No surprises this year.
James Madison earned the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye for the FCS postseason that’ll begin next week.
“We had taken care of business,” first-year JMU coach Curt Cignetti said about his team being seeded second. “And I think everybody knew we’d be there and we were.”
Dukes senior defensive end and captain Ron’Dell Carter said: “I think we deserved it. After our first loss, we bounced back and won 11 straight and it seemed like each week we’ve gotten better and better.”
As long as they win, the Dukes will host all of their playoff contests at Bridgeforth Stadium up until the FCS National Championship Game at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas on Jan. 11.
In the second round on Dec. 7 at 1 p.m., JMU (11-1), the Colonial Athletic Association champion, will welcome the winner of the first-round meeting between Patriot League champion Holy Cross (7-5) and Big South champion Monmouth (10-2) to Harrisonburg.
The Crusaders and Hawks will play at Monmouth on Saturday at noon.
“I think it’s refreshing to know that we’re not going to play someone from our own conference,” Dukes senior quarterback Ben DiNucci said, “because week by week we’re kind of getting beat up from seeing the same defenses every week. Our conference is tough. It’s the toughest in the FCS.”
JMU is one of three CAA squads in the field along with Albany and Villanova. In the first round on Saturday, Albany will host Central Connecticut State at 1 p.m., and Villanova will go to Southeastern Louisiana for a 4 p.m. kickoff. If all three CAA teams advance as far they can, the Dukes would meet Villanova in the semifinals and either JMU or Villanova would play Albany in the national title game.
The Dukes have never faced Holy Cross or Monmouth before, but Cignetti said he’s seen both programs on film in recent years. Holy Cross and JMU both beat New Hampshire this season.
Carter said he’s familiar with Monmouth quarterback Kenji Bahar, who has thrown for 28 touchdowns this season, and offensive tackle John Gallina. Carter and Bahar are from Baltimore and played youth football together, and Gallina played with Carter in the Big 33 All-Star Game.
“So I’ve got a pretty in-depth feel about Monmouth,” Carter said. “So I know a little more about them than I do about Holy Cross.”
The other seeded teams on the Dukes’ side of the bracket are No. 3 Weber State, No. 6 Montana and No. 7 South Dakota State, three programs JMU has postseason history with.
JMU beat Montana in the 2004 I-AA National Championship Game, and more recently knocked out both Weber State and South Dakota State in the 2017 playoffs. Kicker Ethan Ratke drilled a game-winning field goal to eliminate Weber State in the quarterfinals that year and then former running back Marcus Marshall rushed for 203 yards and two scores to help the Dukes crush the Jackrabbits 51-16 in the semifinals.
“Lot of memories,” Carter said. “And we’ll probably see one of those down the road as long as we take care of our business.”
JMU senior linebacker Dimitri Holloway, who was part of runs to the national title game in 2016 and 2017 said winning in the postseason is no easy task.
“I just think every team that you’re going to go against has the same amount of focus that you have,” Holloway said.
The top seed went to defending national champion North Dakota State, which will host the winner of the first-round game between Nicholls and North Dakota.
