It’s hard to imagine any day going much better for James Madison’s football program than Saturday.
First, the Dukes got help when South Florida, the team in the driver’s seat for the Group of Five conferences’ bid in the 12-team College Football Playoff, lost.
Then JMU, ranked 24th by the Associated Press, routed rival Appalachian State 58-10 and, a few hours later, clinched the East Division’s berth in the Sun Belt Conference championship game when Coastal Carolina lost at Georgia Southern.
To make it even better, reports surfaced late Saturday night that JMU would be the site of ESPN’s “GameDay” for the fourth time. JMUSportsNews.com first reported it.
The Dukes have drawn some of the Saturday pregame show’s biggest crowds ever, having hosted in 2015, ’17 and ’23. More than 20,000 pe

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