First Look At The James Madison Dukes

Air Force will get a chance to topple one of this season’s top Group of 5 teams. How did the Dukes get here? 

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Could JMU be undone in the bowl by their success?

The Air Force Falcons are making their seventh appearance in the Armed Forces Bowl, but their opponent in this year’s iteration of the game might be their toughest assignment yet.

That’s because, among the Mountain West’s seven bowl opponents, the James Madison Dukes are the only team currently ranked in the top 25 of a poll. On the other hand, Air Force’s bowl foe is currently undergoing the rapid transition that tends to befall peaking Group of 5 teams, so how much of the JMU we’ve seen all year will actually be accounted for when they take the field later in December?

Here’s what Air Force fans need to know about the James Madison Dukes.

2023 James Madison Dukes — Team Profile

Conference: Sun Belt

2023 Record: 11-1 (7-1 Sun Belt)

SP+ ranking: 18th

FEI ranking: 33rd

Sagarin rating: 40th

Head coach: Damien Wroblewski (interim)

2023 in a nutshell: The Dukes had a wildly successful FBS debut in 2022, then raised their game this fall to become arguably the best team in the Group of 5. It wasn’t without a number of close calls — JMU’s first four wins against FBS opponents came by a combined 18 points — but it all counts the same in the win column and they ultimately took down eight different bowl-eligible teams on their way to the #24 spot in the most recent Associated Press poll.

As is the case for any peaking Group of 5 team, though, success has come with a cost since the end of the regular season. Head coach Curt Cignetti was hired away by Indiana, and he’ll be replaced by Holy Cross’s Bob Chesney at season’s end. A multitude of key on-field contributors have also hit the exits through the transfer…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/armed-forces-bowl-first-look-130016615.html

Author : Mountain West Wire

Publish date : 2023-12-13 13:00:16

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