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James Madison

ESPN College GameDay heading to Harrisonburg for James Madison-Appalachian State

IMG_0985by:Griffin McVeigh•11/11/23•

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© Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

One of the more underrated storylines in all of college football has been James Madison. Despite being undefeated through 10 games, they are not ranked by the College Football Playoff selection committee. That’s because the Dukes are not eligible for a bowl game this season.

Either way, they are one of the few 10-0 teams in college football. And with a huge game upcoming against Appalachian State, ESPN College GameDay is now heading to Harrisonburg to highlight James Madison. A huge moment for the program with the national spotlight now on them.

Rece Davis, Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, and the entire crew will be accompanied by a special group in Harrisonburg. The Jonas Brothers will be making an appearance for a musical performance. However, the guest picker has not yet been announced for what should be a special weekend in the Commonwealth.

You can check out the full announcement from ESPN College GameDay here.

James Madison has appealed to the NCAA, hoping they become bowl-eligible in the near future. If granted, they will also be able to appear in the Sun Belt Championship game. They would have an opportunity to lock up a spot in the game if they can take down Appalachian State.

Nick Saban impressed with James Madison, former assistant Curt Cignetti

When Nick Saban first took over as the head coach at Alabama, his wide receivers coach was Curt Cignetti. He was working his way up the coaching ladder, and his stop in Tuscaloosa was his last before he became a head coach at IU-Pennsylvania, Elon and, now, James Madison.

Cignetti and the Dukes have been the talk of college football, largely in part to their 9-0 start to their second year as an FBS program. Under current NCAA rules, JMU isn’t allowed to participate in bowl games and, therefore, can’t be ranked in the College Football Playoff top 25.

Saban noted that in his answer about Cignetti’s success, but also made it clear how happy he is for his former assistant as he succeeds at James Madison.

“I’m glad that he’s doing well,” Saban said during his Wednesday press conference. “I know that he’s done a really, really good job there. They have a good team. I know they bumped up. I hear people talking about the fact that they don’t qualify to be in the playoffs or whatever because this is their first year. I don’t know what the significance of that rule is.