CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2021 James Madison

12–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Colonial Athletic Association).

Schedule and results

James Madison in 2021, game by game: won vs. Morehead State 68–10; won vs. Maine 55–7; won at Weber State 37–24; won at New Hampshire 23–21; lost vs. Villanova 27–28; won at Richmond 19–3; won at Delaware 22–10; won vs. Elon 45–21; won vs. Campbell 51–14; won at William & Mary 32–22; won vs. Towson 56–10; won vs. SE Louisiana 59–20; won vs. Montana 28–6; lost at North Dakota State 14–20+58−6Won 68–10 vs. Morehead State+58Morehead StateWon 55–7 vs. Maine+48MaineWon 37–24 at Weber State+13Weber StateWon 23–21 at New Hampshire+2New HampshireLost 27–28 vs. Villanova-1VillanovaWon 19–3 at Richmond+16RichmondWon 22–10 at Delaware+12DelawareWon 45–21 vs. Elon+24ElonWon 51–14 vs. Campbell+37CampbellWon 32–22 at William & Mary+10William & MaryWon 56–10 vs. Towson+46TowsonWon 59–20 vs. SE Louisiana+39SE LouisianaWon 28–6 vs. Montana+22MontanaLost 14–20 at North Dakota State-6North Dakota St…
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 4vsMorehead StateW 68–⁠1083%
Sep 11vsMaineW 55–⁠782%
Sep 18atWeber StateW 37–⁠2455%
Oct 2atNew HampshireW 23–⁠2165%
Oct 9vsVillanovaL 27–⁠2874%
Oct 16atRichmondW 19–⁠373%
Oct 23atDelawareW 22–⁠1069%
Oct 30vsElonW 45–⁠2184%
Nov 6vsCampbellW 51–⁠1488%
Nov 13atWilliam & MaryW 32–⁠2271%
Nov 20vsTowsonW 56–⁠1089%
Dec 4Bowls & playoffvsSE LouisianaFCS Championship – Second RoundW 59–⁠2074%
Dec 10Bowls & playoffvsMontanaFCS Championship – Quarterfinals, CFP QuarterfinalW 28–⁠669%
Dec 17Bowls & playoffatNorth Dakota StateL 14–⁠2046%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to North Dakota State 20–⁠14; unranked in the final AP poll; Colonial Athletic Association champions.

In program history: The 8th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 39 on file).

Colonial Athletic Association champions7–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Villanova

Record
12–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Colonial Athletic Association
AP final
Unranked
Points
536–⁠216
Coach
—
Elo
1613 +129 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
0.5 No. 3 of 128 in FCS
Recruiting class
No. 140
Offensive coordinator
Mike Shanahan
Defensive coordinator
Corey Hetherman
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

Player leaders are hidden for this season: our source’s player stats for James Madison are missing players (they add up to less than 85% of the team’s passing or rushing yards).

Top recruits in the 2021 class

Skylar Martin LB★★★No. 1687
Zach Horton TE★★★No. 2090
Matt Binkowski LB★★★No. 2194
Josh Toner OL★★★No. 2194
Kye Holmes S★★★No. 2419

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2021 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Receivers13.00.817
Offensive line13.00.812
Linebackers23.00.822
Defensive backs13.00.801
Whole class53.00.814

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Transfers in 2

The 2021 portal
Greg Ross CB★★★from Iowa State
Mason Cholewa DL★★★from UCF

Transfers out 2

Jawon Hamilton RB★★★to Eastern Michigan
Adeeb Atariwa DLno new school on file

2021 Colonial Athletic Association standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
James Madison7–⁠112–⁠2
Villanova7–⁠110–⁠3
Elon5–⁠36–⁠5
Rhode Island4–⁠47–⁠4
Maine4–⁠46–⁠5
William & Mary4–⁠46–⁠5
Richmond4–⁠46–⁠5
Stony Brook4–⁠45–⁠6
Delaware3–⁠55–⁠6
Towson3–⁠54–⁠7
New Hampshire2–⁠63–⁠8
UAlbany1–⁠72–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.