James Madison is ready to throw a party, it just doesn't know for sure yet if the featured guest has accepted the invitation.
Harrisonburg is a beautiful town tucked up into the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia — perfect topography for the purple and gold tinted fan noise to echo off the mountains. Its fans are rabid, hungry, you name it. The defending national champs are now 5-0 after an impressive defensive showing on the road at a tough conference foe in Delaware, and there's no chance of JMU being upset this weekend because the Dukes are taking a break — it's idle week time.
IF JMU PLAYED 3-1 VIRGINIA, WHAT WOULD HAPPEN?: Side by side comparison
The chief competition — the FBS slate, two weeks out — is flawed for Oct. 14. Auburn–LSU lost its luster yesterday when LSU lost to a non-P5 team in Troy. Head coach Ed Orgeron is now in trouble, not in a position to be smiling on stage with ESPN Gameday. Oklahoma–Texas is a stinker because the Longhorns stink and Gameday already is in Texas this weekend for another Big 12 matchup (TCU–West Virginia). We just found that out this morning. At this point, Utah (4-0) at USC (4-1) looks like the top competition for James Madison, but then again the Trojans are coming off an upset loss to Washington State, so maybe even Utah-USC has a little bit of tarnish?
For JMU's case, Oct. 14 opponent Villanova losing to Albany last week hurt a little bit. Then again, when ESPN Gameday has visited FCS/I-AA schools, it hasn't seemed to be about the opponent or the matchup, like it usually is with FBS games. It has been about the featured FCS powerhouse. When North Dakota State hosted back-to-back years (2013-14), the Bison faithful filled the streets of Fargo as the backdrop, but their opponents were Delaware State and a young Incarnate Word program. Both games were blowouts by halftime.
RB COMPARISON: JMU's Trai Sharp and Villanova's Aaron Forbes are two solid runners. Who is better at what?
The precedent has been set that the opponent isn't necessarily the reason the traveling CFB circus show comes to an FCS town.
Last time the show was in Harrisonburg, it was one of the nuttiest scenes the show has had. Just ask Des Howard.
@JMUFootball the best @CollegeGameDay crowd EVER! Thank you!
— Desmond Howard (@DesmondHoward) October 24, 2015
James Madison hasn't lost in 17 games, with the last one being to NFL first-round draft pick Mitch Trubisky and the North Carolina Tar Heels in Sept. 2016. This JMU team looks like it could knock off at least half of the ACC if not more. We know once the FBS season cranks into November, there will be sexy conference matchups ESPN Gameday will not be able to ignore, so this is the time, Kirk and Lee, et al. This is it. It's time to come back to Harrisonburg. It's been two years since Gameday has been to an FCS campus.
The invite has been in the mail for a month, please RSVP. It is time.
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ESPN COLLEGE GAMEDAY TRIPS TO FCS GAMES
NOTE: On campus shows began in the mid 1990s.
2005
November 26: Southern vs. Grambling State in New Orleans, La.
2008
November 15: Hampton at Florida A&M in Tallahassee, Fla.
2013
September 21: Delaware State at North Dakota State in Fargo, N.D.
2014
September 13: Incarnate Word at North Dakota State in Fargo, N.D.
November 22: Yale at Harvard in Allston, Mass.
2015
October 24: Richmond at James Madison in Harrisonburg, Va.
