JMU football’s 2025 nonconference schedule might be the best in recent memory, featuring games against Louisville, Liberty, and Washington State.

If you were the JMU schedule maker, which opponents would you like to face in the future? We’re taking a stab at picking games we’d love to see (and that could be realistic). For the sake of setting criteria, I’m removing any teams already on JMU’s future schedules from consideration since those matchups are planned. That takes out these notable teams:

• Liberty
• Maryland
• Delaware
• North Carolina
• UCF
• Virginia Tech

I’m also breaking this down by G5 and P4 opponents, picking three dream opponents in each category. I avoided a few prominent programs, especially at the P4 level, out of personal preference. This is not a definitive ranking, of course, but rather a subjective list of games I want on JMU’s future schedule.

G5 dream opponents

Navy

Let’s make this one happen. Annapolis and Harrisonburg are roughly three hours apart, making for an ideal home-and-home matchup. Sure, I’m partially suggesting this because I live in Maryland, but Navy is a historic program playing really good football in recent seasons — and the Midshipmen are poised to contend for the AAC title in 2025.

The Midshipmen are a challenging matchup given their unique offensive style (currently a hybrid Wing-T scheme) that relies heavily on running the ball and using motions, options, and pitches to confuse defenses, but it’s a regional matchup I’d love to see on the schedule even if the defense would be in for a tough 60 minutes.

East Carolina

JMU and ECU met in 2018, a JMU blowout win. The Pirates remind me of JMU’s North Carolina brother, and not just because of the similar color scheme. The “party school” has underrated academics and a passionate football fanbase despite sporadic national attention. Sound familiar?

I really wish ECU was in the Sun Belt. Their fans care about football, and their gameday atmospheres look like a blast, especially when the program is playing well. I’d like to see the Dukes and Pirates meet in nonconference play in the near future, although I’d really like them to be in the same league and meet annually.

Memphis

The Tigers are basically a Big 12 program in my eyes. They play solid football and have a whole bunch of NIL money (thanks, FedEx!) that puts them atop the Group of Five as schools most likely to move up in future rounds of realignment.

I’d love to see JMU square off with another Group of Five power, and I’d be slightly more interested in a game against Memphis over Boise State. Give me a matchup with one of the AAC’s best. Tulane would be an intriguing matchup, but Memphis has a more consistent recent football history that seems like it could better hold up amid coaching changes.

Honorable mention: North Dakota State

If the Bison move up to the FBS level, the Dukes need to find a way to rekindle the FCS rivalry.

P4 dream opponents

Kansas State

I like everything about Kansas State. The color scheme, the fanbase, the on-field consistency. Kansas State doesn’t get the national attention it often deserves, but this program consistently makes an impact in the Big 12. Chris Klieman has the Wildcats playing winning football, and it’s only a matter of time before a playoff berth follows.

I’d love to see JMU compete with an under-the-radar P4 powerhouse.

Penn State

The biggest name on this list is Penn State. One of the biggest fanbases in the sport, Penn State supporters pack State College for every home contest and generate an atmosphere that pops both on TV and in-person. The program wins a ton, but it hasn’t won quite as much as Georgia, Alabama, or Ohio State in recent seasons. For whatever reason, a road trip at Penn State feels equally as meaningful as facing a program like Ohio State but also less daunting and more approachable … and maybe even winnable??

A Penn State game tops my list of Power 4 requests. I respect the Penn State program, and there’s a sizable recruiting footprint for the Dukes in Pennsylvania. Plus, with much of my family from Pennsylvania, this one would be a bucket-list game for me.

This game would be a huge deal for the Dukes, and it’s one of my personal dreams.

West Virginia

I’m slightly bummed that there isn’t a future date set with the Mountaineers. There’s the obvious geographic proximity that would make this intriguing, but there’s also a case JMU has simply been a better football program since moving to the FBS (2022-2024) than West Virginia during that span. The Dukes are 28-9 with a pair of ACC wins, while West Virginia is 20-18 and moved on from Neal Brown to hire Rich Rodriguez again.

I’m a firm believer that every competitive showing against regional P4 teams (think wins over UVA in 2023 and UNC in 2024) builds JMU’s national brand more than just about every conference win can. That’s what makes games against Virginia Tech (2026) and Maryland (2027) all the more important. As JMU looks to stand out at the FBS level, every P4 matchup carries extra weight, and beating West Virginia would mean something both regionally and nationally.

I like the potential matchups between JMU and most Big 12 programs, and while I’m more than thrilled about JMU’s place in the Sun Belt, I’d almost prefer to see JMU in the current Big 12 over the ACC if another seismic round of realignment occurs in the next decade and the Big 12 expands its eastern footprint.

Editor’s note: Who would you like to see the Dukes face in the future? Add your dream matchups in the comments.

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications