JMU football is going bowling for the second consecutive year. The Dukes reached six wins season Saturday, beating Southern Miss by a final score of 32-15. It was far from perfect, but it was enough to give the Dukes bowl eligibility in Year 3 of their FBS era. 

JMU sits at 6-2 overall and 2-2 heading into its bye week. With four regular season games left, the Dukes are still in the mix for a Sun Belt East title, although they’ll need some help the rest of the way. Fortunately for JMU, the Dukes have at least one postseason game to look forward to later this year, even if a Sun Belt Championship appearance falls out of reach.

The Dukes played in a bowl game last season, but only because there were not enough eligible teams to fill all bowl slots. JMU was still in its two-year transition to the FBS, which meant it couldn’t gain access to a bowl without help elsewhere. With full FBS eligibility now, JMU just needed to hit the six-win mark to become bowl eligible this season. That’s accomplished. 

While fans likely won’t be going crazy after Saturday’s win — the offense looked lethargic for much of the victory, a troubling trend — it’s an accomplishment to make a bowl game. The Dukes have never won a bowl game in program history, but they’ll have a chance later this season. 

The Dukes will learn their bowl game matchup details on Dec. 8, when bowl games are announced. Here’s our official bowl game projection tracker, which shows where experts think the Dukes may play this postseason. 

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications