While James Madison secured a spot in the Sun Belt championship two weeks ago by winning the East Division, the Dukes had to wait until last week to find out who their opponent would be when Troy visited Southern Miss.
The Trojans went into Hattiesburg and picked up a 28-18 victory after playing their best game in a month and one of their most complete games of the season.
Now they’re headed to their third Sun Belt title game in the past four years. Troy defeated Coastal Carolina and App State in those other two appearances. The Trojans have eight Sun Belt championships total, the most of any program.
The Dukes are seeking their first Sun Belt crown.
Troy vs. James Madison Spread & Betting Odds
JMU is a 22.5-point college football betting odds favorite against Troy as of this writing. The Over/Under is at 47.5, and the moneyline is -4000 for JMU and +1300 for Troy.
Troy vs. James Madison On TV
The Sun Belt Championship between Troy and JMU will be televised on ESPN. The game will kick off at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, Dec. 5 at Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
Troy-James Madison Coaches & Records
TROY: Gerad Parker (12-18 overall, 12-12 at Troy)
JMU: Bob Chesney (131-51 overall, 20-5 at JMU)
Last meeting: JMU won 16-14 on the road in 2023. The Dukes hold the 2-1 advantage in the series.
Troy Preview
It wasn’t long ago Troy looked like it was on its way to being out of the conference title race after losing back-to-back games to Arkansas State and Old Dominion in early November. They were outscored by a combined 56-10 in those outings.
Troy (8-4, 6-2 Sun Belt) won its final two games, however, including the most important game of the regular season against Southern Miss.
In that victory, Trojans redshirt junior quarterback Goose Crowder finished with 285 passing yards and three touchdowns. It was his third game back after missing two months with a shoulder injury. Crowder connected with wide receiver RaRa Thomas for 118 of those yards and two touchdowns, one of which was a 75-yard pass that all but sealed the game.
They were unfazed by a secondary that has been solid all season.
Thomas leads the team with 495 yards and five TDs while Tray Taylor has 478 yards and three scores. DJ Epps has 40 receptions for 430 yards and five TDs.
The Trojans also found some success running the ball against USM, which is something they’ve failed to do in the past month. Led by Tae Meadows’ 94 yards, Troy rushed for 132 yards. It rushed for 109 in its previous three games combined. Despite the struggles, Meadows has 685 yards and five TDs on the season.
Troy’s defense also played well against the Golden Eagles and only allowed 304 total yards. USM was averaging 412.8 yards entering the game. The Trojans are allowing 23.9 points and 377.8 yards per contest on the year.
Linebacker Jordan Stringer and SPEAR Devin Lafayette are two of the best defenders in the conference and lead the Trojans with 104 and 99 tackles.
While the defense has been consistent this year, the offense and especially the Trojans’ offensive line has been erratic. Injuries have been an issue up front, though, as the Trojans have had five different starting O-line combinations and nine different starters.
Now they will likely have their biggest challenge of the season against a tough JMU defense.
James Madison Preview
There’s a reason the Dukes are favorites in a conference championship game. They’ve been dominant in most of their outings and nine of their 11 victories have come by double digits.
For the most part, the Dukes are about as steady and consistent as it gets. JMU (11-1, 8-0) finished the regular season as the No. 19 ranked team in the country in the Associated Press Top 25. Their only loss came to an 8-4 Louisville squad in Week 2. They’re also the No. 1-ranked team in the Group of Five Top 25.
Their defense ranks in the Top 10 in the FBS in both scoring defense (16 PPG) and total defense (253.5 YPG). JMU is led by senior linebacker Trent Hendrick, who has a team-high 91 tackles.
Safeties Jacob Thomas and Tyler Brown have been solid in the secondary all season, and the Dukes have a handful of defensive linemen that just get the job done, anchored by Immanuel Bush.
While it was anticipated that RB George Pettaway would be the Dukes’ lead back this year — and one of the top backs in the conference — he suffered an injury early in the season and was forced to miss some time. Wayne Knight had no issue taking on a bigger workload and ranks second in the league with 1,051 yards. The uninterrupted production represents the depth JMU has throughout its roster.
QB Alonza Barnett III is averaging 241.6 total YPG and has 33 total TDs. The redshirt junior has six games with both a rushing and passing score.
Eleven different players have caught a TD for the Dukes, led by Landon Ellis’ 532 yards and five TDs. Ellis has also recently been dealing with an ankle injury, so that’s something to monitor. Either way, though, the Dukes have an array of playmakers. It’s one of the reasons they lead the league with 37.8 PPG while their 451.4 YPG are third most.
JMU has only been in the FBS for four seasons, yet it’s already finished 11-1 in the regular season twice.
Troy vs. James Madison Prediction
I predict James Madison wins the Sun Belt Championship and covers the spread.
It’s not easy picking a team to win by 20-plus points in a conference title game, but I think that’s just how good the Dukes are playing right now and how much they seem to have separated themselves from the rest of the league this year.
JMU is also competing for a spot in the College Football Playoff, so a convincing win will bolster its resume. I think the Dukes have another dominant performance and continue to make a case as to why they should have a chance to play for a national title.
