Story by Matthew Heiserman

Following a 28-14 loss to Louisville on Sept. 5, JMU football looks to get back into the win column this Saturday in a road game against Liberty. The Saturday game kicks off at 3:30 p.m. at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia, and will be nationally televised on ESPNU.

How to watch

Kickoff time: 3:30 p.m. 

TV: ESPNU. Courtney Lyle will handle play-by-play duties, with Rene Ingoglia working as the analyst.

Weather: The forecast calls for a high of 84 degrees with a mix of sun and clouds. Winds should be light, and it’s not expected to rain. Decent afternoon for football!

Opponent preview: Liberty Flames

Record: 1-2, 0-1 CUSA

Coach: Jamey Chadwell, 120–64 career record, 22-7 at Liberty

Top Players

Evan Dickens, RB: Dickens, a redshirt sophomore who attended Georgia Tech for two years, has gotten off to an extremely hot start in Year 3. In his last two games, the 5’11”, 195 pound running back has 196 rushing yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Dickens is averaging 6.2 yards per carry so far this season.

CJ Bazile Jr., DL: CJ Bazile Jr. has been a dominant force for Liberty’s defense in 2025. In the Flames’ season opener against Maine, Bazile had six total tackles, including 1.5 sacks. On top of that, he had a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. While Bazile sat out Liberty’s last game against Bowling Green because of an injury, he was participating during practice this week, and is trending toward playing against JMU.

Donte Lee Jr., WR: Lee, a redshirt junior out of Baltimore, Maryland, has one touchdown reception for the Flames in every game in 2025 and over 70 receiving yards in each his last two outings. Despite hauling in just eight balls in three games to start the season, Lee averages a whopping 23.4 yards per reception.

Key to the Game: Clear QB game plan

In the Dukes’ matchup against Louisville, they heavily relied on two different quarterbacks — Alonza Barnett III and Matthew Sluka. Barnett played 65% of snaps, while Sluka handled the other 35%. While Barnett wasn’t having a great passing game by any means, using Sluka to primarily run the ball didn’t help either.

Sluka accumulated 21 carries for 83 yards and touchdown, as well as five passing attempts, one being an interception. It became extremely clear that whenever Sluka was in the game, JMU was likely running a designed QB run, which made things a lot easier for the Cardinals’ defense. The Dukes also seemed to be relying on Sluka’s running ability way too much toward the end of the game, when they should have been more focused on throws to move the ball down field with time running out.

Overall, the two-quarterback experiment was both confusing from a viewer’s perspective and sloppily executed by JMU’s coaching staff. If the Dukes want to win this game, they should stick with a clear-cut QB1. I believe Barnett is the best option for James Madison in this game, and while I’m not opposed to a few designed runs for Sluka, it shouldn’t be anywhere close to the same volume as last game.

Score prediction

Coming off one of their toughest opponents of the season, the Dukes really need to get this victory to regain confidence. If we see a much more efficient JMU offense, combined with a defense that has looked extremely solid to start the season, I think JMU wins 34-13 to move to 2-1 before league play.

The pick: JMU 34, Liberty 13

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications