2020 James Madison Dukes football
CAA South Division champion
ConferenceColonial Athletic Association
DivisionSouth Division
Ranking
STATSNo. 3
FCS CoachesNo. 3
Record7–1 (3–0 CAA)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorShane Montgomery (2nd season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorCorey Hetherman (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumBridgeforth Stadium
Seasons
← 2019
2021 →
2020 Colonial Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
North Division
No. 4 Delaware x$^   4 – 0     7 – 1  
No. 18 Rhode Island †   2 – 1     2 – 1  
No. 16 Villanova   2 – 2     2 – 2  
Maine   2 – 2     2 – 2  
Stony Brook   1 – 3     1 – 3  
Albany †   1 – 3     1 – 3  
New Hampshire †   0 – 1     0 – 1  
South Division
No. 3 James Madison x^   3 – 0     7 – 1  
No. 15 Richmond   3 – 1     3 – 1  
William & Mary   1 – 2     1 – 2  
Elon   0 – 4     1 – 5  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
  • Notes: Due to COVID-19, the CAA suspended the fall 2020 football season.
    Towson opted out of the spring football season.
    † – Albany, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island opted out of the remainder of the spring season on March 31, April 6, and April 7 respectively.
Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2020 James Madison Dukes football team represented James Madison University as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Curt Cignetti and played their home games at Bridgeforth Stadium.

On July 17, 2020, the Colonial Athletic Association announced that it would not play fall sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that they would permit conference members to compete as independents for the fall 2020 season if they still wanted to compete.[1] At the time of the conference postponement, JMU announced that they would opt to compete as an independent for the fall season,[2] however they officially suspended their fall campaign on August 7 preceding the impending postponement of the NCAA FCS Playoffs.[3][4]

In September, the NCAA announced changes for the Division I Football championship, with a 16-team playoff being conducted from April 18 to May 15.[5]

The Dukes finished the regular season undefeated and won the CAA South Division title. The Dukes were not selected as the conference champions, instead the championship was awarded to Delaware (who also finished the regular season undefeated). The Dukes received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs, where they defeated VMI and North Dakota before losing in the semifinals at Sam Houston State, the eventual national champions, whom they blew a 27-10 lead to a matter of minutes.

Schedule

James Madison had originally scheduled non-conference games at North Carolina and at home against Chattanooga and Merrimack, that were canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The CAA released its revised spring conference schedule on October 27, 2020. For the spring season, the CAA was divided into a North and a South division, with James Madison place in the South Division.[6]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
February 20, 2021 12:00 p.m. Morehead State* No. 2
NBCSW/FloFootball W 52–0
February 27, 2021 12:00 p.m. Robert Morris* No. 2
  • Bridgeforth Stadium
  • Harrisonburg, VA
 NBCSW/FloFootball W 36–16
March 6, 2021 1:30 p.m. at Elon No. 1
FloFootball W 20–17
March 13, 2021 4:00 p.m. William & Mary No. 1
  • Bridgeforth Stadium
  • Harrisonburg, VA (rivalry)
 FloFootball Postponed
March 27, 2021 1:00 p.m. at William & Mary No. 1
FloFootball W 38–10
April 3, 2021 12:00 p.m. at No. 15 Richmond No. 1
FloFootball Postponed
April 10, 2021 4:00 p.m. Elon No. 1
  • Bridgeforth Stadium
  • Harrisonburg, VA
 FloFootball Postponed
April 17, 2021 2:00 p.m. No. 11 Richmond No. 1
  • Bridgeforth Stadium
  • Harrisonburg, VA
 FloFootball W 23–6
April 24, 2021 2:00 p.m. No. 11 VMI No. 1
ESPN3 W 31–24
May 2, 2021 6:00 p.m. No. 7 North Dakota No. 1
ESPN2 W 34–21
May 8, 2021 2:30 p.m. at No. 4 Sam Houston State No. 1
ABC L 35–38

[7]

References

  1. ^ Singelais, Mark (July 16, 2020). "Reports: CAA football won't play this fall". Times Union. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  2. ^ "CAA officially suspends football season, JMU still planning to play in the fall". WHSV. July 17, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  3. ^ "James Madison Suspends Fall Football Campaign". JMU Sports. August 7, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  4. ^ "The NCAA's FCS playoffs will not happen this fall after two more conferences postpone football". CNN. August 8, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  5. ^ "DI Council approves changes to FCS championship". NCAA.com. September 16, 2020. Retrieved April 29, 2021.
  6. ^ Kelley, Kevin (October 27, 2020). "CAA releases Spring 2021 football schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  7. ^ "2020 James Madison Football Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
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