The current version of college football doesn’t allow for slow burns.

With the transfer portal and coaching carousel, every year feels like do-or-die. Just because a team plays well one season doesn’t mean success — or any sense of coaching or roster continuity — is guaranteed the next.

Look at Marshall. The 2024 Sun Belt champion lost its coach and the majority of its roster, and the Thundering Herd are picked to finish sixth in the seven-team SBC East this fall. It’s a harsh reality.

For JMU football, 2025 is championship or bust.

The Dukes are the preseason Sun Belt favorite according to just about every national media outlet. They return coach Bob Chesney, offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy, special teams coordinator Drew Canan and quarterback Alonza Barnett — who is returning from a torn ACL and was recently cleared for contact. If Barnett can’t play at 100% or struggles, the Dukes have former FCS stars in Matthew Sluka and Camden Coleman to pick up the slack. Combined, the trio has 67 college starts.

JMU’s roster might be its deepest ever, with seemingly no glaring weaknesses. The Dukes have a strong offensive line with meaningful experience at every position, especially right tackle with Patrick McMurtrie perhaps the best lineman outside the Power Four.

After a down year from the receivers, the Dukes brought in a top four that might all be transfers — Nick DeGennaro, Isaiah Alston, Landon Ellis, and Jaylan Sanchez. DeGennaro has over 2,000 career receiving yards, while Ellis and Sanchez both went over 500 yards in 2024 at CAA schools. The running back room returns all of its stars, led by George Pettaway (980 rushing yards in 2024) and Ayo Adeyi.

Chesney spent all camp bragging about the team’s offensive development compared to 2024. They’ve been farther along with schematic installments throughout this camp compared to 2024. They’re more ready to execute well immediately.

The defense brought in a slew of potential transfer stars, including defensive end Xavier Holmes (72 tackles and double-digit TFLs for Maine in 2024) and cornerback Mekhi Rodgers (St. Francis). Returners Immanuel Bush, Trent Hendrick, DJ Barksdale, and Jacob Thomas are among the best defenders in the league.

JMU’s 2025 team looks stacked, and a schedule featuring games with Louisville, Liberty, and Washington State means national relevance is attainable. It also means Power Four athletic directors will be watching.

Bob Chesney is 48 years old, and he’s won 70% of his games as a head coach. That includes rebuilding years. He’s a rising star in the profession, and he led JMU to a 9-4 record and a bowl win after Curt Cignetti left and depleted the roster.

“I know that GameDay wasn’t in town and they weren’t flirting with an undefeated season, but the roster building, the competency from Day 1, if you ask most people in the national media just to put two and two together, you would think that Chesney would be on some people’s radars for Power Conference jobs sometime in the next few years,” Split Zone Duo’s Alex Kirshner told us this offseason.

“I mean, who knows, there could be several of them open in the Virginia area in the ACC in the next couple of months if things go a certain way,” he added.

A “Chesney departing JMU for UVA or Virginia Tech” doomsday scenario aside, JMU’s coach is going to be coveted by Power Four teams nationally if he leads the Dukes to 9+ wins again in 2025. His energy is contagious — and helps engage donors — and his roster building at JMU through two offseasons has been exceptional. He’s also an aggressive in-game coach, not shying away from going for it on fourth down or implementing a surprise two-point play. He’s an ideal modern day college football coach.

Like Everett Withers, Mike Houston, and Curt Cignetti, it’s much more likely Chesney leaves for a new job than him getting fired. The man can coach.

That puts pressure on 2025.

Chesney likely won’t be at JMU for five seasons like Cignetti was. He’s younger and already drawing interest from P4 teams, with him being floated as a candidate at Wake Forest by multiple outlets this offseason before the Demon Deacons went with Washington State’s Jake Dickert.

Some of JMU’s most exciting pieces — Pettaway, Barnett, Sanchez, Barksdale OL Carter Sweazie, OL Riley Robell and DE Aiden Gobaira — have additional eligibility after 2025. Power Four schools will attempt to poach them and others — DE Sahir West, DE Amar Thomas, DE Turner Schmidt, WR Michael Scott and others all have incredible upside in 2025.

But the Dukes need to be where their feet are planted.

This roster looks good. The coaching staff is among the best in the league. The fan base is energized and creates a significant home-field advantage.

A Sun Belt championship is attainable. App State and Marshall have new coaches, and Coastal Carolina has roster uncertainty. Old Dominion and Georgia Southern are solid, but not elite — at least on paper. And Georgia State is still crawling out of a rebuilding mode. The East is more gettable than usual.

Louisville is a strong ACC team, but it’s not quite Clemson. Liberty and Washington State are good tests, but the Dukes aren’t facing Texas or Alabama this fall. The schedule isn’t a cakewalk, but it’s also not impossible.

Competing for a College Football Playoff berth is a realistic goal. A 12-1 record puts the Dukes in playoff contention. An 11-2 record could, too. If the Dukes go 13-0, they’re almost certainly making the field.

College football doesn’t allow for slow burns, especially for G5 schools. But the Dukes don’t need one. The roster, coaches, and schedule are in place to light the Sun Belt and the Group of Five on fire right now.

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications