If JMU wants to win the Sun Belt and stay in College Football Playoff contention, the Dukes need to win on the road in late October and November.

Three of the Dukes’ final four conference games come on the road, starting Tuesday against Texas State. A road trip to Marshall on Nov. 8 might be the toughest test left on the schedule, and the Dukes close the year against a Coastal Carolina team sitting at 3-1 in league play.

Winning on the road has been the one bugaboo under coach Bob Chesney.

The Dukes are 9-1 at home and 5-4 in true road games. JMU is 2-1 away from home this fall, with a 28-14 loss to Louisville, a 31-13 win vs. Liberty, and an ugly 14-7 win vs. Georgia State. In conference road games since the start of Chesney’s tenure, the Dukes are just 2-3 with two double-digit losses.

The next two games are particularly huge, given JMU’s 4-0 standing in SBC action. The matchups come against two of the most dynamic offenses in the SBC. Texas State leads the Sun Belt in scoring offense at 36.1 points per game. Marshall ranks second at 35.1. Both offenses will test JMU and likely force the Dukes’ offense to score more than its 19.6 points per game average in three 2025 road games. The Thundering Herd also only have one conference loss, meaning a loss in West Virginia could give Marshall the inside path to a Sun Belt title game appearance out of the East.

JMU’s defense has been the one constant in its three road performances. The offense managed just 74 passing yards in the narrow win at Georgia State, but only needed 14 points to survive the Panthers’ upset bid. The unit allowed just 21 points to Louisville, which scored a defensive TD. Against Liberty, the Dukes allowed just three points after halftime.

The Dukes will hit the road knowing they have an elite G5 defense. But can JMU’s offense build off its ODU performance (600-plus yards and 63 points) when it hits the road? The Dukes have yet to score more than 35 points in a road conference game under Chesney and OC Dean Kennedy, and they’ve scored 20 or fewer points in four of five road SBC games since the start of last season. They’ll need continued improvement to keep pace with two of the best offenses in the league.

It doesn’t help that the two upcoming opponents fare much better at home than outside their home states. Texas State wins consistently at UFCU Stadium under G.J. Kinne, who is 11-5 in home games and 6-8 on the road during his tenure. The Bobcats are 2-1 at home this season, and just 1-3 in road tilts. The lone home loss was an overtime defeat against Troy in which they blew a 28-7 lead.

Marshall is similar, going 3-1 at home and 1-2 on the road. The lone home loss came by a point to Missouri State.

It’s hard to win on the road, and a Tuesday trip to San Marcos is peculiar. Playing on a Tuesday throws off traditional Saturday game preparation, and it requires a flight. It’s a weird spot, and JMU has struggled on lengthy road trips under Chesney, with losses at ULM, Georgia Southern, App State, and Louisville.

Perhaps it’s a coincidence related to a small sample size. Maybe it’s a sign of something bigger, suggesting a lengthy trip requiring a flight throws off the Dukes’ usual routine and impacts performance. Maintaining everything from nutrition to sleep schedules gets harder when you leave campus, and Chesney’s D3, D2, and FCS teams often played regional road games. Finding the ideal team-wide routine for long trips is a new challenge for the coach.

Regardless of why JMU has faltered on the road, JMU is in prime position to win the Sun Belt sitting at 4-0 in the league. Consecutive road wins would all but guarantee JMU wins the East. If JMU can get through the next two games unblemished in Sun Belt games, the Dukes will have a great chance to not only win the East, but also host the conference championship game in early December.

Is JMU over the road woes that plagued the team in 2024? We’re about to find out.

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications