American college football season
The 2023 James Madison Dukes football team represented James Madison University as a member of the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference during the 2023 NCAA Division I FBS football season . Led by fifth-year head coach Curt Cignetti , the Dukes played home games at Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, Virginia as members of the East division of the Sun Belt Conference . The James Madison Dukes football team drew an average home attendance of 25,372 in 2023.
The season was the final year of a two-year transition from the Football Championship Subdivision . The team was not originally eligible for a bowl game;[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] bowl eligible teams, they were given a berth. JMU was selected to play in the Armed Forces Bowl .[ 4]
Preseason
In the Sun Belt preseason coaches' poll, the Dukes were picked to finish in first place in the East division.[ 5]
Media poll (East division)
Predicted finish
Team
Votes (1st place)
1 James Madison 78 (4)
2
Appalachian State
75 (4)
3
Coastal Carolina
71 (1)
4
Marshall
68 (1)
5
Georgia Southern
52 (1)
6
Georgia State
31
7
Old Dominion
17
Offensive lineman Nick Kidwell, defensive lineman James Carpenter , and punter Ryan Hanson were named to the preseason All-Sun Belt first team. Linebacker Taurus Jones was named to the second team.[ 5]
Schedule The football schedule was announced February 24, 2023.[ 6]
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance September 2 6:00 p.m. Bucknell * ESPN+ W 38–323,756 September 9 12:00 p.m. at Virginia * ESPNU W 36–3556,508 September 16 7:00 p.m. at Troy NFLN W 16–1426,634 September 23 8:00 p.m. at Utah State * MW Network W 45–3819,994 September 30 12:00 p.m. South Alabama Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA ESPNU W 31–2326,064 October 14 12:00 p.m. Georgia Southern Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA ESPN2 W 41–1325,097 7:00 p.m. at Marshall ESPN W 20–922,109 October 28 8:00 p.m. Old Dominion No. 25 ESPNU W 30–2726,239 November 4 3:30 p.m. at Georgia State ESPN2 W 42–1415,320 November 11 2:00 p.m. UConn * Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA ESPN+ W 44–625,240 November 18 2:00 p.m. Appalachian State ESPN+ L 23–26 OT 25,838 November 25 3:30 p.m. at Coastal Carolina ESPN2 W 56–1416,196 December 23 3:30 p.m. vs. Air Force * ABC L 21–3130,828
Roster
Game summaries
vs Bucknell
at Virginia
at Troy
at Utah State
vs South Alabama South Alabama Jaguars (2–2) at James Madison Dukes (4–0)
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Jaguars
0
7
3 13 23
Dukes 14
10
0 7 31
at Bridgeforth Stadium , Harrisonburg, VA
Date : September 30, 2023Game time : 11:00 a.m. CDT Game weather : SunnyGame attendance : 26,064Referee : Trennis LivingstonTV announcers (ESPNU) : Courtney Lyle (play-by-play) and Hutson Mason (analyst)
Game information
First Quarter (12:49) JMU – Elijah Sarratt 48-yard pass from Jordan McCloud, Camden Wise kick (Drive: 3 plays, 48 yards, 0:22; James Madison 7–0 )
(8:04) JMU – Zach Horton 44-yard pass from Jordan McCloud, Camden Wise kick (Drive: 1 plays, 44 yards, 0:11; James Madison 14–0 ) Second Quarter (6:10) JMU – Camden Wise 31-yard field goal (Drive: 9 plays, 70 yards, 3:56; James Madison 17–0 )
(5:37) USA – Jamaal Pritchett 48-yard pass from Carter Bradley , Diego Guajardo kick (Drive: 2 plays, 70 yards, 0:29; James Madison 17–7 )
(3:49) JMU – Jalen Green 24-yard interception, Camden Wise kick (Drive: James Madison 24–7 ) Third Quarter (0:21) USA – Diego Guajardo 40-yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 51 yards, 4:37; James Madison 24–10 ) Fourth Quarter (11:32) JMU – Zach Horton 66-yard pass from Jordan McCloud, Camden Wise kick (Drive: 2 plays, 71 yards, 0:49; James Madison 31–10 )
(8:19) USA – Lincoln Sefcik 3-yard pass from Carter Bradley (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:13; James Madison 31–16 )
(3:56) USA – La'Damian Webb 1-yard run, Diego Guajardo kick (Drive: 7 plays, 89 yards, 1:48; James Madison 31–23 )
Win Probability Line Over/Under
Statistics
USA
JMU
First downs
20
15
Total yards
326
377
Rushing yards
3
7
Passing yards
12
6
Passing: Comp–Att–Int
28–50–2
12–22–1
Time of possession
28:46
31:14
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
South Alabama Passing
Carter Bradley 28/50, 299 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
Rushing
La'Damian Webb 12 carries, 36 yards, TD
Receiving
Caullin Lacy 6 receptions, 132 yards
James Madison Passing
Jordan McCloud 12/22, 241 yards, 3 TD, INT
Rushing
Jordan McCloud
10 carries, 61 yards
Receiving
Zach Horton 3 receptions, 116 yards, 2 TD
vs Georgia Southern
at Marshall Game Seven – James Madison Dukes (6–0) at Marshall Thundering Herd (4–2)
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Dukes 0
3
10 7 20
Thundering Herd
0
0
2 7 9
at Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, West Virginia
Date : Thursday, October 19, 2023Game time : 7:00 p.m. EDT Game weather : SunnyGame attendance : 22,109Referee : Wayne WinklerTV announcers (ESPN ) : Matt Barrie (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst), Harry Lyles Jr. (sideline)Pregame line : James Madison –3.5
Game information
First quarter Second quarter (11:38) JMU – Camden Wise 27 yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 65 yards, 3:53; James Madison 3–0 ) Third quarter (11:57) MRSH – TyQaze Leggs safety (James Madison 3–2
(7:17) JMU – Camden Wise 38 yard field goal (Drive: 6 plays, 79 yards, 3:00; James Madison 6–2 )
(1:12) JMU – Jordan McCloud 6 yard run, Camden Wise kick (Drive: 10 plays, 62 yards, 4:55; James Madison 13–2 ) Fourth quarter (14:08) JMU – Reggie Brown 28 yard pass from Jordan McCloud, Camden Wise kick (Drive: 5 plays, 37 yards, 1:17; James Madison 20–2 )
(13:55) MRSH – Jayden Harrison 94 yard kickoff return, Rece Verhoff kick (James Madison 20–9
Statistics
JMU
MRSH
First downs
19
10
Plays–yards
69–405
62–169
Rushes–yards
36–131
32–-4
Passing yards
274
173
Passing: comp –att –int
22–33–1
17–30–1
Time of possession
33:49
26:11
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
James Madison
Passing
Jordan McCloud
21/31, 264 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing
Jordan McCloud
6 carries, 69 yards, 1 TD
Receiving
Reggie Brown
6 receptions, 126 yards, 1 TD
Marshall
Passing
Cam Fancher 17/30, 173 yards, 1 INT
Rushing
Ethan Payne
20 carries, 62 yards
Receiving
Jayden Harrison
4 receptions, 40 yards
vs Old Dominion
at Georgia State
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Win Probability Line Over/Under
Statistics
JMU
GSU
First downs
Total yards
Rushing yards
Passing yards
Turnovers
Time of possession
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
James Madison Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Georgia State Passing
Rushing
Receiving
vs UConn UConn Huskies at James Madison Dukes – Game summary
Quarter
1
2
3 4 Total
Huskies
0
3
3 0 6
Dukes 3
10
17 14 44
at Bridgeforth Stadium , Harrisonburg, Virginia
Date : November 11Game time : 2:02 p.m.Game weather : Sunny, 55 °F (13 °C)Game attendance : 25,240Referee : Marshall LewisTV announcers (ESPN+ ) : Curt Dudley, Vad Lee, Corey SpectorBox Score
Game information
First Quarter
JMU – Wise, Camden 34 yd field goal, 0:10. Dukes 3–0. Drive: 12 plays, 78 yards, TOP 06:51 Second Quarter
JMU – Wise, Camden 29 yd field goal, 9:25. Dukes 6–0. Drive: 8 plays, 33 yards, TOP 04:00
JMU – Brown, Reggie 80 yd pass from McCloud, Jordan (Wise, Camden kick), 7:40. Dukes 13–0. Drive: 1 plays, 80 yards, TOP 00:11
CONN – Ruelas, Noe 41 yd field goal, 3:26. Dukes 13–3. Drive: 10 plays, 52 yards, TOP 04:14 Third Quarter
JMU – Wise, Camden 28 yd field goal, 12:09. Dukes 16–3. Drive: 6 plays, 29 yards, TOP 02:26
CONN – Ruelas, Noe 31 yd field goal, 7:42. Dukes 16–6. Drive: 10 plays, 63 yards, TOP 04:21
JMU – Horton, Zach 21 yd pass from McCloud, Jordan (Wise, Camden kick), 5:54. Dukes 23–6. Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 01:48
JMU – Brown, Reggie 55 yd pass from McCloud, Jordan (Wise, Camden kick), 2:06. Dukes 30–6. Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards, TOP 01:53 Fourth Quarter
JMU – Sproles, Phoenix 5 yd pass from McCloud, Jordan (Wise, Camden kick), 6:43. Dukes 37–6. Drive: 10 plays, 90 yards, TOP 05:04
JMU – Austin, Brent 81 yd interception (Wise, Camden kick), 3:43. Dukes 44–6.
Statistics
Statistics
CONN
JMU
First downs
15
23
Total yards
319
503
Rushing yards
79
46
Passing yards
240
457
Turnovers
2
0
Time of possession
29:08
30:52
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
UConn Passing
Ta'Quan Roberson
20/36, 207 yds
Rushing
Cam Edwards
12 att, 43 yds
Receiving
Cameron Ross
4 rec, 91 yds
James Madison Passing
Jordan McCloud
33/37, 457 yds, 4 TDs
Rushing
Kaelon Black
4 att, 38 yds
Receiving
Reggie Brown
9 rec, 202 yds, 2 TDs
vs Appalachian State
at Coastal Carolina
Rankings Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Final AP RV RV RV — — RV RV RV 25 23 21 18 24 24 24 RV Coaches RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 25 24 21 21 RV 25 25 RV CFP Not released — — — — — — Not released
Notes
References
^ News-Record, NOAH FLEISCHMAN Daily (May 2, 2023). "How Likely Is a Bowl Game For JMU In 2023?" . Daily News-Record . Retrieved August 8, 2023 . ^ "NCAA denies James Madison's bid for waiver to gain bowl eligibility" . The Virginian-Pilot . April 27, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2023 .^ Salerno, Cameron (November 16, 2023). "NCAA denies postseason eligibility waiver for James Madison, Dukes must hope for dearth of bowl-eligible teams" . CBS Sports . Retrieved November 26, 2023 . ^ Murray, Jack (November 25, 2023). "James Madison Guaranteed CFB Bowl Berth Due to Lack of 6-Win Teams" . Bleacher Report . Retrieved November 26, 2023 . ^ a b "Sun Belt Announces Football Preseason Awards & Poll" . sunbeltsports.org . July 24, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2023 .^ "2023 James Madison Football Schedule" . FBSchedules . Retrieved April 22, 2023 .^ Frankenberry, Jami (October 19, 2023). "Unbeaten JMU leads Sun Belt, but despite pleas NCAA rules keep Dukes from a bowl, conference title game" . The Virginian-Pilot . Retrieved November 27, 2023 .
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