American college football season
The 2017 James Madison Dukes football team represented James Madison University during the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Mike Houston and played their home games at Bridgeforth Stadium and Zane Showker Field. They are a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). They finished the season 14–1 overall with an 8–0 mark in CAA play to win the conference title and also finished undefeated in the regular season for the second time in school history (the other being 1975, before the Dukes joined the NCAA). They received an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs, where they defeated Stony Brook, Weber State, and South Dakota State to advance to the National Championship Game for the second straight season, where they were defeated 17–13 by North Dakota State.
Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
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September 2 | 6:00 p.m. | at East Carolina* | No. 1 | | ESPN3 | W 34–14 | 40,169 |
September 9 | 6:00 p.m. | East Tennessee State* | No. 1 | | CSN MA+, MadiZone | W 52–10 | 24,722 |
September 16 | 3:30 p.m. | Norfolk State* | No. 1 | - Bridgeforth Stadium
- Harrisonburg, VA
| MASN2, MadiZone | W 75–14 | 23,118 |
September 23 | 1:30 p.m. | Maine | No. 1 | - Bridgeforth Stadium
- Harrisonburg, VA
| MASN, MadiZone | W 28–10 | 25,330 |
September 30 | 3:30 p.m. | at Delaware | No. 1 | | CSN+, CSN-P | W 20–10 | 16,372 |
October 14 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 11 Villanova | No. 1 | | CSL,[1] MASN2 | W 30–8 | 25,993 |
October 21 | 3:30 p.m. | at William & Mary | No. 1 | | Cox Yurview, WHSV | W 46–14 | 13,125 |
October 28 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 17 New Hampshire | No. 1 | - Bridgeforth Stadium
- Harrisonburg, VA
| MadiZone | W 21–0 | 25,298 |
November 4 | Noon | at Rhode Island | No. 1 | | CSL | W 38–3 | 3,227 |
November 11 | 3:30 p.m. | Richmond | No. 1 | - Bridgeforth Stadium
- Harrisonburg, VA (rivalry)
| MASN2 | W 20–13 | 24,586 |
November 18 | Noon | at No. 11 Elon | No. 1 | | PAA | W 31–3 | 8,662 |
December 2 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 10 Stony Brook* | No. 1 | | ESPN3 | W 26–7 | 16,449 |
| 7:00 p.m. | No. 11 Weber State* | No. 1 | | ESPN2 | W 31–28 | 13,497 |
| 4:30 p.m. | No. 6 South Dakota State* | No. 1 | | ESPNU | W 51–16 | 16,528 |
| 12:00 p.m. | vs. No. 2 North Dakota State* | No. 1 | | ESPN2 | L 13–17 | 19,090 |
|
[2]
Game summaries
At East Carolina
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
No. 1 Dukes
|
7
|
0
|
14
|
13 |
34 |
Pirates
|
0
|
0
|
7
|
7 |
14 |
East Tennessee State
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Buccaneers
|
0
|
7
|
3
|
0 |
10 |
No. 1 Dukes
|
21
|
7
|
17
|
7 |
52 |
Norfolk State
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Spartans
|
0
|
7
|
0
|
7 |
14 |
No. 1 Dukes
|
9
|
35
|
17
|
14 |
75 |
Maine
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Black Bears
|
0
|
3
|
7
|
0 |
10 |
No. 1 Dukes
|
0
|
7
|
7
|
14 |
28 |
At Delaware
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
No. 1 Dukes
|
7
|
10
|
0
|
3 |
20 |
Fightin' Blue Hens
|
3
|
7
|
0
|
0 |
10 |
Villanova
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
No. 11 Wildcats
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
8 |
8 |
No. 1 Dukes
|
3
|
10
|
3
|
14 |
30 |
At William & Mary
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
No. 1 Dukes
|
7
|
12
|
10
|
17 |
46 |
Tribe
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
14 |
14 |
New Hampshire
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
No. 17 Wildcats
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0 |
0 |
No. 1 Dukes
|
0
|
14
|
7
|
0 |
21 |
At Rhode Island
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
No. 1 Dukes
|
0
|
7
|
17
|
14 |
38 |
Rams
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
0 |
3 |
Richmond
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
Spiders
|
0
|
7
|
3
|
3 |
13 |
No. 1 Dukes
|
0
|
10
|
0
|
10 |
20 |
At Elon
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
No. 1 Dukes
|
3
|
14
|
7
|
7 |
31 |
No. 11 Phoenix
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
3 |
3 |
FCS Playoffs
Second Round–Stony Brook
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
No. 10 Seawolves
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
7 |
7 |
No. 1 Dukes
|
6
|
13
|
0
|
7 |
26 |
Quarterfinals–Weber State
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
No. 11 Wildcats
|
7
|
0
|
7
|
14 |
28 |
No. 1 Dukes
|
7
|
3
|
0
|
21 |
31 |
Semifinals–South Dakota State
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
No. 6 Jackrabbits
|
0
|
10
|
0
|
6 |
16 |
No. 1 Dukes
|
7
|
14
|
30
|
0 |
51 |
National Championship–North Dakota State
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4 |
Total |
No. 2 Bison
|
7
|
10
|
0
|
0 |
17 |
No. 1 Dukes
|
3
|
3
|
7
|
0 |
13 |
Roster
Ranking movements
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes | Week |
---|
Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
---|
STATS FCS | 1 (134) | 1 (152) | 1 (148) | 1 (156) | 1 (154) | 1 (157) | 1 (160) | 1 (160) | 1 (157) | 1 (156) | 1 (162) | 1 (163) | 1 (153) | 2 |
---|
Coaches | 1 (20) | 1 (25) | 1 (24) | 1 (25) | 1 (25) | 1 (25) | 1 (25) | 1 (26) | 1 (26) | 1 (26) | 1 (26) | 1 (26) | 1 (26) | 2 (1) |
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References
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Venues | |
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Bowls & rivalries | |
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Culture & lore | |
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People | |
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Seasons | |
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National championship seasons in bold |
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National championships in bold |