No. 7 James Madison Downs No. 3 UMass, 52-38

Sept. 13, 2008

HARRISONBURG, Va. - In a battle of Top 10 teams, No. 7 James Madison got the best of No. 3 UMass, as the Dukes beat the Minutemen, 52-38 at a sold-out Bridgeforth Stadium on a hot and sunny Saturday afternoon. Both teams are now 2-1. UMass trailed 31-10 at the half but scored 28 point in the second led by a career-day from Victor Cruz. He finished with 13 catches for 262 yards and two touchdowns to lead the comeback attempt. Cruz's yard total marked the fourth most in conference history (Yankee/A-10/CAA) while also shattering the school record. JMU quarterback Rodney Landers was sensational all afternoon with 291 total yards including 206 on the ground and 85 in the air. Landers had the most rushing yards against UMass since 2001.

UMass' Tony Nelson went over 100 yards for the second time this season and third in his career with 109 yards on the ground. Liam Coen had another strong passing game, finishing 26-of-39 for 339 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. Cruz's sensational day marked his first-ever 100 yard game. His 262 yards broke a school-record while his 13 catches tied for the UMass mark held previously by J.J. Moore and (current Miami Dolphin) Brandon London in 2005.

JMU ended UMass' comeback hopes with a 71-yard drive and Griff Yancey's third touchdown of the game (and half), a one-yard score for the 52-38 final.

The Minutemen scored two quick touchdowns to pull from down 21 to down seven with six minutes still on the clock. UMass made it 45-38 when Nelson ran in a two-yard score, capping off a drive that included a long slant to Cruz which set up the Minutemen on a first-and-goal from the five yard line.

Cruz was in the middle of the previous scoring drive when he caught a beautifully-thrown pass and tiptoed the sidelines on his way into the endzone and a 45-31 James Madison lead.

Yancey's second touchdown made it 45-24 with just over 11 minutes remaining in the fourth.

UMass answered a JMU score to cut the lead to 38-24 on a two-yard touchdown reception from Ian Jorgenson.

JMU rebuilt its three-score lead on a 1-yard run by Yancey around the left side after a huge punt return by Scotty McGee, making it 38-17 with 8:15 left in the third.

Coen connected with Cruz on three receptions totaling 58 yards and wrapping with a 20-yard TD catch to cut the JMU leads to 31-17 with 11:50 left in the third quarter.

Landers piled up 187 yards in the first half, including 124 on the ground and 63 passing yards as he accounted for three touchdowns. Landers ran in a pair of scores and tossed a 47-yard pass to Kerby Long late in the second half which gave the Dukes a 28-10 edge. Dave Stannard added a 46-yard field goal just before halftime for a 31-10 JMU lead at intermission.

UMass had cut the JMU lead to 21-10 as Nelson popped in from 1-yard after a 44- yard dash where he was caught at the 2-yard line.

Landers gave JMU a 21-3 lead with 7:41 left in the first half as he faked to Yancey and went over right guard for a 18-point advantage, the largest UMass had faced to date. The drive was keyed by a successful fourth- down conversion in which Landers threw his first pass of the game to Bosco Williams for 11 yards to keep the drive alive.

The first quarter was the Landers show as JMU's talented quarterback had 86 yards on the ground on just five carries including a 17-yard run to make it 14-0 at the end of the period. Coen was sharp for the Minutemen but unable to mount a scoring drive as he was 7-of-7 for 48 yards.

JMU opened the scoring with a 7-yard run by Jamal Sullivan, who was playing in his first game of the season.

UMass continues its gauntlet of a schedule at Texas Tech, the 12th-ranked team in FBS. The game kicks off at 7 p.m. ET and will not be on television, so be sure to listen on the UMass Sports Network (100.9 FM, 830 AM, 95.9 FM, 980 AM).

Scoreboard

Next Event

Team Stats

Liam Coen

Scott Woodward

Scoreboard

University of Massachusets Athletics