2019 James Madison Dukes football team

The 2019 James Madison Dukes football team represented James Madison University during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by first-year head coach Curt Cignetti and played their home games at Bridgeforth Stadium. They competed as a member of CAA Football.[a] They finished the season 14–2, 8–0 in CAA play to be CAA champions. They received the CAA's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated Monmouth, Northern Iowa, and Weber State to advance to the FCS National Championship Game where they lost to North Dakota State.

2019 James Madison Dukes football
CAA champion
ConferenceCAA Football
Ranking
STATSNo. 2
FCS CoachesNo. 2
Record14–2 (8–0 CAA)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorShane Montgomery (1st season)
Offensive schemeSpread[1]
Defensive coordinatorCorey Hetherman (1st season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumBridgeforth Stadium
Seasons
← 2018
2020 →
2019 Colonial Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 2 James Madison $^   8 0     14 2  
No. 18 Albany ^   6 2     9 5  
No. 15 Villanova ^   5 3     9 4  
New Hampshire   5 3     6 5  
Towson   4 4     7 5  
Maine   4 4     6 6  
Elon   4 4     5 6  
Richmond   4 4     5 7  
Delaware   3 5     5 7  
William & Mary   3 5     5 7  
Stony Brook   2 6     5 7  
Rhode Island   0 8     2 10  
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from STATS Poll

Preseason

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CAA poll

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In the CAA preseason poll released on July 23, 2019, the Dukes were predicted to finish in first place.[2]

Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 James Madison 238 (20)
2 Towson 217 (3)
3 Maine 201 (1)
4 Elon 164
5 Delaware 162
6 Stony Brook 151
7 New Hampshire 109
8 Rhode Island 104
9 Villanova 84
10 Richmond 62
11 William & Mary 58
12 Albany 34

Preseason All–CAA team

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The Dukes had six players selected to the preseason all-CAA team.[2]

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 312:00 p.m.at West Virginia*No. 2AT&TSN PittL 13–2061,891
September 76:00 p.m.Saint Francis (PA)*No. 2NBCS WAW 44–722,422
September 143:30 p.m.Morgan State*No. 2
  • Bridgeforth Stadium
  • Harrisonburg, VA
NBCS WAW 63–1219,777
September 214:00 p.m.at Chattanooga*No. 2ESPN+W 37–148,795
September 282:00 p.m.at No. 24 ElonNo. 2FloSportsW 45–1011,926
October 56:00 p.m.at No. 24 Stony BrookNo. 2FloSports/SNYW 45–38 OT12,812
October 121:30 p.m. No. 5 VillanovaNo. 2
  • Bridgeforth Stadium
  • Harrisonburg, VA
MASNW 38–2425,076
October 193:30 p.m.at William & MaryNo. 2FloSportsW 38–1011,821
October 263:30 p.m. No. 16 Towson No. 2
  • Bridgeforth Stadium
  • Harrisonburg, VA
MASN/SNYW 27–1023,983
November 93:30 p.m.No. 23 New HampshireNo. 2
  • Bridgeforth Stadium
  • Harrisonburg, VA
MASN/SNYW 54–1619,660
November 163:30 p.m.RichmondNo. 2
  • Bridgeforth Stadium
  • Harrisonburg, VA (rivalry)
MASN/SNYW 48–621,947
November 2312:00 p.m.at Rhode IslandNo. 2FloSportsW 55–212,815
December 71:00 p.m.No. 14 Monmouth*No. 2
ESPN3W 66–2110,881
December 137:00 p.m.No. 6 Northern Iowa*No. 2
  • Bridgeforth Stadium
  • Harrisonburg, VA (NCAA Division I Quarterfinal)
ESPN2W 17–08,741
December 216:30 p.m.No. 4 Weber State*No. 2
  • Bridgeforth Stadium
  • Harrisonburg, VA (NCAA Division I Semifinal)
ESPNUW 30–1410,487
January 1112:00 p.m.No. 1 North Dakota State*No. 2ABCL 20–2817,866
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

[3]

Game summaries

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At West Virginia

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 2 Dukes 7 0 3 3 13
Mountaineers 0 3 7 10 20

Saint Francis (PA)

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1 2 3 4 Total
Red Flash 0 0 0 7 7
No. 2 Dukes 14 13 10 7 44

Morgan State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0 3 0 9 12
No. 2 Dukes 7 21 0 35 63

At Chattanooga

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 2 Dukes 14 6 10 7 37
Mocs 14 0 0 0 14

At Elon

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 2 Dukes 14 7 17 7 45
No. 24 Phoenix 7 0 0 3 10

At Stony Brook

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1 2 3 4OT Total
No. 2 Dukes 14 14 3 77 45
No. 24 Seawolves 14 7 7 100 38

Villanova

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 5 Wildcats 0 10 14 0 24
No. 2 Dukes 7 10 0 21 38

At William & Mary

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 2 Dukes 7 14 10 7 38
Tribe 3 0 7 0 10

Towson

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 16 Tigers 0 10 0 0 10
No. 2 Dukes 7 17 3 0 27

New Hampshire

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 23 Wildcats 10 0 6 0 16
No. 2 Dukes 10 20 14 10 54

Richmond

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1 2 3 4 Total
Spiders 0 6 0 0 6
No. 2 Dukes 10 14 14 10 48

At Rhode Island

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 2 Dukes 10 21 7 17 55
Rams 0 0 14 7 21

FCS Playoffs

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The Dukes entered the postseason tournament as the number two seed, with a first-round bye.[4]

Monmouth–Second Round

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 14 Hawks 14 7 0 0 21
No. 2 Dukes 21 17 14 14 66

Northern Iowa–Quarterfinals

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 6 Panthers 0 0 0 0 0
No. 2 Dukes 7 3 0 7 17

Weber State–Semifinals

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 4 Wildcats 0 7 0 7 14
No. 2 Dukes 10 14 3 3 30

Vs. North Dakota State–Championship

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1 2 3 4 Total
No. 2 Dukes 7 3 3 7 20
No. 1 Bison 7 14 0 7 28

Ranking movements

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Ranking movements
Legend: ( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213Final
STATS FCS2 (14)2 (11)2 (9)2 (8)2 (4)2 (7)2 (1)2 (2)2 (3)2 (1)2 (1)2222
Coaches2 (1)2 (1)2222222222222

Players drafted into the NFL

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Round Pick Player Position NFL Club
7 231 Ben DiNucci QB Dallas Cowboys

Footnotes

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  1. ^ CAA Football is operated by the multi-sports Colonial Athletic Association but is a separate legal entity.

References

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  1. ^ "James Madison overpowers with versatile offense". Fox Sports. March 4, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Washburn, Rob (July 23, 2019). "James Madison Picked to Capture CAA Football Championship in 2019". Colonial Athletic Association. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  3. ^ "2019 James Madison Dukes Football Schedule". James Madison University Department of Athletics. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  4. ^ "FCS bracket revealed for 2019 Division I football championship". ncaa.com. November 24, 2019. Retrieved November 24, 2019.