Wayne Knight rushed for career-high 212 yards, including a 73-yard touchdown, and No. 19 James Madison made its case for a College Football Playoff berth, beating Troy 31-14 in the Sun Belt Conference title game on Friday night.

The Dukes (12-1) will now root for unranked Duke to beat No. 16 Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game on Saturday night, a result that could make JMU one of two Group of Five schools in the 12-team playoff.

On a chilly night when fans were repeatedly chided for throwing snowballs onto the field, JMU’s defense recorded eight sacks, a scoop-and-score touchdown and, for the sixth time this season, shut out an opponent in the second half. Defensive end Sahir West had three sacks and was in on 10 tackles.

“Every battle is different. Every hunt is diffe

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