-24 UVA after three.
• After play resumed following an 80-minute rain/lightning delay, JMU stormed down field and Lawton got a lead block and off the edge for a 27-yard touchdown rush. The two-point conversion was no good, leaving it a 35-30 score with 8:34 to go.
• After another stop, JMU capped off the comeback with an eight play, 80-yard drive, with Black scampering past the pylons from the McCloud pass.

 
GAME NOTES

• JMU and Virginia finished with the same net total yardage of 395.
• JMU held a 167-18 advantage in the ground game, holding UVA to just 0.5 yards per rush.
• On third down, JMU was 6-of-14, while Virginia was 4-of-13.
• JMU's defense produced 10 tackles for loss, led by Jamree Kromah and Jalen Green with 3.0 and 2.0, respectively. Kromah registered a career-high two sacks, including one late. James Carpenter added 1.5 tackles for loss and a crucial pass breakup at the line on the defensive's final stand of the game.
• JMU's opening drive touchdown featured Hudson's first career passing and overall touchdown, while Sproles scored his eighth career total TD and his first with the Dukes.
• JMU has punt blocks in back-to-back games, and Fisher's swat resulted in the team's first punt block for a score since Sept. 11, 2021.
• JMU tied the all-time series at 2-2, as the Dukes defeated UVA for the first time in almost 41 years.

 
UP NEXT
JMU opens Sun Belt Conference play on Saturday, Sept. 16 when it travels to Troy. Kickoff is set for a 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT) start and will be nationally televised on NFL Network.