There are normal aspects of embarking on the abnormal.

James Madison is still a perennial power in the FCS capable of contending for a national championship, even if the Dukes’ season itself is unconventional in nature. They’ll play eight regular-season games this spring while forging forward through the pandemic.

“What we’ve talked about are two words – different and same,” JMU coach Curt Cignetti said. “Different being the way we have to do some things now in these times with some of our procedures and policies with how we meet, how we travel and how we have to distance on the field. … But what’s the same is what it takes to be successful in terms of the day-to-day process of getting better and the things you have to do individually and collectively to be the best you can be.”

JMU opens on Saturday at home with a non-conference contest against Morehead State. It’ll be the program’s first game in 406 days, when the Dukes fell 28-20 to North Dakota State in last season’s down-to-the-wire FCS title game on Jan. 11, 2020.

Since then, the coronavirus wiped out spring practice for JMU last year before forcing the Colonial Athletic Association to postpone its season from this past fall to now. The Dukes attempted to put together a schedule as an FCS independent for the fall, but were unsuccessful. So like the league they play in, the Dukes opted to compete in the spring.

Rosters have changed dramatically since the epic clash with the Bison. JMU graduated former stars like quarterback Ben DiNucci and defensive ends Ron’Dell Carter and John Daka. Transfers have come and gone, too.

The team returns only four starters on offense and three on defense from the 2019 group, and two of those defenders, senior Mike Greene and senior Wayne Davis, are changing positions. Greene is sliding from defensive tackle to defensive end and Davis from spur to strong safety.

“Our goal is to win a national championship,” Greene, an Athlon Sports Preseason All-American who has racked up 96 tackles and 10 sacks in his career, said. “And to be the best team in the nation. Offense, defense, special teams, everything. And we talk about it every day. Also, we talk about last year’s [title] game with what we did wrong and what we could’ve done right, but the goal is definitely to get back to the national championship and win, of course.”

To do that, Cignetti said he needs players to avoid the virus, test negative for it and remain available to him.

“When we were first getting used to it, it was a little bit of a distraction,” junior receiver Devin Ravenel said regarding virus protocols he and his teammates have to follow. “We were like, ‘Why this? Why that?’ But we were thinking about things that we couldn’t control. So then once we locked in and realized, there’s not much we can do about it, we focused on ball and stayed away from distractions.”

Certainly, Cignetti also must have emerging personnel and newcomers across the roster make significant contributions.

Fifth-year senior quarterback Cole Johnson should benefit from plenty of behind-the-scenes experience as well as a proven rushing attack. Senior running backs Percy Agyei-Obese and Jawon Hamilton in addition to bulldozing sophomore running back Latrele Palmer are all back to run behind a mostly veteran offensive line headlined by right tackle Liam Fornadel, an All-American and NFL prospect. The Dukes were No. 1 in the CAA and 10th nationally for rushing in 2019.

But it’ll be on Johnson to take the lead on growing the passing game as an entirely new unit of wide receivers and tight ends will play. Ravenel, VMI transfer Kris Thornton, Duke transfer Scott Bracey and junior Kyndel Dean are some of his potential targets.

“What really dragged me to [playing quarterback] originally was how everyone on the team looks toward that guy,” Johnson said. “That they can count on him to win the game and lead them to a victory. It’s a lot on someone’s shoulders to play the position of quarterback, but when you do it correctly it can be a really great thing.”

Defensively, Greene’s move to end likely makes room for Central Florida transfer defensive tackle Mason Cholewa to play immediately. North Carolina transfer cornerback Greg Ross, according to Cignetti, is the Dukes’ top corner and will crack the starting lineup right away as well. Both Cholewa and Ross, who combined have 45 games of FBS experience, joined JMU last month after signing with the program in December.

Others on defense rising up the roster include defensive tackle Tony Thurston, linebacker Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey, spur Que Reid and free safety MJ Hampton. Hampton will fill the void left behind by former JMU safety D’Angelo Amos, who transferred to Virginia in the offseason and played with the Cavaliers in the fall. The last time Hampton stepped in to replace Amos turned out just fine for the Dukes, who got an 83-yard interception return for a touchdown from Hampton to beat Villanova in a meeting of top five teams last season after Amos was ejected for targeting.

It could be tougher to replace Amos’ vacated punt-returner role. But Hamilton and Solomon Vanhorse, who could see game action as a slot receiver and running back, should boost special teams as kick returners.

Kicker Ethan Ratke, punter Harry O’Kelly and long snapper Kyle Davis all return to their respective roles.

“It really is just starting to hit me,” Cignetti said Saturday about the quickly approaching kickoff, “because I’m just so involved with so many different things now in terms of social distancing, relaying information, protocols and stuff like that. … But what I’m most excited for is for the players.

“I’m most excited that they get the opportunity to go out there and compete, play a game they love. I see their excitement, especially with the older guys who have been through the wars before. I see the way they’re focused in practice. I see their excitement that we’re going to be in a normal game week of practice, so I’m most excited for the players and I’m really looking forward to seeing how we play on Saturday and progress throughout the season.”