JMU fell to Oregon, 51-34, in the opening round of the College Football Playoff.

Here are three takeaways from the Dukes’ defeat, and a special 12-2 season that included a league title.

There’s a difference between good and great

This isn’t a shock, and JMU deserves a ton of credit for amassing over 500 yards of offense and fighting to get within 17 points late, but Oregon has a roster littered with future NFL players. JMU might have a couple of guys who are NFL ready, if that. It’s a good roster that works well together! But it’s not on Oregon’s level.

The size, strength, and speed of Oregon, especially along the interior of the offensive and defensive lines, is impressive. JMU saw first hand what it takes to build a roster competing for national titles at the FBS level.

JMU built the best roster in the Sun Belt. Oregon built a top-end Big Ten roster. There’s a difference! JMU saw it from the first drive.

Oregon’s first touchdown was a 41-yard catch by TE2, as TE1 Kenyon Sadiq cooked Jacob Thomas on a route forcing safety help over the top. This led to a one-on-one between Jamari Johnson and Trent Hendrick, the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year. In space, it’s advantage Johnson. He broke away from the Dukes’ star LB and made a highlight reel catch. He’ll be a star in 2026 when Sadiq hits the NFL.

JMU’s tight ends are highly productive for the G5 level. Well, Oregon has first-round NFL talent at TE1 and TE2.

Even on basic running plays, JMU’s inability to set the edge was obvious. The Dukes were dominant against Sun Belt rushing attacks, but the Ducks ran for 7.7 yards per carry. Oregon got to the outside with ease, and its running backs quickly turned corners for big games. They’re scary on the outside.

There’s a reason the score was once 48-13. Oregon was pounding JMU in the first 40 ish minutes of the game.

As JMU’s program evolves as an FBS program, the Dukes will need to keep prioritizing size and speed in the trenches if they want to go from a Sun Belt beast to a legitimate threat to beat top-15 teams. JMU went 12-2 this season but 0-2 against programs ranked inside the ESPN SP+ top 30. Fans hate admitting it, but the Dukes did benefit from a soft schedule this fall. They beat who was in front of them and were impressive doing it, but nothing in the Sun Belt could’ve prepared JMU for Saturday night.

Building a G5 roster into a potential P4 giant killer is almost impossible — it’s one thing to stare down Louisville, but it’s another to try to compete at Oregon — but there are ways to get closer. If JMU wants to take that “next step” during the Billy Napier era, it starts by gradually increasing the level of athleticism across the roster. And it starts up front.

Can JMU add more 300-pound athletic freaks? Can JMU continue to get faster and more athletic at linebacker and defensive back? Oregon is filled with pros. Reaching that takes a lot of time and money, but there’s a path for JMU to close the gap.

Offense looks the part

Oregon played several backups in the second half, that’s the truth. The Ducks also played plenty of starters in moments when JMU’s offense created explosives.

JMU finished the game with 34 points and over 500 yards. Waye Knight broke a long run late to eclipse 100 rushing yards. Nick DeGennaro strengthened his NFL aspirations. Alonza Barnett showed tremendous growth in pocket awareness and blitz identification, too. Offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy deserves his flowers because JMU’s offense looked like it belonged.

The Dukes’ offense was a clear issue against Louisville, barely getting over 250 yards. And while Saturday’s red-zone penalties kept JMU from staying close early, the Dukes did enough through the air and on the ground to make the final score respectable.

It was a highly encouraging finish to the year offensively. The defensive showing was disappointing given how well the unit played in 2025, and how it looked at times in the second half. The unit didn’t seem ready for the first 30 minutes.

This doesn’t diminish a great year

If they play that game 100 times, Oregon wins at least 90 of them. The Ducks are that talented and hard to beat at home.

JMU needed a lot to go right to pull an upset. A lot went right! But it wasn’t nearly enough. That doesn’t take away from this team’s season.

The Dukes went 12-2, won the Sun Belt without a loss in league play, and made the College Football Playoff. That’s a massive year, especially for a G5 program in Year 4 of its FBS existence. Certainly the team wanted more against Oregon, but there’s no shame in taking a loss to the No. 5 Ducks in Autzen Stadium.

JMU’s program is better off because of the seniors on the team. The Dukes earned national recognition for their success in 2025. It’s up to future teams to build on the success.

Bonus takeaway: Be ready for the G5 takes!

Some talking heads will say the G5 doesn’t belong in the College Football Playoff. We’re not fans of the idea of keeping 70-ish teams completely out of the playoff field. We think eliminating hope is horrendous for the ecosystem of the entire FBS.

It’s unclear how the upcoming playoff expansion might exactly look, but certainly we hope the G5 gets a representative or two for many years to come. Tulane and JMU, in fairness, were not all that close to being the best G5 teams in recent seasons.

Tulane was ranked 20th by the CFP committee. JMU was 24th. In 2024, Boise State entered the tournament ranked 9th. In 2022, Tulane was 16th and then beat USC in the Cotton Bowl. In 2021, Cincinnati made the 4-team playoff as the No. 4 seed.

There are ebbs and flows at the G5 level, and this year the teams that made the field were solid but not quite top-15 teams nationally. It showed. But we’re firm believers that those conferences still deserve a spot in the field annually, and we’d expect the G5 to bounce back nationally in 2026 and beyond. The level will make noise again soon. 

We won’t police fandom — feel free to yell at Bud Elliott if you please — but also know that the national narrative will move past the G5 results in a matter of days. There’s always something else that comes along that they’re more excited to yell about.

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications