JMU’s College Football Playoff dreams are alive and well. With an exhilarating 63-27 win over Old Dominion, the Dukes finally looked like a team worthy of playoff consideration.

“This team is a really good team,” Nick DeGennaro said after the victory. “We respected them a lot. I think after putting 62 on a team like this … is that what it was? 63. Sorry about that. Gotta give our offense some credit.

“Putting 63 on a team like this and holding them to 27, and really the defense only let up 20. There was a special teams error that put up 7 points. That’s impressive. It should build confidence. It shouldn’t build arrogance, but it should build confidence. We can do a lot. We do have a high ceiling.”

The Dukes sit at 6-1 overall, and a 12-1 record with a Sun Belt title would put JMU in the mix to make the field as one of five automatic qualifiers. Their top competition among G5 teams potentially fighting for just one spot includes USF, Memphis, Tulane, North Texas, UNLV and Boise State. CUSA and the MAC don’t have any playoff contenders, and the Dukes are the lone SBC team with a realistic chance of making the field.

UNLV took its first loss of the season to Boise State, losing 56-31. Even Memphis stumbled in shocking fashion Saturday, losing to UAB. Turns out getting Trent Dilfer away from your program is a good idea!

One-loss Tulane narrowly avoided disaster against Army, scoring the final 14 points to win 24-17. Army let the game slip away late, as Tulane scored a touchdown on a fourth down when trailing by seven to spring itself back into the game. The Green Wave have been sloppy this season, but they do have nice wins over Duke and Northwestern. Their one loss was in blowout fashion to Ole Miss.

One-loss USF appears to be the clear favorite to earn a playoff bid among Group of Five teams, but the Bulls still face Memphis and Navy, among others to close out the season. Those are tripping hazards, as is the American title game.

Boise State and North Texas both have blowout losses at the hands of the Bulls, weakening their respective resumes. Boise State also has a 21-point loss to Notre Dame.

JMU’s lone loss looks really nice after this weekend. Louisville took down No. 2 Miami to move to 5-1 and thrust itself into the playoff conversation among ACC teams. The Cardinals have a chance to go 11-1 with a favorable remaining schedule. Their lone loss came in overtime to a Virginia team inching closer to the top 15.

If nothing else, JMU is in the mix to make the field. ESPN’s Football Power Index gave the Dukes a 1.4% chance of making the playoff prior to Friday. As of Sunday morning, that rose to 7.3%.

The Dukes looked like a team worthy of being in the discussion Saturday. Between the second-half shutout and the consistent offensive showing, JMU looked capable of competing in the biggest event of the year. That’s progress from a few weeks ago.

JMU still needs help the rest of the season — one-loss USF winning the American with its victories over Boise State and Florida will be nearly impossible to overcome — but the path looks a lot more realistic than it did a few days ago. USF taking a second loss would throw the Group of Five fight for a playoff spot into shambles.

And there’s an outside chance the ACC (or even the Big 12) race could create unbelievable chaos in the battle for automatic bids. The playoff format allows for the five highest-ranked conference champions to earn automatic entrance into the field. Nothing guarantees only one automatic berth for the Group of Five leagues. If USF goes 12-1, the Bulls will be in the playoff.

But what if the ACC or Big 12 champion has two or three losses and JMU wins the Sun Belt at 12-1 with its only loss to a 10-2 Louisville team? Strength of schedule would likely give the edge to the Power Conference team, but it might warrant a conversation among committee members, especially if JMU plays like it did Saturday in a few of its remaining games. Winning is priority No. 1. Style points are priority No. 2.

JMU’s defense has yet to allow 300 yards in a game this season. The Dukes also boast an elite running game, which ranks eighth nationally in yards per game (243.7). And after Saturday, JMU has to be feeling really good about Alonza Barnett at quarterback. He put up over 400 yards of offense, scoring six touchdowns and avoiding any turnovers. If JMU plays anywhere close to how it did Saturday, the Dukes are one the most dangerous teams in the Group of Five.

JMU entered the season with potential. Saturday showed what it can look like when the Dukes put it all together over 30 minutes, pulling away from the Monarchs with a 35-0 second half. 

The Dukes need to handle their end of the bargain to have any chance at a playoff berth. That means racking up six more wins and hoping chaos elsewhere takes care of the rest.

“From here, the message has to be kill,” Barnett said.

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications