# 2023 James Madison Dukes football team

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; a request for a waiver was denied by the NCAA in August, and a waiver for relief was also denied in November. However, as there were not enough bowl eligible teams, they were given a berth. JMU was selected to play in the Armed Forces Bowl.

## Preseason
### Media poll

In the Sun Belt preseason coaches' poll, the Dukes were picked to finish in first place in the East division.
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.

## Schedule

The football schedule was announced February 24, 2023.
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | 6:00 p.m. | Bucknell* | | Bridgeforth StadiumHarrisonburg, VA | ESPN+ | W 38–3 | 23,756 |
| September 9 | 12:00 p.m. | at Virginia* | | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | ESPNU | W 36–35 | 56,508 |
| September 16 | 7:00 p.m. | at Troy | | Veterans Memorial StadiumTroy, AL | NFLN | W 16–14 | 26,634 |
| September 23 | 8:00 p.m. | at Utah State* | | Maverik StadiumLogan, UT | MW Network | W 45–38 | 19,994 |
| September 30 | 12:00 p.m. | South Alabama | | Bridgeforth StadiumHarrisonburg, VA | ESPNU | W 31–23 | 26,064 |
| October 14 | 12:00 p.m. | Georgia Southern | | Bridgeforth StadiumHarrisonburg, VA | ESPN2 | W 41–13 | 25,097 |
| October 19 | 7:00 p.m. | at Marshall | | Joan C. Edwards StadiumHuntington, WV | ESPN | W 20–9 | 22,109 |
| October 28 | 8:00 p.m. | Old Dominion | No. 25 | Bridgeforth StadiumHarrisonburg, VA (Royal Rivalry) | ESPNU | W 30–27 | 26,239 |
| November 4 | 3:30 p.m. | at Georgia State | | Center Parc StadiumAtlanta, GA | ESPN2 | W 42–14 | 15,320 |
| November 11 | 2:00 p.m. | UConn* | | Bridgeforth StadiumHarrisonburg, VA | ESPN+ | W 44–6 | 25,240 |
| November 18 | 2:00 p.m. | Appalachian State | | Bridgeforth StadiumHarrisonburg, VA (College GameDay) | ESPN+ | L 23–26 $^{OT}$ | 25,838 |
| November 25 | 3:30 p.m. | at Coastal Carolina | | Brooks StadiumConway, SC | ESPN2 | W 56–14 | 16,196 |
| December 23 | 3:30 p.m. | vs. Air Force* | | Amon G. Carter StadiumFort Worth, TX (Armed Forces Bowl) | ABC | L 21–31 | 30,828 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll (and CFP Rankings, after October 31) released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time ||||||||

## Game summaries
### vs Bucknell
### vs South Alabama

| 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, 2023
* Game time: 11:00 a.m. CDT
* Game weather: Sunny
* Game attendance: 26,064
* Referee: Trennis Livingston
* TV 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 |
| South Alabama | Rushing | La'Damian Webb | 12 carries, 36 yards, TD |
| South Alabama | Receiving | Caullin Lacy | 6 receptions, 132 yards |
| James Madison | Passing | Jordan McCloud | 12/22, 241 yards, 3 TD, INT |
| James Madison | Rushing | Jordan McCloud | 10 carries, 61 yards |
| James Madison | Receiving | Zach Horton | 3 receptions, 116 yards, 2 TD |

### at Marshall

| 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, 2023
* Game time: 7:00 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny
* Game attendance: 22,109
* Referee: Wayne Winkler
* TV announcers (ESPN): Matt Barrie (play-by-play), Roddy Jones (analyst), Harry Lyles Jr. (sideline)
* Pregame line: James Madison –3.5
| 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 |
| James Madison | Rushing | Jordan McCloud | 6 carries, 69 yards, 1 TD |
| James Madison | Receiving | Reggie Brown | 6 receptions, 126 yards, 1 TD |
| Marshall | Passing | Cam Fancher | 17/30, 173 yards, 1 INT |
| Marshall | Rushing | Ethan Payne | 20 carries, 62 yards |
| Marshall | Receiving | Jayden Harrison | 4 receptions, 40 yards |

### at Georgia State

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Dukes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Panthers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
at Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, Georgia
* Date: November 4, 2023
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. EST
* Game attendance: 15,320
* TV announcers (ESPN2): Beth Mowins (play-by-play) and Kirk Morrison (analyst)
Game information :
First quarter
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Win Probability
Line
Over/Under :
* Statistics
* First downs
* Total yards
* Rushing yards
* Passing yards
* Turnovers
* Time of possession
| Team | Category |
| James Madison | Passing |
| James Madison | Rushing |
| James Madison | Receiving |
| Georgia State | Passing |
| Georgia State | Rushing |
| Georgia State | Receiving |

### vs UConn

| 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 11
* Game time: 2:02 p.m.
* Game weather: Sunny, 55 °F (13 °C)
* Game attendance: 25,240
* Referee: Marshall Lewis
* TV announcers (ESPN+): Curt Dudley, Vad Lee, Corey Spector
* Box Score
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 |
| UConn | Rushing | Cam Edwards | 12 att, 43 yds |
| UConn | Receiving | Cameron Ross | 4 rec, 91 yds |
| James Madison | Passing | Jordan McCloud | 33/37, 457 yds, 4 TDs |
| James Madison | Rushing | Kaelon Black | 4 att, 38 yds |
| James Madison | Receiving | Reggie Brown | 9 rec, 202 yds, 2 TDs |

### at Coastal Carolina
## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | 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 | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |