When the 2023 JMU football season ended, there was a flood of emotions among fans. There were the euphoric highs of beating Virginia, Troy, Marshall, Old Dominion, and Coastal Carolina. The program hosted ESPN’s College GameDay for a third time. The highs were among the highest of any JMU football season ever.

But the lows stung.

JMU lost to App State with College GameDay in town which spoiled the Dukes’ undefeated season. The Dukes were unable to play in the Sun Belt championship because of NCAA transition rules, and JMU’s potential legal challenges floundered in November as fans fumed.

Then, Curt Cignetti left for Indiana. After losing the bowl game to Air Force with a coaching staff filled with volunteers, some of JMU’s best players announced plans to join Indiana. Elijah Sarratt was on his way to Bloomington, and he’s starring for the undefeated Hoosiers alongside players like Jailin Walker, Aiden Fisher, James Carpenter, and Mikail Kamara.

Nothing quite takes the wind out of a fan bases’ sails like a 10-0 start turning into an 11-2 season with a coaching departure and massive transfer losses.

With three games left in the 2024 season, the Dukes have a chance to flip last season’s script. Sitting at 7-2, JMU could actually match last season’s record if it wins out and grabs the first bowl win in program history. If things break their way in the SBC East, the Dukes could theoretically go 12-2 with a league championship and a bowl win. This team’s legacy could go from being an above-average JMU team to being perhaps the best JMU squad in the FBS era and maybe … ever?

Those are a lot of ifs, though. To become a legendary JMU squad, the Dukes need to go on a November run through their rivals.

What record will JMU finish its regular season with?

— JMU Sports News (@JMUSportsNews) November 11, 2024

First, the Dukes face ODU on Saturday. Playing a rival on the road is no easy task, and the Monarchs are solid this season under Ricky Rahne. They’re 3-2 in the conference, and they played South Carolina to a 23-19 loss in the season opener. The Monarchs have won consecutive home conference games over Texas State and Georgia Southern, with both wins coming by double digits.

ODU is no joke, and it’s coming off a bye week.

Next up is an App State team that’s steadily improving after a brutal start and will enjoy a bye week before playing the Dukes. The Mountaineers are just 4-5 overall, and their quarterback wide receiver duo of Joey Aguilar and Kaedin Robinson is among the best in the SBC. Unfortunately for App State, Robinson is done for the year due to injury. Does App State have enough firepower to beat JMU without their star WR?

JMU hosts a Marshall team contending for Sun Belt East enjoying an impressive season. Of Marshall’s three losses, two are against Power Conference teams. The other one was a one-point road loss to Georgia Southern.

All three of those games will be a challenge, especially with ODU and App State on the road. Still, 10-2 is possible for a JMU team that tops the Sun Belt in every advanced metric imaginable. If JMU does beat all three teams, it will become the first team in program history to beat ODU, App State, and Marshall in the same season. 

If the Dukes don’t win out, this team will still be viewed as a solid group and it has a chance to make history as the first JMU team to win a bowl game.

If the Dukes win out, however, they have a chance to go down as the best JMU team of the FBS era by ending the season with three straight wins over division rivals and the program’s first bowl victory. Coupled with the likely retention of head coach Bob Chesney and multiple starters on each side of the ball, JMU could enter the offseason with much different vibes than a season ago.

We expected coming into the season that the Dukes could be defined by this November stretch. Now we know that the legacy of the 2024 JMU football team will be determined by what the Dukes can do against ODU, App State, and Marshall. The next three weeks will determine if they’re remembered as a good JMU team or one of the best ever.

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications