Harrisonburg, VA — In a game that got away from the Colonials right from the beginning, it only continued to get worse as Robert Morris (1-2) fell 73-7 at the hands of the number two ranked James Madison Dukes (2-1) in what will officially go down as the worst loss in RMU football history.

After converting on a 4-and-1 try on the very first drive of the game, JMU quarterback Ben Dinucci, a transfer and former starter from the University of Pittsburgh, fired a 39-yard touchdown pass to Marcus Marshall to begin the scoring onslaught for the Dukes.

By the time the Colonials finally earned themselves a first down for the first time in the game, RMU was already trailing 28-0.

By the end of the first half, the score sat at 51-0 in favor of the Dukes.

At that point in the game, starting quarterback Jimmy Walker had been replaced with LSU-transfer Caleb Lewis.

The left-handed QB struggled equally as much as Walker. His struggles were highlighted on an interception returned by the Dukes for a touchdown after cornerback Jimmy Moreland read the screen, jumped the pass and walked in for the easy touchdown. That interception gave Moreland the program record for most career interceptions at James Madison.

Redshirt freshman George Martin also saw some playing time at the quarterback position. Martin completed two throws, one to Tim Vecchio for 33 yards and another was the Colonials’ third interception of the night.

The second half saw most of the Dukes second and third string players receive playing time as they ran away to a final score of 73-7 victory.

The final stat sheets saw impressive performances from the RMU runningbacks Terence Stephens and Alijah Jackson who put up 72 and 63 yards respectively both recording 17 carries each.

Overall, the Dukes outgained the Colonials 667-223 including an incredible six rushing touchdowns on the night. Furthermore they had 29 first downs compared to the Colonials’ nine, and averaged an even ten yards per play in the game.

The Colonials will have until Sept. 22 to regroup and prepare themselves for their first NEC matchup of the season against the Bryant Bulldogs.