HARRISONBURG – Like a locomotive coming down the tracks, Simeyon Robinson had a destination and wasn’t going to be stopped until he got there.

“It was a perfect call from the defensive coaches,” the James Madison senior defensive tackle said. “I came around on contain, and I had to make the play.”

With No. 1 JMU leading by a touchdown in the fourth quarter, its 264-pounder exploded on a stunt from the inside of the Dukes’ front toward the right edge. As Robinson cleared senior defensive end Andrew Ankrah crashing inward, there was no blocker between him and Villanova freshman quarterback Kyle McCloskey. Robinson took off on a sprint and smothered McCloskey for a sack to put an exclamation point on the Dukes’ dominant defensive performance.

Top-ranked JMU racked up six sacks and forced three turnovers in a 30-8 win over No. 11 Villanova on Saturday in front of a sold-out Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg.

Robinson’s sack forced Villanova to punt, and on the consequent possession JMU senior quarterback Bryan Schor connected with junior wide receiver David Eldridge for a 29-yard score to give the Dukes a two-touchdown lead with less than eight minutes to play.

“It was huge,” second-year JMU coach Mike Houston said of the sack Robinson recorded. “It was a stunt and he wrapped right into the quarterback, who started trying to scramble right there, but it was a big play.”

McCloskey and Villanova’s starting quarterback Jack Schetelich were put under duress from start to finish.

JMU reached 30 points when McCloskey was pressured near his own end zone, and let a throw on a screen pass go too quickly. Dukes senior linebacker Brandon Hereford plucked the ball out of the air and returned it five yards past the goal line for a touchdown with 1:57 to go.

“There were some plays I should have thrown it away or not done what I did,” McCloskey said.

McCloskey’s miscue came one snap after senior linebacker Kyre Hawkins sacked him.

Ankrah led the team with 1.5 sacks in the game. Senior defensive tackle Cornell Urquhart had one and junior defensive end Darrious Carter had half a sack.

And it was Ankrah’s pressure during Villanova’s first series of the contest that set the tone for how JMU’s defense would operate.

Ankrah forced Schetelich to move out of the pocket, toward his right. Schetelich sailed a pass while throwing on the run and JMU junior cornerback Jimmy Moreland was there to intercept it.

“It was huge because [Schetelich] knew what to expect from us,” Ankrah said. “He knew he would get that pressure from us constantly, but that was huge for us to get momentum at the beginning of the game for our defense.”

JMU registered its first set of points off turnovers on the drive immediately following Moreland’s interception. Junior kicker Tyler Gray gave JMU a 3-0 edge with a 22-yard field goal. He also made kicks of 36 yards and 17 yards in the win.

Villanova made the switch from Schetelich to McCloskey at halftime.

“We made the quarterback change not as much because of the pressure, but Jack just seemed a little bit off today,” Villanova coach Mark Ferrante said. “He’s played very sparingly coming into this game and when I talked to him on the sideline, he just didn’t seem to be himself.”

Aside from its defensive scores and points off turnovers, JMU relied on Schor to carry the offense on an afternoon when the unit was one-dimensional and limited to only 45 rushing yards as a team.

Schor finished 20-of-28 for 271 yards and two touchdowns. His 23-yard scoring strike to freshman tight end Clayton Cheatham gave JMU a 13-0 halftime edge.

With the win, JMU extended the nation’s longest active winning streak in Division I to 18 straight victories, which also set a Colonial Athletic Association record. The Dukes tied the previous record of 17 consecutive wins – set by Richmond – with its Sept. 30 win at Delaware.

JMU (6-0, 3-0 CAA) will play at William & Mary next week, while Villanova (4-3, 2-2 CAA) has next Saturday off.