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It wasn’t long ago that the American Athletic Conference looked like it had a stranglehold on this year’s Group of Five playoff berth. But a rash of late-season losses from American and Mountain West contenders has cracked the door wide open for the Sun Belt, and James Madison is walking straight through it.
At 8-1, the Dukes are firmly in the conversation, and head coach Bob Chesney isn’t dodging it.
“I used to believe you don’t talk about it at all,” Chesney said. “But they’re certainly talking about it, especially nowadays in the world of social media. To all of a sudden change everything because we have some number next to our name would be ridiculous.”
The playoff buzz is new, but the mindset hasn’t changed. Chesney said he wants his team to address the attention head-on rather than pretend it isn’t happening.
“If we’re not talking about it as a team, who are they hearing it from?” he said. “We just keep going back to why we’re in this position, the way we practice, the football we play, the way we respond to pressure.”
The coach’s words carry the tone of a program both grounded and hungry.
“A number next to your name doesn’t make people bow down when they walk in here,” Chesney said. “In fact, it increases the bullseye. We have to embrace that bullseye and understand our job is to still go out there and hunt, not be the hunted, but to hunt.”
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James Madison hosts Appalachian State on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+), aiming to strengthen its case as the Sun Belt’s best hope for a College Football Playoffs berth.
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