Troy · L 21-24
No carries.
Pettaway has carries in 8 of James Madison’s 9 games: none against Troy.
Dashed line: 100 yards.
Over the last few games, James Madison fans have been high on Pettaway's running.
“Pettaway finally gets some room”
“Gotta adjust. I want to see more Pettaway”
“Pettaway deserved one for last week”
From r/CFB game threads. Read by AI.
5 stories in the last 60 days, from 4 outlets.
Trust pays off as running back George Pettaway breaks out for JMU football
Culpeper Star-Exponent +1 Oct 6
No bar in a game where the team had under 100 rushing yards: a share of that little says nothing.
Share of the team's total this season.
Each line is one carry: taller means more yards, and a line pointing down lost yards. Black lines are touchdowns. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside each lane the carries are lined up shortest to longest, not placed. Of the carries with a spot in the play text: left 13, middle 80, right 22. The longest went for 73 yards.
Play style
Hits the crease and outruns the angle.
Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share
The closer
35.9% of carries overall (118/329) → 32.5% of Q4-with-lead carries (26/80) — 65.4% of those in competitive (≤16-pt) games.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
6 of the team's 26 inside-the-5 carries (23.1%).
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
from 4 outlets
Trust pays off as running back George Pettaway breaks out for JMU football
Culpeper Star-Exponent +1 Oct 6 · 2 outlets
from 4 outlets
Trust pays off as running back George Pettaway breaks out for JMU football
Culpeper Star-Exponent +1 Oct 6 · 2 outlets
All Access FootballEach week: the team’s game, the stories about this player that week, and the week’s biggest news headline.
Stories we tracked, by school.
James Madison6 stories2024 to nowMost about: awards and watch lists, draft stock, win.
All Access FootballScouting Report: George Pettaway, RB, JMUSep 20
The Virginian-PilotSuffolk’s George Pettaway has big game as unbeaten James Madison ends Georgia Southern jinx - The Virginian-PilotOct 11
North Carolina2022 to 2023not trackedStories are headlines grouped by what they are about, counted through Nov 5.
Fans first named George Pettaway vs Liberty.
Aura™ · Him Watch
Aura compares how much fans talk about this player with how well this player plays, each ranked among RBs.
−66aura tax
89th percentile our rushing-value metric (weighted expected points added) ranked among 104 RBs
— the play ranks higher than the talk.Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | James Madison | 124 | 824 | 6.6 | 8 | 73 |
| 2025 | James Madison | 34 | 195 | 5.7 | 0 | 35 |
| 2024 | James Madison | 163 | 976 | 6.0 | 5 | 31 |
| 2023 | North Carolina | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2022 | North Carolina | 20 | 93 | 4.7 | 2 | 29 |
| Career | 341 | 2,088 | 6.1 | 15 | 73 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | James Madison | 8 | 57 | 7.1 | 0 | 9 |
| 2025 | James Madison | 9 | 67 | 7.4 | 1 | 24 |
| 2024 | James Madison | 24 | 197 | 8.2 | 2 | 33 |
| 2023 | North Carolina | 1 | -- | 0.0 | 0 | -- |
| 2022 | North Carolina | 5 | 21 | 4.2 | 0 | 11 |
| Career | 47 | 342 | 7.3 | 3 | 33 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 20-13vs Liberty | 15 | 47 | 3.1 | 1 | 7 | |
| Wk 2 | W 87-3vs Wagner | 9 | 52 | 5.8 | 3 | 32 | 3 rushing TDs |
| Wk 3 | W 26-13@ San Diego State | 20 | 82 | 4.1 | 0 | 12 | |
| Wk 4 | W 46-20@ Old Dominion | 16 | 110 | 6.9 | 0 | 35 | |
| Wk 5 | W 45-17vs Marshall | 14 | 206 | 14.7 | 2 | 73 | Season-high 206 yds |
| Wk 6 | W 27-24@ Georgia Southern | 21 | 151 | 7.2 | 0 | 35 | 151-yard day |
| Wk 7 | W 49-22vs Georgia State | 14 | 119 | 8.5 | 1 | 19 | |
| Wk 8 | L 31-34@ App State | 15 | 57 | 3.8 | 1 | 24 | |
| Total | 124 | 824 | 6.6 | 8 | 73 |
Oct. 22 · L 31-34 at App State, play by play
15 carries for 57 yards and a touchdown. George Pettaway converted a 3rd and 2 with James Madison down 31-24.
1-yard run on 3rd and 7. First quarter, up 7-0.
3-yard loss on 3rd and 3. Second quarter, up 7-3.
24-yard run. Fourth quarter, tied 21-21.
3-yard run on 3rd and 2. Fourth quarter, down 31-24. Converted.
14 carries for 119 yards and a touchdown.
19-yard run. Second quarter, up 21-7.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
21 carries for 151 yards. In the fourth quarter, with James Madison ahead by one score, George Pettaway carried 6 times for 23 yards.
The per-play feed is missing a 10-yard run in the second quarter (the play drew a penalty) and a 2-yard run in the second quarter (the play drew a penalty) and a 9-yard run in the third quarter (the play drew a penalty), which the play text shows; the chart draws the 18 carries it has.
35-yard run. Third quarter, down 10-6.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
A big game: 14 carries for 206 yards and 2 touchdowns, 5th-most in FBS that week.
73-yard touchdown run. Second quarter, made it 24-14.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
16 carries for 110 yards. George Pettaway also caught 3 passes for 24 yards.
The per-play feed is missing a run for no gain in the fourth quarter (the play drew a penalty), which the play text shows; the chart draws the 15 carries it has.
35-yard run on 4th and 17. Fourth quarter, up 39-20. Converted.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
20 carries for 82 yards.
The per-play feed is missing a 6-yard run in the first quarter (the play drew a penalty), which the play text shows; the chart draws the 19 carries it has.
3-yard run on 3rd and 3. First quarter, tied 0-0. Converted.
3-yard run on 3rd and 1. First quarter, up 7-0. Converted.
4-yard run on 3rd and 13. First quarter, up 7-0.
12-yard run. Third quarter, up 19-7.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
A big game: 9 carries for 52 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Not drawn: the play-by-play and the box score disagree.
15 carries for 47 yards and a touchdown. George Pettaway converted a 3rd and 1 with James Madison up 20-13.
3-yard run on 3rd and 1. First quarter, tied 0-0. Converted.
7-yard touchdown run. First quarter, made it 7-0.
6-yard run on 3rd and 1. Fourth quarter, up 20-13. Converted.
Each carry is a stem from the line, in the lane the play text names, sorted shortest to longest. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
Week 5 · 2026
W 45-17
vs Marshall
206 rush yds (14 car) · 2 TD
Dominant 28-point win at home against Marshall.
With C. Coleman — 263 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 58.9 · 45 rush yds (6 car) · M. Scott — 4 rec · 43 yds
The plays that mattered most
16th in rushing yards, among all 1,551 FBS players with a rushing row this season, any position
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -15 to +8 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How the yards come, and how often it works
Success rate
50%119 carriesFumble rate
1.6%2 of 124 carries · 1 lostStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds6.6 yds/carry on 124 carries · 18% explosive (10+ yds) · 50% success rate.
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
Stuffed (≤0)
Grind (1–3)
Chunk (4–9)
Explosive (10+)
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 106 | 8.0 | 1.8 |
| Road4g | 100 | 5.5 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 110 | 7.2 | 1.0 |
| Weeks 8+1g | 57.0 | 3.8 | 1.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Billy Napier
Pass share
45.5%
283 pass / 339 run
Plays / game
69.1
9 games
Team sack rate
3.3%
306 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
Picked for an all-conference team by at least one selector.
2026 is in progress.
A blue-chip recruit with honors.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-SUN BELT
All-Sun Belt mention (2025)
Coaching lineage · 2022–2026
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Mack Brown, Bob Chesney and Billy Napier.
