James Madison is considered one of the best teams in the Group of Five right now. The Dukes are seventh in this week’s HERO Sports G5 Top 25 poll.
They’re 4-1, with their lone loss being at Power Four opponent Louisville. The Dukes had defeated their other opponents by double digits.
That was, until last week. JMU needed to come back and beat Georgia State 14-7. Will the Dukes be as vulnerable this week?
Louisiana sure hopes so. The Ragin’ Cajuns were 1-3 overall with their lone win being at home against FCS McNeese. But in their most recent outing, they scored 21 points in the fourth quarter and ended up beating Marshall 54-51 in double overtime.
So while Louisiana is 2-3 overall, the team is still in the hunt for a spot in the Sun Belt Championship at 1-0 in the league standings.
Louisiana vs. JMU Spread & Betting Odds
James Madison is a -18.5 college football betting odds favorite against Louisiana, with the Over/Under being 45.5 as of this writing.
The moneyline for Louisiana is +775, while it’s -1400 for James Madison.
Louisiana vs. JMU On TV
The matchup between Louisiana and James Madison will be televised on ESPN2.
The game will kick off at noon ET on Saturday, Oct. 11. The contest is taking place at Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Louisiana vs. JMU Prediction
I predict JMU will win and cover the 18.5-point spread. I also project the game will go Under 45.5 total points.
I think the Dukes have been incredible on defense so far. They’re first in the Sun Belt in scoring defense and total defense with 13.6 points and 217.2 yards per game allowed. They’ve given up nearly 100 less yards than the No. 2 team in the Sun Belt, Old Dominion, which has allowed 314.2 per game.
JMU’s offense, especially against Georgia State, hasn’t been as great. But I think the Dukes can get in a rhythm in this game.
Louisiana is third-to-last in the Sun Belt in scoring defense (32.2 PPG allowed) and is 10th in total defense (401.4 YPG allowed).
I believe the stars of this game will be on JMU’s defense, like linebacker Trent Hendrick. He’s first on the team with 38 tackles and three sacks.
But I also expect the Dukes to do enough on offense to win by at least three touchdowns. I anticipate JMU’s running game, led by running back Wayne Knight, should give the Dukes enough of a spark on that side of the ball to win decisively.
