Alonza Barnett III threw for a touchdown and added a crucial late-game touchdown run as No. 25 James Madison fended off Troy for a 31-14 victory in the Sun Belt Conference championship game Friday night at Harrisonburg, Va.
Wayne Knight, the game’s Most Valuable Player, rushed for 212 yards, including a go-ahead 73-yard burst early in the second quarter, as the Dukes tried to make a case for inclusion into the College Football Playoff by scoring two touchdowns in the final five minutes.
With a Duke win in Saturday’s Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, a bid could very well be there for the Dukes.
It was quite a send-off for the final home game under second-year coach Bob Chesney, who’s leaving to become UCLA’s head coach but agreed to stay through a potential CFP run. It was a frigid night that included fans throwing snowballs onto the field as the Dukes (12-1) won their 11th game in a row.
“What we’ve done on the field, to me, speaks volumes,” said Chesney. “We won games a lot of different ways.”
Troy (8-5) was gunning for its third Sun Belt title in a four-year span.
Barnett was just 10-for-25 passing for 93 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the air. He gained 85 yards on 12 carries. Knight had 21 rushing attempts.
Troy quarterback Goose Crowder was 15-for-34 passing for 196 yards. The Trojans were held to minus-26 rushing yards.
“They are relentless,” Chesney said of his defense. “… They just fight.”
James Madison scored first on Morgan Suarez’s 40-yard field goal with 1:55 to play in the first quarter.
The Trojans responded less than three minutes later, scoring on Crowder’s 1-yard scramble.
But on the Dukes’ next snap from scrimmage, Knight broke away on his long TD run on a tackle-shedding gallop. James Madison stretched the lead with 6:56 to play in the second quarter on Barnett’s 26-yard touchdown pass to Braeden Wisloski, who made a leaping catch in the back of the end zone.
Troy responded and scored on Tae Meadows’ 2-yard run with 2:12 remaining in the first half.
The Dukes were in an offensive slump. Despite holding the halftime lead at 17-14, they were 0-for-7 on third-down conversion.
There wasn’t any scoring in the second half until Barnett’s touchdown run with 4:11 remaining. But the Dukes piled on from there, with Sahir West’s sack of backup quarterback Tucker Kilcrease forcing a fumble and Drew Spinogatti returning the ball 22 yards for a touchdown.
It was the cherry on top of a stellar individual performance by West, who finished with 5 1/2 tackles for loss and three sacks.
–Field Level Media
