Guest Post: JMU Football is the Best in the State of Virginia

Deacon Danny won last week’s prediction contest by coming closest to the 51-0 final score in JMU’s big win over William & Mary. Here he makes the case for JMU being the best team in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Enjoy!

JMU is in a golden and truly blessed era of football! For the time being, gone are the days where we begin each year hoping for an opportunity to make the playoffs and possibly win a game or two. Now JMU, rightly, has much more lofty expectations. For each of the past three seasons, JMU has become a mainstay in the discussion of national championship contender at the FCS level. For most of us, there is the expectation that JMU will still be playing football in January. Go Dukes!

But for this writing, I want to look at the state of football a little closer to home. I want to discuss how JMU football stacks up in the state of Virginia. Unlike North Dakota State, where they are the undisputed king of football in North Dakota, as well they should be, there are also no FBS football programs in North Dakota. Again, I am not taking anything away from NDSU football program. They are a gold standard in Division I football. That is all I will say about NDSU!

In the state of Virginia, there are FBS football programs, of which and in my opinion, only two are worthy of mention for the purpose of this writing. I will not mention names but other FBS programs are simply not good or are also, um… not good and simply paid their way into FBS football when no FBS conferences showed any interest in having them.

For the two FBS football programs I will mention, UVA and VA Tech, don’t believe for a second that it is by accident that each of them play multiple games each year against a combination of FCS and FBS teams from the stage of Virginia, but JMU does not find themselves on either’s schedule. This year, for example, W&M, UR, Liberty, and ODU are on either UVA’s or VA Tech’s schedule. Come on guys, show JMU some love. I expect JMU would welcome the opportunity to play either UVA or VA Tech, and would even be willing to go to their house! VT has now been exposed once again and will likely soon find themselves outside of the top 25. And let’s face it, UVA has not been relevant in football for years unlike basketball where they have recently become quite famous for doing what no other team has ever managed to do!

JMU typically plays one game per year against an FBS opponent. Last year JMU played East Carolina and thoroughly destroyed the Pirates. This year, the Dukes travelled to Raleigh to play NC State. And despite losing the game that was a one possession game for most of the afternoon, the Wolfpack knew they were in a game. And to this point in the season no other team has played NC State closer than the Dukes. JMU is one of the more disciplined teams you will see play at any level, in any conference. JMU plays a fast, physical, and exciting brand of football. I like the Dukes odds against any team in the state!

So, where can you see the best football in the state of Virginia played these days???  Well, if you ask me, if it is not in Harrisonburg at James Madison University, I think it has become clear that JMU has earned entry into the discussion for the best football program in the state. And if you ask others who are admittedly more knowledgeable about football than I, they may just tell you that “… when it comes to the sport of football, we run this state!”       

See y’all in Tick Country… GO DUKES!