HARRISONBURG, Virginia. (AP) — Wayne Knight rushed for a career-high 212 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown, and No. 19 James Madison clinched a College Football Playoff berth with a 31-14 win over Troy in the Sun Belt Conference title game Friday night.
The Dukes (12-1) will now be rooting for Duke to beat Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game on Saturday night, which could make them one of two Group of Five schools in the 12-team playoff.
On a cold night with fans repeatedly admonished for throwing snowballs onto the field, the James Madison defense recorded eight sacks, a scoring touchdown and shut down an opponent in the second half for the sixth time this season. Defensive end Sakhir West had three sacks and 10 tackles.
Quarterback Alonza Barnett III's 26-yard touchdown run with 4:11 left in the game sealed the victory as coach Bob Chesney, who was reportedly headed to UCLA, won his final home game with the Dukes. Barnett rushed for 85 yards, threw for 93 yards and had an interception for a touchdown.
The coaching game helped keep the game tight in the first half.
Trailing 17-7 and facing fourth-and-1 at its own 34-yard line, Troy coach Jerad Parker decided to go for it. Lined up in a tight formation, the Trojans used play action and tried to catch the JMU defense unprepared for the down pass.
The play didn't seem to surprise the Dukes defense, but cornerback Elijah Culp tackled Troy receiver Ra'R Thomas, drawing a pass interference warning and giving the Trojans their first lead.
Troy later scored on seven plays, and Tae Meadows' 2-yard touchdown run cut JMU's lead to 17-14 with 2:14 left.
Troy (8-5) had a chance to tie the game, but Scott Taylor Renfro missed a 46-yard field goal attempt with 4:24 left in the third quarter.
The Trojans led 7-3 early in the second quarter when Knight took off for a 73-yard touchdown run, the longest in Sun Belt title game history.
Conclusion
Troy: The Trojans were three-touchdown underdogs playing JMU in the title game and kept the situation under wraps most of the night.
JMY: If the Dukes needed to score style points to impress the CFP selection committee, they probably failed. However, they continued their dominant regular season with an 8–0 record in conference play to capture the Sun Belt title.
Next
Troy: The Trojans are set to go to a bowl game for the third time in four seasons.
JMU: The Dukes will be hoping for chaos caused by a Duke win that could result in the ACC being eliminated from the playoffs. Otherwise, JMU will be in the tournament for the third year in a row.
___
Receive poll alerts and AP Top 25 updates throughout the season. Register here and here (AP News mobile app). AP College Football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football.
