2026 James Madison
7–0 (4–0 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Billy Napier. The season’s Wikipedia article records 6–0, over six games to the seven on file here. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Wagner 87–3Sep 12
By 84 points, its widest win.
- Most excitingBeat Georgia Southern 27–24Oct 10
The win probability swung the most, by CollegeFootballData.com’s excitement index.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5 | vs Liberty | W 20–13 | 82% |
| Sep 12 | vs Wagner | W 87–3 | 95% |
| Sep 19 | at San Diego State | W 26–13 | 64% |
| Sep 26 | at Old Dominion | W 46–20 | 63% |
| Oct 3 | vs Marshall | W 45–17 | 80% |
| Oct 10 | at Georgia Southern | W 27–24 | 75% |
| Oct 17 | vs Georgia State | W 49–22 | 87% |
| Oct 22 | at App State | Preview | 77% |
| Oct 29 | vs Troy | Preview | 85% |
| Nov 5 | at Southern Miss | Preview | 87% |
| Nov 14 | at UConn | Preview | 69% |
| Nov 28 | vs Coastal Carolina | Preview | 90% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
- Record
- 7–0
- Conference
- 4–0 shared first in Sun Belt Conference
- AP now
- Unranked
- Points
- 300–112
- Coach
- Billy Napier
- Elo
- 1732 +79 this season
- SP+ rating
- 9.4 No. 40 of 138; offense No. 44, defense No. 39, special teams No. 45
- SRS
- 7.3 No. 42 of 138 in FBS
- Returning
- 8% of last season’s EPA, No. 122 of 136
- Recruiting class
- No. 80 roster talent No. 101 in FBS
- Offensive coordinator
- Cam Aiken
- Defensive coordinator
- Robert Bala
- Offense
- Spread option
- Defense
- 3–3–5
How good, play by play
| EPA per play | Success | Explosiveness | FBS rank | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 0.23 | 44% | 1.22 | 21st of 138 |
| Defense | 0.04 | 40% | 1.23 | 43rd of 138 |
| Opponent-adjusted | 0.19 off 0.09 def | 44% off 41% def | — | 24th off 62nd def |
Passing and running
| Pass success | Depth of target | Deep throws | Line yards | Stuffed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 49% | 8.8 yds | 11% | 3.30 | 13% |
| Defense | 39% | 8.4 yds | 14% | 2.90 | 16% |
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 40 | Average start | Havoc | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Offense | 4.6 | own 34 | 10% allowed |
| Defense | 2.9 | own 26 | 16% caused |
CORE rating 8.4, 34th of 138 (offense 6.3, defense -2.1).
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 yards | Camden Coleman QB | 1,336 yds |
| Passing touchdowns | Camden Coleman QB | 13 TD |
| Rushing yards | George Pettaway RB | 767 yds |
| Rushing touchdowns | George Pettaway RB | 7 TD |
| Receiving yards | Corey Scott WR | 333 yds |
| Receiving touchdowns | Cole Keller TE | 4 TD |
| Tackles | Jayon Harvey S | 49 tkl |
| Sacks | J.T. Hooten LB | 2.5 sacks |
| Interceptions | D.J. Kelly CB | 4 INT |
Top recruits in the 2026 class
| Xavier McDonald WR | ★★★ | No. 634 |
| Kamden Jennings CB | ★★★ | No. 774 |
| Kaleb Smith WR | ★★★ | No. 1336 |
| Dkwan Thomas S | ★★★ | No. 1474 |
| Max Roche TE | ★★★ | No. 1474 |
247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.
The 2026 class by position
| Signed | Stars | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks | 1 | 3.0 | 0.840 |
| Receivers | 5 | 3.0 | 0.865 |
| Offensive line | 3 | 3.0 | 0.843 |
| Defensive line | 3 | 3.0 | 0.848 |
| Linebackers | 1 | 3.0 | 0.857 |
| Defensive backs | 6 | 3.0 | 0.860 |
| Athletes and specialists | 2 | 3.0 | 0.846 |
| Whole class | 21 | 3.0 | 0.855 |
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 109
The 2026 roster109 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 65 have a stat line. See the roster
Transfers in 37
The 2026 portal Jeremiah Harrison WR | ★★★ | from  East Tennessee State |
 Corey Scott WR | ★★★ | from  West Florida |
| D.J. Fox OT | ★★★ | from Wisconsin–River Falls |
| Damier Minkah CB | ★★★ | from Shepherd |
 Ernest Willor Jr. DE | ★★★ | from  Wisconsin |
| Jayon Harvey CB | ★★★ | from Findlay |
 Kaedin Massey OT | ★★★ | from  Kansas State |
 Kylan Billiot WR | ★★★ | from  LSU |
 Micah Matthews WR | ★★★ | from  Virginia Tech |
 Noah Grevious WR | ★★★ | from  VMI |
 Javis Mynatt S | ★★★ | from  Texas State |
| Mason Purham DE | ★★★ | from Emory & Henry |
And 25 more, lower-rated or unrated.
Transfers out 31
 Aiden Gobaira DE | ★★★ | to  UCLA |
| Joseph Simmons OT | ★★★ | to  Auburn |
| Riley Robell OL | ★★★ | to UCLA |
 Sahir West DE | ★★★ | to UCLA |
| Josh Phifer TE | ★★★ | to UCLA |
| Lakota Dippre TE | ★★★ | to  Florida |
| Wayne Knight RB | ★★★ | to UCLA |
| Alonza Barnett QB | ★★★ | to  UCF |
| Amar Thomas DE | ★★★ | returned to  James Madison |
| D.J. Barksdale CB | ★★★ | to UCLA |
| Immanuel Ezeogu DE | ★★★ | to  Colorado |
| Justin Eaglin CB | ★★★ | to Colorado |
And 19 more, lower-rated or unrated.
2026 Sun Belt Conference standings
Conference page| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Madison | 4–0 | 7–0 | |
 South Alabama | 2–0 | 4–2 | |
 Louisiana Tech | 2–0 | 4–2 | |
 Louisiana | 2–1 | 5–2 | |
| Georgia Southern | 2–1 | 3–4 | |
| Georgia State | 1–1 | 4–2 | |
| App State | 1–1 | 4–2 | |
| Troy | 1–1 | 3–3 | |
 Arkansas State | 1–2 | 3–4 | |
| Coastal Carolina | 1–2 | 2–5 | |
| Old Dominion | 1–3 | 2–5 | |
| Marshall | 0–2 | 3–3 | |
| Southern Miss | 0–2 | 1–5 | |
 UL Monroe | 0–2 | 0–6 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.