James Madison coach Bob Chesney and athletic director Matt Roan didn’t know until after the team’s charter flight home from Saturday’s lopsided win at Coastal Carolina that California was threatening to upset visiting SMU — a game with a potential impact reaching all the way across the country to the Dukes’ campus in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

There’s a good chance they’ll be better prepared for scoreboard watching this weekend.

When Cal finished off the Mustangs , it kept SMU out of the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game, opening a path for JMU to reach the 12-team College Football Playoff if it beats Troy in Friday’s Sun Belt championship game. The Dukes could earn the final automatic bid that goes to the five highest-ranked conference champions, especially if five-loss Duke

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