James Madison Dukes
Sun Belt
0-0 (0-0 conf)
SP+ #27
Ratings
2025 final
- SP+
- 12.3 (#27)
- SP+ Offense
- 34.9
- SP+ Defense
- 21.4
- SRS
- 9.9
- FPI
- 10.3
- Elo
- 1905
- Talent
- 460
- Recruiting
- 186 (#80)
2026 Outlook
Projected wins
8.9p10 7.0 — p90 11.0
| Round | Prob | |
|---|---|---|
| Win conference | 53.5% | |
| Make CFP | 34.8% | |
| Quarterfinal | 10.6% | |
| Semifinal | 2.6% | |
| Natl. final | 0.6% | |
| Natl. champ | 0.1% |
Schedule
proj record 8.9–3.1
Schedule
103rd
toughest of 136
Offenses faced
95th
toughest of 136
Defenses faced
121st
toughest of 136
Strength of schedule — how tough this team's opponents are, ranked 1 (hardest) to 136 (easiest) · by 2025 SP+ · 1 FCS game.
| Wk | Opponent | SP+ | Score | Proj | Win% | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | vsLiberty | -9 | 34-20 | +14.4 | 81% | — |
| 2 | vsWagner | FCS | 47-3* | +44.1 | 100% | — |
| 3 | @San Diego State | +6.7 | 24-25 | -0.9 | 48% | — |
| 4 | @Old Dominion | +5.9 | 25-26 | -0.7 | 48% | — |
| 5 | vsMarshall | -4.5 | 32-25 | +7.3 | 67% | — |
| 6 | @Georgia Southern | -9.4 | 33-17 | +15.9 | 83% | — |
| 7 | vsGeorgia State | -24.5 | 41-17 | +23.7 | 92% | — |
| 8 | @App State | -11.4 | 31-13 | +17.8 | 86% | — |
| 9 | vsTroy | -4.8 | 34-22 | +11.9 | 76% | — |
| 10 | @Southern Miss | -7.1 | 30-22 | +8.1 | 69% | — |
| 11 | @UConn | +5.1 | 27-23 | +4.0 | 59% | — |
| 13 | vsCoastal Carolina | -15.1 | 36-19 | +17.1 | 85% | — |
* FBS-vs-FCS estimate from the SP+ gap — no per-game model for FCS opponents.
Quarterbacks · 5
2026 · 80
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QB | 1st | Matthew Sluka | SR | 6'2" | 211 | — |
| QB | 2nd | Davi Belfort← UCF | FR | 5'11" | 196 | ★★★ |
| QB | 3rd | Arrington Maiden← Memphis | FR | 6'2" | 204 | ★★★ |
| QB | 4th | JC Evans | FR | 6'5" | 223 | ★★★ |
| QB | 5th | Blake Kendall | JR | 6'1" | 209 | — |
Running Backs · 7
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RB | 1st | Jordan Fuller | SR | 5'11" | 229 | — |
| RB | 2nd | Jobi Malary | SR | 5'11" | 236 | — |
| RB | 3rd | George Pettaway | JR | 5'10" | 196 | ★★★★ |
| RB | 4th | Jackson McCarter | FR | 5'11" | 200 | — |
| RB | 5th | Malachi Fannin-Render← Liberty | FR | 5'8" | 180 | ★★★ |
| RB | — | Nick Herman← Drake | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| RB | — | Seth Cromwell← Northern Arizona | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Wide Receivers · 12
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WR | 1st | Nick DeGennaro | SR | 6'1" | 196 | ★★★ |
| WR | 2nd | Braeden Wisloski | JR | 5'10" | 186 | — |
| WR | 3rd | Jaylan Sanchez | SR | 6'0" | 195 | — |
| WR | 4th | Michael Scott | FR | 5'9" | 159 | ★★★ |
| WR | 5th | Isaiah Alston | SR | 6'4" | 199 | — |
| WR | 6th | Za'Ron Collins | SO | 6'2" | 181 | — |
| WR | 7th | Jayden Mines | JR | 5'10" | 181 | — |
| WR | — | Micah Matthews← Virginia Tech | FR | 6'2" | 200 | ★★★ |
| WR | — | Kylan Billiot← LSU | FR | 6'3" | 193 | ★★★ |
| WR | — | Corey Scott← West Florida | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| WR | — | Noah Grevious← VMI | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| WR | — | Jeremiah Harrison← East Tennessee State | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Tight Ends · 3
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TE | 1st | Logan Kyle | SR | 6'3" | 234 | ★★★ |
| TE | — | Thatcher Miller← West Chester | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| TE | — | KD Mosley← Howard | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Offensive Line · 6
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OL | — | Zach Greenberg | SR | 6'4" | 295 | — |
| OT | — | Daniel Michel← Florida International | SO | 6'6" | 328 | ★★★ |
| OT | — | Josh Manecke← Army | SO | 6'7" | 310 | ★★ |
| OT | — | Kaedin Massey← Kansas State | FR | 6'8" | 315 | ★★★ |
| OT | — | Frankie Tinilau← East Tennessee State | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| OT | — | DJ Fox← Wisconsin-River Falls | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Defensive Line · 19
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DL | 1st | Amar Thomas | JR | 6'1" | 241 | — |
| DL | 2nd | Xavier Holmes | SR | 6'3" | 238 | — |
| DL | 3rd | Immanuel Bush | SR | 6'1" | 348 | ★★★ |
| DL | 4th | Mychal McMullin | SO | 6'1" | 291 | — |
| DL | 5th | Andrew Taddeo | SR | 6'0" | 291 | — |
| DL | 6th | Terry Lockett Jr. | SR | 6'2" | 281 | — |
| DL | 7th | Kells Bush | JR | 6'3" | 311 | — |
| DL | 8th | DJ Cotton Jr. | SO | 6'1" | 284 | — |
| DL | 9th | Turner Schmidt | SO | 6'4" | 244 | — |
| DL | 10th | Chukwunedu Okeke← Western Kentucky | FR | 6'4" | 305 | ★★★ |
| DL | — | Kevin Roberts← West Florida | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DL | — | Jakolbi Wilson← Fort Hays State | — | — | — | — |
| DL | — | Rasheed Lovelace← Nicholls | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| EDGE | — | Ernest Willor Jr.← Wisconsin | FR | 6'4" | 267 | ★★★ |
| EDGE | — | Ernest Willor Jr.← Wisconsin | FR | 6'4" | 245 | ★★★ |
| EDGE | — | Terell Thomas← Washburn | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| EDGE | — | Kei'Trone Simpson← Lamar | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| EDGE | — | Mason Purham← Emory & Henry College | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| EDGE | — | Danny Royster← Indianapolis | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Linebackers · 9
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LB | 1st | Trent Hendrick | SR | 6'0" | 234 | — |
| LB | 2nd | Nakian Jackson← Nevada | JR | 6'1" | 237 | ★★★ |
| LB | 3rd | Gannon Weathersby | JR | 5'10" | 222 | — |
| LB | 4th | Jayden Studio | SO | 6'0" | 229 | ★★★ |
| LB | 5th | Trashon Dye | FR | 6'0" | 227 | ★★★ |
| LB | 6th | Brandon Fique | SR | 6'0" | 227 | — |
| LB | 7th | Lee Johnson | FR | 6'2" | 216 | — |
| LB | — | JT Hooten← West Alabama | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| LB | — | Lathan Croley← Holy Cross | — | — | — | ★★★ |
Defensive Backs · 16
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CB | 1st | Elijah Culp | SR | 5'11" | 187 | — |
| CB | 2nd | DJ Kelly← Toledo | FR | 6'1" | 185 | ★★★ |
| CB | 3rd | Mekhi Rodgers | SR | 6'2" | 204 | — |
| CB | — | Jayon Harvey← Findlay | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| CB | — | Damier Minkah← Shepherd | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| CB | — | Terrence Jones II← Fordham | — | — | — | ★★★ |
| DB | 1st | KJ Flowe | SO | 5'10" | 178 | ★★★ |
| S | 1st | Jacob Thomas | SR | 6'1" | 212 | — |
| S | 2nd | Curtis Harris-Lopez | SR | 6'1" | 208 | — |
| S | 3rd | Javis Mynatt← Texas State | JR | 6'0" | 190 | ★★★ |
| S | 4th | TJ McGill | SO | 5'10" | 198 | — |
| S | 5th | Chase Regan | SO | 6'0" | 195 | ★★★ |
| S | 6th | Ken Willis | JR | 5'11" | 185 | ★★★ |
| S | 7th | Kye Holmes | SR | 5'11" | 192 | ★★★ |
| S | 8th | Stephen Hollander | JR | 5'9" | 193 | — |
| S | 9th | Joshua Prince | FR | 5'11" | 190 | — |
Special Teams · 3
| Pos | Depth | Player | Cl | Ht | Wt | ★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 1st | Patrick Rea | JR | 6'3" | 201 | — |
| P | — | Andrew Bennett← Charlotte | FR | 6'1" | 180 | — |
| PK | 1st | Morgan Suarez | SR | 5'9" | 174 | — |
Projected Season
2026 · win prob / game
Exp. Wins
8.9
Exp. Losses
3.1
Toss-ups
3
bars: model win probabilityfav / toss-up / dog
2025 · pct vs FBS
SP+ Off
34.988
Off PPA
+0.2379
Pass PPA
+0.2863
Rush PPA
+0.2493
Success
45%74
Explosive
1.3074
PlayerMedian (50th)percentile vs league
SP+ Trend
points vs avg team
— Overall— Offense— Defense
SP+ = opponent-adjusted points vs an average team. Overall & Offense higher = better; Defense lower = better.
Advanced
2025 · opponent-adjusted PPA / play
| Split | Offense | Defense |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | +0.23 | +0.00 |
| Passing | +0.28 | +0.06 |
| Rushing | +0.24 | -0.03 |
| 1st Down | +0.12 | -0.18 |
| 2nd Down | +0.11 | +0.05 |
| 3rd Down | +0.71 | +0.20 |
Scoring Trend
2025 · pts/game
PPG For
37.3
PPG Against
15.8
Differential
+21.5
— Points for— Points against
dots: W / L2025
- Overall
- 12-1
- Home
- 7-0
- Away
- 5-1
- Conference
- 8-0
- Non-Conference
- 4-1
- One-Score (≤8)
- 2-0
- Avg Margin
- +21.5
Situational Splits
2025 · record · pts
| Split | Record | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | |||
| Home | 7-0 | 40.0 | 15.0 |
| Away | 5-2 | 34.1 | 21.7 |
| Competition | |||
| vs Ranked (SP+ 25) | 0-2 | 24.0 | 39.5 |
| Conference | 8-0 | 42.5 | 15.1 |
| Non-conference | 4-2 | 29.8 | 22.7 |
Season History · last 12
0 AP top-10 · 8 postseason
| Season | Record | Conf | SP+ | AP | Post |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 12-1 | 8-0 | #27 | #19 | 0-1 |
| 2024 | 8-4 | 4-4 | #41 | — | 1-0 |
| 2023 | 11-1 | 7-1 | #20 | #18 | 0-1 |
| 2022 | 8-3 | 6-2 | #51 | #25 | — |
| 2021 | 10-1 | 7-1 | — | — | 2-1 |
| 2020 | 0-0 | 0-0 | — | — | 2-1 |
| 2019 | 13-1 | 8-0 | — | — | 1-1 |
| 2018 | 9-4 | 7-2 | — | — | — |
| 2017 | 13-0 | 9-0 | — | — | 1-1 |
| 2016 | 12-1 | 9-0 | — | — | 2-0 |
| 2015 | 9-3 | 6-2 | — | — | — |
| 2014 | 9-4 | 6-2 | — | — | — |
Recent Form · last 5
4-1 SU · 2-2 ATS · O2/U2
Betting Profile
2025 · 13 w/ line
| Straight up | 12-2 |
| ATS | 8-562% |
| Over / Under | 6-7 O-U |
| — ATS splits — | |
| As favorite | 7-5 |
| As underdog | 1-0 |
| Home | 4-3 |
| Away | 4-2 |
vs closing line · splits show cover–no cover
Recruiting Classes
avg #139 · 0 blue-chip
■ 5★■ 4★■ 3★61 rated signees
| Class | Natl | Pts | 5★ | 4★ | 3★ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | #80 | 186 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| 2025 | #108 | 138 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| 2024 | #108 | 141 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| 2023 | #149 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2022 | #156 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | #140 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2020 | #170 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2019 | #147 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 2018 | #171 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | #147 | 68 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
247Sports composite · class rank vs all FBS
Roster Talent
2026
Portal in 37net +7Out 30
Portal avg stars (in / out)3.0 / 3.0
Notable Portal Moves
| ▲ | Jeremiah Harrison | WR | 3★ | ← East Tennessee State |
| ▲ | Micah Matthews | WR | 3★ | ← Virginia Tech |
| ▲ | Corey Scott | WR | 3★ | ← West Florida |
| ▲ | Noah Grevious | WR | 3★ | ← VMI |
| ▼ | Joseph Simmons | OT | 3★ | → Auburn |
| ▼ | Sahir West | EDGE | 3★ | → UCLA |
| ▼ | Aiden Gobaira | EDGE | 3★ | → UCLA |
| ▼ | Riley Robell | IOL | 3★ | → UCLA |
returning PPA · portal · talent composite · 2026
Injury Report · 0
No injuries reported.
Team News
5 items
- The full-circle moment that made UCF home for Alonza Barnett IIIAlonza Barnett III recalls his whereabouts on Jan. 1, 2018. The 14-year old was one year away from starting his high school career, captivated by the crafty play of a 5’11” quarterback donning a metallic gold helmet and crisp white jersey. That quarterback was McKenzie Milton, who on that New Year’s Day afternoon guided the […]
- UCLA's Wayne Knight Still Has Room To Prove Doubters WrongKnight is expected to have a big impact next season.
- Billy Napier's next act: Fired at Florida, reborn at James Madison -- and hunting clues to a comebackDespite an underwhelming tenure at Florida, Napier has found solid ground months later at a Group of Six powerhouseJMU10d
- Athlon Sports names five UCLA Bruins to Preseason All-Conference teamsWayne Knight leads the way for the UCLA Bruins on Athlon Sports' Preseason All-Conference Big Ten teams.
- James Madison Football Preview 2026: Can Billy Napier Keep the Dukes Rolling?James Madison has been a powerhouse in its four years at the FBS level. Now it's up to Billy Napier to keep it all going.JMU27d