The new darling of FBS and Sun Belt has arrived. JMU (4-0 SU, 4-0 ATS, 2-0 SBC) travels to Centennial Bank Stadium to take on Arkansas State (2-3 SU, 5-0 ATS, 1-1 SBC) on Saturday night at 7pmET.
The Dukes, who just transitioned from FCS to FBS this season, are coming off a 40-13 win over Texas State last week. The Red Wolves defeated ULM 45-28 last week at home as a 7-point favorite.
QB Todd Centeio completed 15 of 25 for 257 yards with a pick and ran for 52 yards and a score as JMU dominated Texas State 40-13. Redshirt junior running back Latrele Palmer led the offense with 106 yards and three second-half rushing touchdowns. Defensively, the Dukes were on point, allowing just 246 yards overall and 140 passing yards with 11 first downs. Offensively, the Dukes put up 460 total yards, but did turn the ball over three times.
40 points + dominating defense = 4-0
Highlights from this afternoon's W against Texas State.#GoDukes pic.twitter.com/1qYlr5uNSK
— JMU Football (@JMUFootball) October 1, 2022
James Madison has been impressive in the early going and they didn't have a letdown after shocking Appalachian State 32-28 on September 24. In that game, the Dukes were down 28-3 and scored 29 unanswered points on the road to get an amazing victory.
The key to their early success has been Centeio, a transfer from Colorado State, who began his career at Temple. He's been magnificent at controlling the offense as a dual-threat quarterback. Centeio has 913 yards passing with 11 TDs and just one pick this season (62.1%). He also has 252 yards rushing and two scores to lead the team in rushing.
Defensively, JMU leads the nation with 217.5 yards allowed per game (91st) and 46.3 rushing yards per game (1st). They are also tough to throw on as they allow just 171.3 passing yards per game.