Unlike many recent FBS jumpers, the Dukes fit and began to succeed, having gone 28-9 overall and 17-7 in the Sun Belt. JMU’s strength has positioned it to be a yearly contender for the non-power leagues’ autobid to the College Football Playoff, and those are now the aspirations for the 53-year-old program.

JMU head coach Bob Chesney knows this matchup is different than the previous three and explained the challenges he expects to face with Weber State in town.

“There’s some young guys who didn’t play a lot that are really good, including the quarterback … and I know they brought in another guy. The other guy, we recruited him at Holy Cross and he’s a really good quarterback as well,” Chesney said. “Coach (Mickey) Mental does a great job offensively with really understanding taking what he’s given … their slot (Jayleen Record) is back, who’s been really good. Two running backs are back that are very good. In the secondary and on the defense, they’ve got guys.

“It’s not necessarily who, because of the way they play and the way the program works, and the way the offense is structured. It’s not necessarily the names on the jerseys as much as the position, the field space, the area you’re giving them, the box count, all the things that come with those high-tempo, great offenses that spit the ball all over the field.”

Julio Cortez, Associated Press

For Weber State, the team is taking the first step in applying lessons learned in last year’s 4-8 season, which began with four losses by a combined 10 points before losing touch in other games.

Several Wildcats said the lessons were the same: understanding how thin the margin is between winning and losing, and how every detail matters to make that result go your way.

“It’s the little things throughout practice, competing,” senior running back Colter May said. “Doing things right in the weight room, the classroom, those things add up. … It’s the age-old saying of ‘how you do one thing is how you do everything.’ That’s been the main focus is focusing on all those things that stack up over time to get us over the hump.”

Defensive coordinator Joe Dale agreed.

“It’s usually two or three plays that change each game and the attention to detail — you never know when that key play is going to be, so you have to be locked in on every rep,” Dale said. “I’m hoping we’ve learned that … to make sure we’re not on the losing end of those reps.

Nell Redmond, Associated Press

“I think they understand what cost us last year and the changes we needed to make.”

And Mental, too.

“It’s a new year, but what we learned is your preparation, your attention to detail, your technique is magnified when you talk about what decides a win or a loss,” Mental said. “Everything matters. Everything you do throughout a week shows up on game day.

“You’ve got to echo that as a coach, make sure it’s apparent so these guys can learn from their mistakes and not have the same outcomes, so we’re not making the same mistakes from last year.”

MEET THE DUKES

Chesney, in his second year at JMU, is 120-50 in 16 seasons as a head coach, having traversed a path that had him lead programs in Division III, Division II and FCS before landing what has become a desirable job in Virginia.

Chesney’s FCS stop was Holy Cross, where he won the Patriot League with the Crusaders in five of his six seasons and made the playoffs in four, finishing ranked No. 6 in 2022 and reaching the playoff quarterfinals.

And it’s that Holy Cross connection that adds some intrigue to the start of James Madison’s season. The Dukes aren’t publishing a depth chart before Saturday’s game, so it’s unclear who will start at quarterback.

It very well could be sixth-year senior Matthew Sluka (No. 9), Chesney’s former four-year starting QB at Holy Cross. Sluka was a Walter Payton Award finalist in 2023 and left the school as the program’s No. 5 overall passer in yards (5,916) and touchdowns (59), and also second all-time in rushing yards (3,583) and touchdowns (38). Because 2020 didn’t count against eligibility, he transferred to UNLV in 2024 but, in part due to an NIL dispute, left the team after three games to preserve his unused redshirt year. So he’s at JMU now.

But the Dukes have a returning starter in Alonza Barnett III (No. 14). He started 12 games last year, throwing for 2,598 yards and 26 touchdowns to just four interceptions, while rushing for 442 yards and seven more touchdowns. He hurt his knee late in 2024 and was only cleared for full contact with one week left in fall camp.

JMU has brought in six FBS transfers and a slew of top FCS talent, including Landon Ellis (No. 13), Richmond’s top receiver from last year.

So it’s likely JMU will try to replicate its success offensively last season — a balanced 216 passing yards and 191 rushing yards per game — to complement the tough defense that helped the Dukes go 9-4 last season.

TEAM VS. TEAM METRICS

Though 2024’s numbers aren’t totally instructive, it’s all we have, and they help display just how difficult James Madison’s defense made games.

In 12 games last season, Weber State scored 28.3 points per game, averaging 419 yards on 5.8 yards per play. Defensively, WSU allowed 27.8 points on 380 yards per game, with an average of 5.7 yards per play.

The Wildcats had only nine defensive takeaways (four interceptions, five fumbles) last season and gave away 14 turnovers (six interceptions, eight lost fumbles) for a minus-five turnover margin.

James Madison averaged 33.3 points on 407.6 yards per game and 5.9 yards per play in 13 games. Defensively, JMU allowed 20.5 points per game with opponents gaining an average of 321.8 yards on 4.9 yards per play.

Outside of a 70-50 win over North Carolina, JMU held five opponents under 10 points last season.

The Dukes gave away just nine turnovers (four interceptions, five fumbles) while forcing a whopping 29 (17 interceptions, 12 fumbles) for a plus-20 turnover margin. The 29 takeaways tied Jay Hill’s BYU unit for third nationally and the plus-20 margin led FBS last season.

ODDS & PREDICTIONS

Jeff Sagarin ranks Weber State at No. 134 in all of Division I (FBS and FCS, 265 total teams). James Madison is No. 68. Including home-field advantage, his formula favors JMU by 18 points.

ESPN’s Bill Connelly ranks Weber State at No. 50 in FCS (129 teams) and James Madison at No. 56 in FBS (136 teams). His formula predicts a JMU victory of 42-13 at 97% probability.

D Ratings predicts a James Madison victory of 40-15 at 96% probability.

WEATHER

A mostly sunny, moderate day with a high of 75 degrees in Harrisonburg, Virginia, Saturday’s temperature should sit at 72 at the 6 p.m. local (4 p.m. MDT) kickoff and will fall to a cool 66 degrees as the sun sets at 7:48 p.m., moving to about 62 degrees by game’s end.

TV & RADIO

The game broadcast streams on the ESPN+ subscription service, available on the ESPN app or WatchESPN.com, with Curt Dudley, Delvin Joyce and David Hulvey on the call for the JMU-produced call. Weber State’s radio call, with Carl Arky and Jerry Graybeal, airs in Utah on 103.1 FM and online at 1031thewave.com.

ALL-TIME SERIES

James Madison leads the all-time series 3-0, including two playoff wins in Harrisonburg (2017, 2019) and a 2021 regular-season win in Ogden.

MORE NOTES

Saturday’s season opener marks what Weber State associate head coach and offensive line coach Brent Myers says is his 500th career game as a college football assistant. In his 14th season at Weber State, Myers previously coached at Eastern Washington, Southern Illinois, Northern Arizona, Boise State, Washington, Utah, Arizona State, Louisville and UNLV.