James Madison made history in 2025, becoming the first-ever Sun Belt team to qualify for the College Football Playoff. But success came with a cost in the offseason. Head coach Bob Chesney left for UCLA, as did some of the Dukes' top players including running back Wayne Knight and defensive end Sahir West. Starting quarterback Alonza Barnett III wound up at UCF.
James Madison lost a bulk of the coaching staff and all but three primary starters from its CFP team. But the program is accustomed to handling adversity of this nature, not missing a beat when Curt Cignetti handed the reins to Bob Chesney two years ago.
Signs of a similar baton pass were evident Saturday when JMU defeated Liberty, 20-13, in head coach Billy Napier's debut.
James Madison fielded the nation's fifth-ranked total defense in 2025, and that was the team's calling card in the 2026 opener. Liberty was held completely out of the end zone until 10 minutes remained in the contest, thanks to the Dukes' ability to stonewall the run game.
Liberty's spread option attack ranked top-4 nationally in rushing in two of three seasons under head coach Jamey Chadwell. But through 38 attempts against JMU, the Dukes produced just 91 rushing yards, calculating to 2.4 per carry. They never broke off a big one, with the longest run of the day measuring to 10 yards.

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