James Madison opened their conference title defense Saturday with a 24-17 loss to Hofstra, a team the Dukes beat last season by 56.

The Pride held the seventh-ranked Dukes to 132 yards rushing and 56 yards passing.

JMU freshman quarterback Justin Thorpe led the team in rushing with 96 yards on 18 carries, which included a 37-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Junior quarterback Drew Dudzik completed five of 11 passes for 19 yards and threw an interception, in a game that was delayed by lightning for roughly 40 minutes in the second quarter.

Hofstra took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on Cory Christopher's 17-yard touchdown run and never looked back. JMU cut the Pride lead to 21-17 on a one-yard touchdown by Scott Noble in the third but couldn't get any closer.

The Dukes fall to 2-2 on the year, 0-1 in CAA play. It's Hofstra's first win over a top-ten team since 2005.