James Madison falls to App State 34-31 in overtime for first loss

James Madison's unbeaten season ended Thursday night at Kidd Brewer Stadium, where App State won 34-31 in overtime on a 40-yard field goal by James London. The Dukes (7-1) had tied the game 31-31 on a 6-yard run by Camden Coleman with 3 seconds left in regulation.

The game was broadcast on ESPNU in front of 33,322 fans in Boone, N.C. The Mountaineers improved to 5-2.

A back-and-forth fourth quarter

JMU led 21-13 after Coleman hit Cole Keller on a 19-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter. App State tied it at 21-21 early in the fourth when Henry Hasselbeck threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Chris Lofton, and Malachi Singleton hit Sam Pickett III on the two-point conversion.

Morgan Suarez put the Dukes back in front with a 47-yard field goal at 9:19. London answered with a 36-yarder at 6:16 to make it 24-24. On JMU's next snap, Coleman was intercepted by Colton Phares, who returned the pick 21 yards to the JMU14. Hasselbeck then found Luke Douglas on a 4-yard touchdown pass with 5:52 left for a 31-24 App State lead.

The Dukes answered with a 15-play, 71-yard drive. Coleman's run tied it with 3 seconds left. JMU converted a fourth-and-3 on a 3-yard completion to Jeremiah Harrison at the App State 7 before the score.

Overtime

JMU got the ball first in overtime. JC Evans lost 11 yards on a run, and Coleman then completed a 7-yard pass to Corey Scott. After an incompletion on third down, Suarez missed a 47-yard field goal. App State took over, and after a Hasselbeck 5-yard run and a kneel-down, London connected from 40 yards to win it.

How the Dukes got there

JMU opened the scoring on a 1-yard run by George Pettaway, who finished with 57 yards on 15 carries. Braeden Wisloski's 70-yard touchdown catch from Evans late in the second quarter made it 14-3. Wisloski had two catches for 84 yards. App State closed the half with a Singleton 19-yard touchdown pass to Alexander Sanchez to make it 14-10.

Coleman finished 22 of 39 for 232 yards with one touchdown, one interception and a rushing touchdown. Evans was 5 of 7 for 99 yards and a touchdown. Harrison led JMU with six catches for 59 yards.

JMU's offense went 2 for 15 on third down but converted all three of its fourth-down tries. The Dukes were flagged 10 times for 92 yards and gained 423 total yards to App State's 366. Suarez was 1 of 3 on field goals. Turner Schmidt had two sacks, and Nakian Jackson, Seth Gathers and JT Hooten each made nine tackles.

Singleton went 26 of 40 for 271 yards and two touchdowns for the Mountaineers. London made all four of his field goals.

Next up

JMU returns home to face Troy on Thursday, Oct. 29, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. ET.