JMU football sits at 3-1 after a thrashing of Georgia Southern. While the Dukes are a long way from bowl season, we like to keep tabs on where the team could play in the postseason. 

With October around the corner and ESPN’s FPI giving JMU a 99.8% chance of reaching the six wins needed for bowl eligibility, let’s take a peek at recent bowl projections. Most of the recent projections have the Dukes facing a soon-to-be conference opponent in Louisiana Tech.

ESPN

Mark Schlabach: JMU vs. East Carolina in the Myrtle Beach Bowl on Dec. 19. This would be an intriguing matchup, even with Mike Houston gone. The Pirates are 3-2 with losses to NC State and BYU. They’re a really solid G5 team.

Kyle Bonagura: JMU vs. Louisiana Tech in the New Orleans Bowl on Dec. 23. Facing a future Sun Belt foe in an exciting city? This would be a solid destination game.

Sports Illustrated’s Bryan Fischer

JMU vs. Louisiana Tech in the New Orleans Bowl on Dec. 23. Fischer has the same projection as Bonagura.

Athlon Sports’ Steve Lassan

JMU vs. Toledo in the Cure Bowl in Orlando on Dec. 17. This would be a decent matchup in warm weather against a solid MAC opponent. This isn’t the flashiest matchup, but it would make for a fun game.

Again, it’s far too early to have a strong grasp on likely bowl destinations. The Dukes are still in the hunt to make the College Football Playoff as the Sun Belt champion, with their only loss coming to an undefeated Louisville team that has a real chance to win 10 or more games.

If the Dukes don’t make the playoff, a matchup with another G5 team seems likely. JMU faced Western Kentucky (CUSA) in last year’s Boca Raton Bowl, winning by 10.

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications