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American college football season
The 2017 James Madison Dukes football team represented James Madison University during the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season . They were led by second-year head coach Mike Houston and played their home games at Bridgeforth Stadium and Zane Showker Field . They are a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). They finished the season 14–1 overall with an 8–0 mark in CAA play to win the conference title and also finished undefeated in the regular season for the second time in school history (the other being 1975, before the Dukes joined the NCAA). They received an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs, where they defeated Stony Brook , Weber State , and South Dakota State to advance to the National Championship Game for the second straight season, where they were defeated 17–13 by North Dakota State .
Previous season
In 2016, the Dukes finished the season with a 14–1 record, including an 8–0 mark in CAA play to win the conference title. They went undefeated in FCS play with their only loss coming to FBS North Carolina. They received an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs, where they defeated New Hampshire, Sam Houston State, and five-time defending champions North Dakota State to advance to the National Championship Game, where they defeated Youngstown State. This was their first national championship since 2004 .
Schedule
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance September 2 6:00 p.m. at East Carolina * No. 1 ESPN3 W 34–1440,169
September 9 6:00 p.m. East Tennessee State * No. 1 CSN MA+ , MadiZone W 52–1024,722
September 16 3:30 p.m. Norfolk State * No. 1 Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA MASN2 , MadiZoneW 75–1423,118
September 23 1:30 p.m. Maine No. 1 Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA MASN, MadiZone W 28–1025,330
September 30 3:30 p.m. at Delaware No. 1 CSN+ , CSN-P W 20–1016,372
October 14 3:30 p.m. No. 11 Villanova No. 1 CSL ,[ 1] MASN2W 30–825,993
October 21 3:30 p.m. at William & Mary No. 1 Cox Yurview , WHSV W 46–1413,125
October 28 3:30 p.m. No. 17 New Hampshire No. 1 Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA MadiZone W 21–025,298
November 4 Noon at Rhode Island No. 1 CSL W 38–33,227
November 11 3:30 p.m. Richmond No. 1 Bridgeforth Stadium Harrisonburg, VA (rivalry ) MASN2 W 20–1324,586
November 18 Noon at No. 11 Elon No. 1 PAA W 31–38,662
December 2 2:00 p.m. No. 10 Stony Brook * No. 1 ESPN3 W 26–716,449
7:00 p.m. No. 11 Weber State * No. 1 ESPN2 W 31–2813,497
4:30 p.m. No. 6 South Dakota State * No. 1 ESPNU W 51–1616,528
12:00 p.m. vs. No. 2 North Dakota State * No. 1 ESPN2 L 13–1719,090
[ 2]
Game summaries
at East Carolina
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 1 Dukes
7
0
14
13
34
Pirates
0
0
7
7
14
East Tennessee State
1
2
3
4
Total
Buccaneers
0
7
3
0
10
No. 1 Dukes
21
7
17
7
52
Norfolk State
1
2
3
4
Total
Spartans
0
7
0
7
14
No. 1 Dukes
9
35
17
14
75
Maine
1
2
3
4
Total
Black Bears
0
3
7
0
10
No. 1 Dukes
0
7
7
14
28
at Delaware
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 1 Dukes
7
10
0
3
20
Fightin' Blue Hens
3
7
0
0
10
Villanova
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 11 Wildcats
0
0
0
8
8
No. 1 Dukes
3
10
3
14
30
at William & Mary
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 1 Dukes
7
12
10
17
46
Tribe
0
0
0
14
14
New Hampshire
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 17 Wildcats
0
0
0
0
0
No. 1 Dukes
0
14
7
0
21
at Rhode Island
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 1 Dukes
0
7
17
14
38
Rams
0
3
0
0
3
Richmond
1
2
3
4
Total
Spiders
0
7
3
3
13
No. 1 Dukes
0
10
0
10
20
at Elon
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 1 Dukes
3
14
7
7
31
No. 11 Phoenix
0
0
0
3
3
FCS Playoffs
Second Round–Stony Brook
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 10 Seawolves
0
0
0
7
7
No. 1 Dukes
6
13
0
7
26
Quarterfinals–Weber State
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 11 Wildcats
7
0
7
14
28
No. 1 Dukes
7
3
0
21
31
Semifinals–South Dakota State
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 6 Jackrabbits
0
10
0
6
16
No. 1 Dukes
7
14
30
0
51
National Championship–North Dakota State
1
2
3
4
Total
No. 2 Bison
7
10
0
0
17
No. 1 Dukes
3
3
7
0
13
Roster
Ranking movements
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final STATS FCS 1 (134) 1 (152) 1 (148) 1 (156) 1 (154) 1 (157) 1 (160) 1 (160) 1 (157) 1 (156) 1 (162) 1 (163) 1 (153) 2 Coaches 1 (20) 1 (25) 1 (24) 1 (25) 1 (25) 1 (25) 1 (25) 1 (26) 1 (26) 1 (26) 1 (26) 1 (26) 1 (26) 2 (1)
References
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
National championships in bold