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2025 James Madison

12–⁠2 (8–⁠0 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Bob Chesney, finished No. 19 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

James Madison in 2025, game by game: won vs. Weber State 45–10; lost at Louisville 14–28; won at Liberty 31–13; won vs. Georgia Southern 35–10; won at Georgia State 14–7; won vs. Louisiana 24–14; won vs. Old Dominion 63–27; won at Texas State 52–20; won at Marshall 35–23; won vs. App State 58–10; won vs. Washington State 24–20; won at Coastal Carolina 59–10; won vs. Troy 31–14; lost at No. 5 Oregon 34–51+49−17Won 45–10 vs. Weber State+35Weber StateLost 14–28 at Louisville-14LouisvilleWon 31–13 at Liberty+18LibertyWon 35–10 vs. Georgia Southern+25Georgia SouthernWon 14–7 at Georgia State+7Georgia StateWon 24–14 vs. Louisiana+10LouisianaWon 63–27 vs. Old Dominion+36Old DominionWon 52–20 at Texas State+32Texas StateWon 35–23 at Marshall+12MarshallWon 58–10 vs. App State+48App StateWon 24–20 vs. Washington State+4Washington StateWon 59–10 at Coastal Carolina+49Coastal CarolinaWon 31–14 vs. Troy+17TroyLost 34–51 at No. 5 Oregon-17No. 5 Oregon
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsWeber StateW 45–⁠1088%
Sep 5atLouisvilleL 14–⁠2839%
Sep 20atLibertyW 31–⁠1351%
Sep 27vsGeorgia SouthernW 35–⁠1071%
Oct 4atGeorgia StateW 14–⁠774%
Oct 11vsLouisianaW 24–⁠1474%
Oct 18vsOld DominionW 63–⁠2770%
Oct 28atTexas StateW 52–⁠2062%
Nov 8atMarshallW 35–⁠2359%
Nov 15vsApp StateW 58–⁠1085%
Nov 22vsWashington StateW 24–⁠2080%
Nov 29atCoastal CarolinaW 59–⁠1074%
Dec 5vsTroySun Belt ChampionshipW 31–⁠1481%
Dec 20Bowls & playoffat5OregonCFP First RoundL 34–⁠5133%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oregon 51–⁠34 in the CFP First Round; No. 19 in the final AP poll; Sun Belt Conference champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 39 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 12: 24
  2. Wk 13: 21
  3. Wk 14: 20
  4. Wk 15: 19
  5. Wk 16: 19
  6. Final: 19

Sun Belt Conference champions8–⁠0 in the conference

Record
12–⁠2
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Sun Belt Conference
AP final
No. 19 peak No. 19
Points
519–⁠257
Coach
Bob Chesney
Elo
1731 +148 this season
SP+ rating
12.3 No. 27 of 136; offense No. 18, defense No. 39, special teams No. 99
SRS
9.9 No. 29 of 136 in FBS
Returning
50% of last season’s EPA, No. 44 of 134
Recruiting class
No. 108 roster talent No. 127 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Dean Kennedy
Defensive coordinator
Colin Hitschler
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense27th of 136
  • Defense5th of 136
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted33rd of 136
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted9th of 136
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1845%1.2827th of 136
Defense-0.0730%1.525th of 136
Opponent-adjusted0.16 off
-0.05 def		44% off
31% def		—33rd off
9th def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense44%10.0 yds17%3.4015%
Defense31%9.1 yds15%2.5024%
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense4.0own 3313% allowed
Defense3.4own 2820% caused

CORE rating 21.2, 13th of 136 (offense 7.2, defense -14.0).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsAlonza Barnett QB2,806 yds
Passing touchdownsAlonza Barnett QB23 TD
Rushing yardsWayne Knight RB1,373 yds
Rushing touchdownsAlonza Barnett QB15 TD
Receiving yardsLandon Ellis WR624 yds
Receiving touchdownsLandon Ellis WR5 TD
TacklesTrent Hendrick LB96 tkl
SacksSahir West DL6.5 sacks
InterceptionsJustin Eaglin DB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2025 class

Roy’Marr Thomas DE★★★No. 1303
J.D. Dean OT★★★No. 1325
Michael Scott WR★★★No. 1671
Jerald James DE★★★No. 1734
Jamarcus Smith WR★★★No. 1738

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

The 2025 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs23.00.846
Receivers43.00.847
Offensive line43.00.841
Defensive line43.00.847
Defensive backs33.00.835
Athletes and specialists13.00.839
Whole class183.00.843

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.

Roster 113

The 2025 roster

113 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2025 line; 60 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 29

The 2025 portal
Matthew Sluka QB★★★from UNLV
Elijah Culp CB★★★from Charlotte
Camden Coleman QB★★★from Richmond
Isaiah Alston WR★★★from Iowa State
James Pogorelc OT★★★from Duke
Jayden Studio LB★★★from Kent State
Jaylan Sanchez WR★★★from Villanova
Lakota Dippre DE★★★from Charlotte
Turner Schmidt DE★★★from Robert Morris
Zach Greenberg OL★★★from North Carolina
Arrion Concepcion WR★★★from Kansas State
Curtis Harris-Lopez S★★★from Holy Cross

And 17 more, lower-rated or unrated.

Transfers out 26

Cameron Ross WR★★★to Virginia
Eric O’Neill DE★★★to Rutgers
Tyshawn Wyatt OT★★★to Virginia
Yamir Knight WR★★★to SMU
Chauncey Logan CB★★★to Memphis
Tyjai Hopper CB★★★to Oregon State
Darold Dengohe DL★★★to Rutgers
Cameron Jones OT★★★to Kentucky
Chris Lofton WR★★★to Gardner-Webb
Jeremiah Mawali OL★★★to Prairie View A&M
Quincy Jenkins OL★★★to Western Kentucky
Antoine Booth CB★★★to North Dakota State

And 14 more, lower-rated or unrated.

2025 Sun Belt Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
James Madison8–⁠012–⁠219
Old Dominion6–⁠210–⁠3
Troy6–⁠28–⁠6
Arkansas State5–⁠37–⁠6
Southern Miss5–⁠37–⁠6
Coastal Carolina5–⁠36–⁠7
Louisiana5–⁠36–⁠7
Georgia Southern4–⁠47–⁠6
Texas State3–⁠57–⁠6
Marshall3–⁠55–⁠7
South Alabama3–⁠54–⁠8
App State2–⁠65–⁠8
UL Monroe1–⁠73–⁠9
Georgia State0–⁠81–⁠11

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