James Madison Dukes

0–0 · 0–0 SUN BELT

Way too early

WEEK 1 · 2026

88%

Sun Belt title game

74%

Win the Sun Belt

75%

Make the playoff

<1%

First-round bye

avg seed 9.3

Way-too-early read: ratings carry last season forward — the portal will have opinions. The week-1 job: beat Liberty.

If James Madison wins out: 87% to win the Sun Belt, 91% to make the playoff.

The Saturday rundown

ranked by what moves James Madison's path

Your game

TBD

SAT SEP 5

Liberty at James Madison

Your game. Beat Liberty and your playoff odds are 75%; lose and they drop to 67%.

James Madison 93%

Just win

Worth a glancesmaller, but real

TBD

FRI SEP 4

Fresno State at USC

Fresno State winning thins out the at-large competition for your playoff spot.

USC 89%

Root for Fresno State+1.6 pp playoff odds

47 more games that don't move your needle

Hawai'i at Stanford

Memphis at UNLV

San José State at USC

New Mexico State at Florida State

North Carolina at TCU · ESPN

NC State at Virginia · ESPN

Akron at Wake Forest

Massachusetts at Rutgers

Colorado at Georgia Tech · ESPN

Toledo at Michigan State

San José State at Eastern Michigan

Miami at Stanford · ESPN

Florida Atlantic at Florida

UL Monroe at Mississippi State

UTEP at Oklahoma

Kent State at South Carolina

Texas State at Texas

Missouri State at Texas A&M

Oklahoma State at Tulsa

Boston College at Cincinnati

Oregon State at Houston

Coastal Carolina at West Virginia

Miami (OH) at Pittsburgh

Tulane at Duke

UCLA at California

UAB at Illinois

North Texas at Indiana

Northern Illinois at Iowa

Western Michigan at Michigan

Ohio at Nebraska

Ball State at Ohio State

Boise State at Oregon

Marshall at Penn State

Washington State at Washington

Wyoming at Colorado State

Arkansas State at Memphis

Florida International at South Florida

Western Kentucky at Nevada

UNLV at Hawai'i

Central Michigan at New Mexico

Sam Houston at Troy

East Carolina at Alabama · ABC

Baylor at Auburn · ABC

Clemson at LSU · ABC

Louisville at Ole Miss · ABC

Notre Dame at Wisconsin

SMU at Florida State · ESPN

Based on 50,000 season simulations entering week 1, with last season's ratings carried forward — way too early, enjoy responsibly.