HARRISONBURG – This is the last of three consecutive years that James Madison kicks off its season the same way.

The Dukes travel to West Virginia on Saturday, marking the third straight opener for Madison against FBS competition. JMU began the 2018 campaign at N.C. State and the year before that with a win at East Carolina.

But all of the games JMU currently has scheduled for future years against FBS foes will be played in the final month of the regular season.

“I’ve always been one of, ‘Here’s the schedule and this is who you’re going to play and focusing on the things you can control,’” first-year Madison coach Curt Cignetti said Monday during the Colonial Athletic Association coaches teleconference. “Our schedule is set a long way out, so that’s how I approach it. But I guess as you’re putting the schedule together five years down the road, you probably prefer to play the FBS game first, but at the end of the day I don’t think it really matters.”

Next year, JMU plays at North Carolina on Nov. 21. In 2022, the Dukes travel to Louisville on Nov. 5, and in 2025, JMU goes back to UNC on Nov. 22.

And Cignetti said whoever the opponent is in the opener, coaches can learn plenty about their own team.

“Regardless of who you play is a measuring stick because you’ve been practicing against yourself in spring ball and fall camp,” Cignetti said, “and it’s the first time you’ve gone against somebody different, so regardless of who you play, you’re going to come out of there with a sharper perspective of where you’re at moving forward.

“Now in our case playing an FBS team like West Virginia, it’s obviously a tremendous challenge. They’ve been to a number of bowls in a row, they’ve got really good tradition, but our guys are very confident regardless of who they line up against and they’re going to come into the stadium confident that they’re going to get the job done.”

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- Earlier this month, JMU lost defensive end Isaac Ukwu for the year when he sustained a season-ending knee injury in practice. During the teleconference Cignetti said he thought Ukwu would’ve had a good 2019 season, but that “we got good depth and returners at the position. That’s probably one spot we could’ve absorbed an injury.”

- About his running backs, Cignetti reiterated what he’s said throughout the preseason. Cignetti said he feels like he has four backs – Percy Agyei-Obese, Jawon Hamilton, Solomon Vanhorse and Austin Douglas – that can carry the ball in a game. “I know this, when you’re committed to running the football,” Cignetti said, “and you’re successful running the football, you’ve got to have three or four backs ready to go every day.”