Postgame Notes from App State's Win vs. JMU

POSTGAME NOTES: App State 34, James Madison 20
 
With the victory, App State evened its season record to 5-5 and moved to 3-4 in Sun Belt play. A win at Georgia Southern on Nov. 30 would make the Mountaineers bowl eligible for the ninth time in 10 seasons as a postseason-eligible FBS member.
 
This was App State's 100th win since transitioning to the FBS level in 2014. The only FBS programs with more than 100 wins during that span are Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Boise State and Oregon.
 
App State improved to 14-5 all-time against JMU and won for the second straight year. The Mountaineers have a 2-1 edge in the series since both programs moved up to FBS.
 
Attendance at Kidd Brewer Stadium was 34,012 for the Mountaineers' final home game of the season. App State's average home attendance of 34,622 this season is the second-highest average in school and Sun Belt Conference history behind last year's average of 34,734.
 
This was the 11th straight sellout at The Rock dating back to last season, and that includes the Sept. 28 contest that was canceled due to Hurricane Helene.
 
The Mountaineers finished the home season with a 4-1 record at The Rock, making it the ninth time in the last 10 seasons with one or fewer home losses.
 
App State won on Senior Day at Kidd Brewer Stadium for the 26th time in the last 27 years.
 
The Mountaineers' .838 home winning percentage since 2014 is eighth-best in the FBS behind only Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia, Oregon, Oklahoma and Memphis.

App State had its first penalty-free game since a Black Saturday win against Georgia State in 2018.
 
This was the Mountaineers' second win of the season after trailing by multiple touchdowns. App State rallied from down 14-0 against JMU and down 16-0 against East Carolina to earn 34-20 and 21-19 victories, respectively. The team also trailed ODU by a 17-7 margin before winning that game 28-20.
 
App State improved to 20-1 when winning the turnover battle during head coach Shawn Clark's tenure. The Mountaineers had a plus-two advantage against a team leading the nation in turnover margin.
 
Special guests at the game included retired NFL star and media personality, Jason Kelce, retired NFL player and App State alum, Daniel Kilgore, and current Tampa Bay Rays pitcher and App State alum, Jeffrey Springs.
 
Safety Zyeir Gamble and wide receiver Michael Hetzel earned their first career starts.
 
OFFENSE
 
Quarterback Joey Aguilar went 12-for-23 for 216 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions. It was his seventh game this season with multiple touchdown passes and the 18th time in his 24 games as App State's QB.
 
In the first game without leading receiver Kaedin Robinson, Makai Jackson starred with five catches for a career-high 162 yards and a touchdown. It was the most receiving yards by a Mountaineer this season and the most since Christan Horn's 165 yards against Southern Miss last year.
 
Ahmani Marshall went over the century mark in rushing yards (108) for the fourth straight game, scoring his fourth touchdown in that span.
 
Eli Wilson caught four passes for 32 yards and a touchdown after missing the previous two games with an injury.
 
DEFENSE
 
For the second time in three games, Shawn Collins made a momentum-swinging strip sack. This time he recovered his own forced fumble that gave the ball to the Mountaineers and turned into a touchdown drive that cut the early deficit to 14-10.
 
After allowing 14 points in the first 16 minutes of the game, App State's defense held JMU to just a pair of field goals the rest of the way. The Dukes managed only 135 total yards after halftime.
 
App State had four sacks on the day. In addition to Collins, Michael Fletcher had a pair of sacks, and Santana Hopper had one sack among his 2.5 tackles for loss.
 
Jason Chambers snagged his first career interception with a big fourth quarter takeaway.
 
Linebackers Brendan Harrington and Kyle Arnholt led App State with 11 tackles apiece, matching a career high for Harrington and setting a career high for Arnholt.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
 
Perhaps the biggest play of the day was App State's first punt block returned for a touchdown since 2019, as Cahari Haynes burst through JMU's line to block a second-quarter punt that was then knocked around and picked up by Michael Hetzel who carried it into the end zone. It was the Mountaineers' go-ahead touchdown to completely erase an early 14-0 deficit and take a 24-17 lead into halftime.

App State scored on a return of a blocked punt for the first time since 2019 (D'Marco Jackson vs. Charlotte).
 
In his return to the field after missing five games due to injury, Michael Hughes connected on a 23-yard field goal in the second quarter and then a 41-yarder in the fourth quarter that was the game's final score.