ODU 2025 Football Opponent Preview - James Madison

By David Asbury

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The Monarchs and Dukes tied the 2024-25 Royal Rivalry series in all sports with baseball and tennis doing the heavy lifting for ODU.  But JMU fans will tell us to look at football and basketball where the Monarchs have not done so well.  In football, Old Dominion is 0-3 against Madison since the teams reunited in the Sun Belt.  That brings the football series to a disappointing 2-3 and the Monarchs have not defeated the Dukes in thirteen years.  Old Dominion has a chance to tie the series and get revenge when they travel to Harrisonburg in October.

It will be a tough task as second-year head coach Bob Chesney is coaching a good squad.  Before him Curt Cignetti and the Dukes were a power house in the FCS and their first two seasons in the Sun Belt.  But then Indiana poached him prior to last year's season.  Madison turned to Holy Cross' head coach Chesney.  Chesney went 9-4 (4-4) for the Dukes with the first bowl victory in school history.  Now, he is looking to bring the Dukes their first Sun Belt Conference Championship. Can he do it?  Well first he needs to decide who he is starting under center.

The Dukes are having another quarterback change.  Last season's starter Alonza Barnett is coming off a leg injury and could miss significant time.  There are reports he may be healed up by the time the season begins but it is doubtful.  In comes Camden Coleman from Richmond and Matthew Sluka from UNLV (and Chesney's Holy Cross before that).  The two quarterbacks are battling it out for the gig.  Both can run well, but early reports are that Coleman might be the better passer.  Both are big pickups and have high ceilings under Bob Chesney's offense.  It is possible that this team has three starting-caliber quarterbacks on the roster if Barnett can return healthy.

Barnett had a strong 2024 but took too many sacks which eventually led to his injury against Marshall. Photo courtesy of CB Sports Photography.

Last year's offense was one of the Sun Belt's best with 407.6 yards per game (5th in SBC), scoring 33.3 points per game (3rd in SBC).  It was a balanced approach on the ground and in the air.  Running backs George Pettaway and Ayo Adeyi return as well as Wayne Knight and Jobi Malary.  Pettaway is the star after rushing for 980 yards last season, the most of any returning running back in the Sun Belt.  With a strong offensive line led by first team all-conference tackle Pat McMurtrie, the running game should be strong again this season and may even improve on their numbers from last season.

The passing game needs some retooling though after losing their top four receivers.  The transfer portal is helping.  They nabbed Richmond's top two receivers as well as Villanova’s Jaylan Sanchez who is a great option in the slot.  Isaiah Alston also comes in from Iowa State.  The passing game may have a slow start, but a rhythm will form by mid-season after some early reliance on the running game.

George Pettaway (6) gets stuffed by the ODU D. Last season, the Monarchs limited the star running back to just 82 yards and no touchdowns. Photo courtesy of CB Sports Photography.

The JMU defense stood apart as the absolute best in the conference allowing the fewest yards (321 per game) and points (20.5 per game).  It also led the conference in sacks (41) and interceptions (17).  It was a unit.  Can Chesney continue the very stout defense into his second season?   There are returners coming but the numbers will be difficult to reproduce after losing stars on all three levels including pass rusher Eric O’Neill to Rutgers, linebacker Jacob Dobbs to graduation and cornerback Chauncey Logan to Memphis.

Despite the key losses, this 4-2-5 unit reloads and returns enough talent to repeat a strong performance.  Returning safety Jacob Thomas should be the star this season.  He led the Dukes in tackles last season (73) as well as snagged three interceptions.  Linebacker Trent Hendrick also returns in the middle.  In 2024, he was good for 54 tackles (25 solo) to go with nine tackles for a loss, three sacks, one forced fumble and one pass breakup.  The transfer portal is helping the other spots.  Curtis Harris-Lopez from Chesney's Holy Cross will fill in at the the other safety spot.  Maine pass rusher Xavier Holmes comes in after a six-sack, 12.5 tackle-for-loss season.  There is enough here to still be a top Sun Belt defense but a slight drop off would not be completely surprising.

Star safety Jacob Thomas (7) misses Colton Joseph allowing a touchdown.  Photo courtesy of CB Sports Photography.

James Madison is a team that can win the entire conference.  CFN set the regular-season win total at 8.5 and Vegas followed suit with the same win-total.  Vegas also favors them to win the Sun Belt (+400).  Phil Steele ranks them first in the division and CFBudge ranks them first in the whole conference.  The roster is talented enough to win the championship and they are the clear-cut favorite to do it.

But to play devil's advocate, the schedule will be the toughest the Vassals have ever had.  Besides facing the usually rugged SBC East, they face two P4 teams in Louisville and Washington State (I will still consider them P4 until next year's Pac-12 assembles).  They also face a good Liberty squad on the road and two very tough SBC West teams in Texas State and Louisiana.  Madison could win the entire Sun Belt, but they are also only a few mishaps away from another "disappointing" 8-4 season.  For a team that "only" went 4-4 in conference play last year, they have a very very high ceiling, but also a lower floor than some might expect.  At 8.5 wins, it is not easy to pick either the over or the under.  So, solely because I am an ODU fan, I'm picking the under.

The Dukes should not overlook the Monarchs either.  Last year's game was very close.  The Dukes outlasted the Monarchs 35-32 with both quarterbacks running for multiple touchdowns.  If it weren't for some late offsides penalties by the defense, the Monarchs could have got the ball back with a chance to win.  Colton Joseph and company will be looking for revenge but this Royal Rivalry may be the most important yet.  It may not just be a rivalry game.  It may be an early game that ultimately decides the race for the SBC East.  To say the least, it should be big game.  Monarch fans should make plans to invade the Vassals' stadium on October 18th.