Billy Atkins threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Taylor Thompson to break a fourth-quarter tie as James Madison won a bowl game for the first time, topping Western Kentucky 27-17 in the Boca Raton Bowl on Wednesday at Boca Raton, Fla.
JC Evans had a touchdown run and touchdown pass and George Pettaway rushed for 100 yards on 14 carries for the Dukes.
The Dukes (9-4) are in their second season of bowl eligibility in what largely has been the continuation of a strong transition from the Football Championship Subdivision.
“It’s about our program. It’s about our institution,” James Madison athletic director Matt Roan said. “That first bowl win, it’s a culmination. … To win nine games, to win that first bowl game.”
“We came together as a group,” added James Madison cornerback DJ Barksdale, who was named defensive player of the game. “We just put it in God’s hands, trusted God. We got the job done.”
It was the first touchdown throw of the season for Atkins, a redshirt junior who threw for 181 yards. He was filling in for Alonza Barnett III, who was banged up in the regular-season finale vs. Marshall.
Atkins had thrown two TD passes in both 2021 and 2022. It was the sixth touchdown catch of the year for Thompson, who made his grab with 9:20 to play.
Western Kentucky quarterback Caden Veltkamp, who entered the transfer portal last week, threw for 302 yards on 25-for-39 passing with two touchdowns.
Western Kentucky (8-6), which lost to Jacksonville State 52-12 in the Conference USA championship game, lost four of its last five games.
The Hilltoppers had converted a fourth-down play with about 3 1/2 minutes left before Khairi Manns’ sack of Veltkamp forced a fumble on the next play, giving the ball back to James Madison. That resulted in Noe Ruelas’ 25-yard field goal for the game’s final points.
The Hilltoppers were dinged by three lost fumbles, while James Madison didn’t commit a turnover.
“We had our opportunities and didn’t capitalize on them,” Western Kentucky coach Tyson Helton said. “The turnovers and a dropped pass or two. But that’s football.”
Ruelas kicked a 28-yard field goal for a 17-14 lead with 2:25 remaining in the third quarter. Lucas Carneiro’s 31-yarder tied it for Western Kentucky in the first minute of the fourth quarter.
Earlier, Veltkamp threw 17 yards to Moussa Barry on a screen pass for a touchdown, then put the Hilltoppers ahead with 51 seconds left in the first half on an 11-yard toss to Dalvin Smith. The second scoring drive covered 83 yards, using seven plays in less than two minutes.
Evans ran for seven yards for the only touchdown in the first quarter. His one-yard toss to Kyi Wright allowed the Dukes to tie the score at 14-14 before the midway mark of the third quarter. That 71-yard drive came on top of a 77-yard march in the first quarter.
Ruelas missed a 47-yard field goal and had a 56-yard attempt blocked in the first half.
–Field Level Media
