The 2018 James Madison Dukes football team represented James Madison University during the 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-year head coach Mike Houston and played their home games at Bridgeforth Stadium. They were a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). They finished the season 9–4, 6–2 in CAA play to finish in second place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Delaware in the first round before losing to Colgate in the second round.
On December 7, 2018, Mike Houston was formally announced and hired as the next coach of East Carolina, alongside nine staff members.[1]
Preseason
CAA Poll
In the CAA preseason poll released on July 24, 2018, the Dukes were predicted to win the CAA championship.[2]
Predicted finish
|
Team
|
Votes (1st place)
|
1 |
James Madison |
241 (21)
|
2 |
New Hampshire |
206 (2)
|
3 |
Delaware |
182
|
4 |
Stony Brook |
169
|
5 |
Elon |
168 (1)
|
6 |
Villanova |
164
|
7 |
Richmond |
127
|
8 |
Maine |
81
|
9 |
Albany |
78
|
10 |
Towson |
74
|
11 |
William & Mary |
55
|
12 |
Rhode Island |
39
|
Preseason All-CAA Team
The Dukes had six players selected to the preseason all-CAA team, including cornerback Rashad Robinson being selected as preseason defensive player of the year.
Offense
Marcus Marshall – RB
Jahee Jackson – OL
|
Defense
Darrious Carter – DL
Jimmy Moreland – DB
Rashad Robinson – DB
|
Special teams
Harry O'Kelly – P
|
Award watch lists
Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
---|
September 1 | 12:00 p.m. | at NC State* | No. 2 | | ESPNU | L 13–24 | 56,073 |
September 8 | 6:00 p.m. | at Norfolk State* | No. 2 | | ESPN3 | W 17–0[a] | 6,482 |
| 7:30 p.m.[b] | Robert Morris* | No. 2 | | NBCS WA+ | W 73–7 | 18,112 |
September 22 | 3:30 p.m. | William & Mary | No. 2 | - Bridgeforth Stadium
- Harrisonburg, VA (rivalry)
| NBCS WA+ | W 51–0 | 25,130 |
September 29 | 3:00 p.m. | at Richmond | No. 2 | | NBCS WA+ | W 63–10 | 8,217 |
October 6 | 1:30 p.m. | No. 10 Elon | No. 2 | - Bridgeforth Stadium
- Harrisonburg, VA
| MASN/SNY | L 24–27 | 25,484 |
October 13 | 1:00 p.m. | at Villanova | No. 6 | | FCS/FSGO | W 37–0 | 5,219 |
October 27 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 15 Stony Brook | No. 3 | - Bridgeforth Stadium
- Harrisonburg, VA
| MASN/SNY | W 13–10 | 25,244 |
November 3 | 1:00 p.m. | at New Hampshire | No. 3 | | FCS | L 24–35 | 7,741 |
November 10 | 2:00 p.m. | Rhode Island | No. 9 | - Bridgeforth Stadium
- Harrisonburg, VA
| MASN/SNY | W 48–31 | 24,199 |
November 17 | 2:00 p.m | at No. 15 Towson | No. 7 | | CBSI Digital/CBS SportsLive | W 38–17 | 7,208 |
November 24 | 3:00 p.m. | No. 21 Delaware* | No. 6 | | ESPN3 | W 20–6 | 7,297 |
December 1 | 1:00 p.m. | at No. 9 Colgate* | No. 6 | | ESPN3 | L 20–23 | 6,418 |
- *Non-conference game
- Homecoming
- Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
- All times are in Eastern time
|
Source:[4]
- ^ The JMU–Norfolk State game was mutually ended after first quarter due to inclement weather.
- ^ Moved from Saturday at 6:00 p.m. in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.
Game summaries
At NC State
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
No. 2 Dukes
|
7
|
0
|
3
|
3 |
13 |
Wolfpack
|
0
|
17
|
0
|
7 |
24 |
At Norfolk State
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
No. 2 Dukes
|
17
|
|
|
|
17 |
Spartans
|
0
|
|
|
|
0 |
Due to inclement weather, the JMU–Norfolk State game was mutually ended after the first quarter.
Robert Morris
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Colonials
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
7 |
7 |
No. 2 Dukes
|
21
|
31
|
14
|
7 |
73 |
William & Mary
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Tribe
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0 |
0 |
No. 2 Dukes
|
7
|
10
|
21
|
13 |
51 |
At Richmond
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
No. 2 Dukes
|
7
|
28
|
21
|
7 |
63 |
Spiders
|
3
|
7
|
0
|
0 |
10 |
Elon
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
No. 10 Phoenix
|
0
|
7
|
3
|
17 |
27 |
No. 2 Dukes
|
3
|
6
|
3
|
12 |
24 |
At Villanova
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
No. 6 Dukes
|
10
|
6
|
14
|
7 |
37 |
Wildcats
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0 |
0 |
Stony Brook
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
No. 15 Seawolves
|
0
|
10
|
0
|
0 |
10 |
No. 3 Dukes
|
7
|
0
|
0
|
6 |
13 |
At New Hampshire
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
No. 3 Dukes
|
3
|
0
|
7
|
14 |
24 |
Wildcats
|
14
|
7
|
7
|
7 |
35 |
Rhode Island
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
Rams
|
7
|
7
|
10
|
7 |
31 |
No. 9 Dukes
|
14
|
13
|
7
|
14 |
48 |
At Towson
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
No. 7 Dukes
|
7
|
17
|
7
|
7 |
38 |
No. 15 Tigers
|
7
|
3
|
0
|
7 |
17 |
FCS Playoffs
Delaware–First Round
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
No. 21 Fightin' Blue Hens
|
0
|
3
|
3
|
0 |
6 |
No. 6 Dukes
|
3
|
9
|
8
|
0 |
20 |
At Colgate–Second Round
|
|
|
|
|
Total |
No. 6 Dukes
|
7
|
3
|
3
|
7 |
20 |
No. 9 Raiders
|
3
|
3
|
14
|
3 |
23 |
Ranking movements
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes | Week |
---|
Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Final |
---|
STATS FCS | 2 (6) | 2 (1) | 2 (2) | 2 (2) | 2 (3) | 2 (3) | 6–T | 4 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 9 |
---|
Coaches | 2 (3) | 2 | 2 (1) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 10 |
---|
Players drafted into the NFL
References
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Venues | |
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Bowls & rivalries | |
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Culture & lore | |
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People | |
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Seasons | |
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National championship seasons in bold |