HARRISONBURG — Mike Houston’s current program and his old program could be on a collision course to meet in the postseason.
In his first year at James Madison, Houston has guided the Dukes to an outright Colonial Athletic Association title and a 9-1 overall record with Saturday’s regular-season finale against Elon still to be played.
The Citadel, where he spent the past two years, is 10-0 and the champion of the Southern Conference under first-year coach Brent Thompson. The Bulldogs finish their regular-season slate Saturday at North Carolina — a team that beat JMU 56-28 in September.
A better showing against the Tar Heels for the The Citadel could propel it past JMU in the FCS Playoff Selection Committee’s rankings for seeding, or entice a potential matchup with the Dukes later on.
On Tuesday, the committee had Madison at No. 4 and The Citadel at No. 6 in its latest rankings. If those rankings translate to actual seeding for the FCS playoffs, the teams wouldn’t be able to meet until the national championship game. But if the rankings change when the bracket is unveiled Sunday morning, the Dukes and Bulldogs could meet earlier if they end up on the same side of the bracket.
“Brent and I were together for a long time,” Houston said. “The ironic thing is that back in the summer, we were hanging out in Charleston when we went back for vacation and I told him, ‘You know what they’re going to do — we’re both going to make the playoffs and they’re going to pair us up. It’s coming.’ We kind of joked about it, but whether it happens or not, we’ll see.”
Houston said he’s happy for his former “right-hand man” Thompson, and has paid attention to The Citadel’s success throughout the season. He even keeps in contact with former players.
Houston said he heard from Bulldogs senior fullback Tyler Renew after Renew ran for 285 yards and three touchdowns on Nov. 5 against Samford.
Houston compiled a 13-11 record in his two seasons at the school and reached the second round of the playoffs last fall.
“I’m really happy for them,” Houston said. “When we got there at The Citadel, the expectation was not to win. The expectation was to go out there and play really good. To see the culture completely change to what it is now, it is gratifying, certainly to them and certainly to me because that’s what we came there to do.”
Elevating the expectation is what Houston has done in Harrisonburg, too.
The Dukes have a chance to become only the second team since the CAA moved to a one-division format in 2010 to end the season unbeaten in conference play.
Houston said there are more similarities than differences between his past and present.
“That team [at The Citadel] is exactly what we said we wanted to build there,” Houston said. “They are a tough, physical, hard-nosed triple-option team. They’re real good on defense. It’s what we’re trying to build here, but in the spread. So I think the same characteristics I preach daily to this team are the same things that Brent is preaching to that team there.”
When Houston made the move from The Citadel to JMU, he left the majority of the coaching staff intact. The only assistant coach to follow Houston to Madison was cornerbacks coach Tripp Weaver.
Both Houston and Thompson were named finalists for the FCS Coach of the Year Award on Tuesday. Thompson was the offensive coordinator at The Citadel before being promoted to head coach following Houston’s departure.
