2015 James Madison Dukes football team
The 2015 James Madison Dukes football team represented James Madison University during the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Everett Withers and played their home games at Bridgeforth Stadium and Zane Showker Field. They were a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). The Dukes finished the regular season 9–2 to share the CAA championship with William & Mary and Richmond, who all finished with identical 6–2 conference records. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs, where they lost in the second round to Colgate and finish the season 9–3.
On January 6, 2016, Withers resigned to become the head coach at Texas State.[1] He finished at James Madison with a two year record of 18–7.
Previous season
In 2014, the Dukes finished with a record of 9–4, 6–2 in CAA play, to finish in third place. They received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs and hosted Liberty in the first round. The Dukes lost to the Flames, 21–26, and were eliminated from the playoffs.
Schedule
Date |
Time |
Opponent# |
Rank# |
Site |
TV |
Result |
Attendance |
September 5 |
6:00 PM |
Morehead State* |
No. 12 |
Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisonburg, VA |
MZ |
W 56–7 |
22,080 |
September 12 |
4:00 PM |
Lehigh* |
No. 13 |
Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisonburg, VA |
MZ |
W 55–17 |
15,949 |
September 19 |
3:00 PM |
Albany |
No. 12 |
Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisonburg, VA |
CSN |
W 42–28 |
18,659 |
September 26 |
7:00 PM |
at SMU* |
No. 9 |
Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX |
ESPN3 |
W 48–45 |
22,314 |
October 3 |
12:00 PM |
Stony Brook |
No. 6 |
Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisonburg, VA |
CSN |
W 38–20 |
21,653 |
October 10 |
3:00 PM |
at Towson |
No. 5 |
Johnny Unitas Stadium • Towson, MD |
CSN |
W 51–30 |
8,224 |
October 17 |
3:00 PM |
at Elon |
No. 5 |
Rhodes Stadium • Elon, NC |
|
W 51–0 |
8,342 |
October 24 |
3:30 PM |
No. 11 Richmond |
No. 4 |
Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisonburg, VA (College Gameday) |
CSN |
L 49–59 |
26,069 |
October 31 |
4:00 PM |
at No. 16 William & Mary |
No. 9 |
Zable Stadium • Williamsburg, VA (Rivalry) |
NBCSN |
L 41–44 |
9,414 |
November 14 |
3:30 PM |
at Delaware |
No. 14 |
Delaware Stadium • Newark, DE (Rivalry) |
CSN |
W 24–21 |
16,994 |
November 21 |
12:00 PM |
Villanova |
No. 12 |
Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisonburg, VA |
CSN |
W 38–29 |
17,028 |
December 5 |
1:00 PM |
Colgate* |
No. 8 |
Bridgeforth Stadium • Harrisonburg, VA (FCS Playoffs Second Round) |
ESPN3 |
L 38–44 |
15,045 |
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from STATS FCS Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time. |
[2]
Game notes
Morehead State
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Eagles |
0 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
#12 Dukes |
14 |
14 |
21 |
7 |
56 |
Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
5–2 |
2010 |
W 48–7 |
Lehigh
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Mountain Hawks |
7 |
7 |
3 |
0 |
17 |
#13 Dukes |
10 |
28 |
7 |
10 |
55 |
Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
2–1 |
2014 |
W 31–28 |
Albany
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Great Danes |
7 |
7 |
0 |
14 |
28 |
#12 Dukes |
14 |
0 |
21 |
7 |
42 |
Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
2–0 |
2014 |
W 31–28 |
SMU
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
#9 Dukes |
10 |
7 |
17 |
14 |
48 |
Mustangs |
7 |
7 |
17 |
14 |
45 |
Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
First meeting |
Stony Brook
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Seawolves |
7 |
0 |
0 |
13 |
20 |
#6 Dukes |
21 |
7 |
10 |
0 |
38 |
Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
1–1 |
2014 |
W 27–24 |
Towson
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
#5 Dukes |
14 |
10 |
17 |
10 |
51 |
Tigers |
6 |
11 |
6 |
7 |
30 |
Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
19–6–1 |
2014 |
W 62–7 |
Elon
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
#5 Dukes |
13 |
21 |
10 |
7 |
51 |
Phoenix |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
3–0 |
2014 |
W 59–27 |
Richmond
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
#11 Spiders |
7 |
21 |
14 |
17 |
59 |
#4 Dukes |
14 |
14 |
7 |
14 |
49 |
Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
15–17 |
2014 |
W 55–20 |
ESPN's College GameDay broadcast from the JMU campus for the first time.
William & Mary
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
#9 Dukes |
21 |
6 |
7 |
7 |
41 |
#16 Tribe |
9 |
14 |
7 |
14 |
44 |
Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
21–16 |
2014 |
W 31–24 |
Delaware
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
#14 Dukes |
7 |
0 |
7 |
10 |
24 |
Fightin' Blue Hens |
7 |
0 |
14 |
0 |
21 |
Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
8–14 |
2014 |
L 23–30 OT |
Villanova
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Wildcats |
7 |
0 |
7 |
15 |
29 |
#12 Dukes |
14 |
7 |
3 |
14 |
38 |
Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
12–11 |
2014 |
L 31–49 |
FCS Playoffs
Second Round–Colgate
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
Total |
Raiders |
10 |
14 |
14 |
6 |
44 |
#8 Dukes |
0 |
28 |
3 |
7 |
38 |
Overall record |
Last meeting |
Result |
First meeting |
Ranking movements
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.
| Week |
Poll |
Pre |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
Final |
STATS FCS |
12 |
13 |
12 |
9 |
6 (4) |
5 (8) |
5 (12) |
4 (18) |
9 |
14 |
14 |
12 |
8 |
11 |
Coaches |
13 |
11 |
10 |
8 |
5 (1) |
5 |
5 (2) |
3 (3) |
9 |
14 |
11 |
10 |
6 |
11 |
References
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Venues | |
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Bowls & rivalries | |
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Culture & lore | |
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People | |
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Seasons | |
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National championship seasons in bold |