James Madison’s unbeaten run is over, and with it came a major hit to the Dukes’ College Football Playoff hopes.
JMU entered Week 8 as one of the leading Group of Six contenders for a CFP spot, but Thursday night turned everything upside down. Appalachian State handed the Dukes a 34-31 overtime loss, a result that will seriously damage their push to reach the playoff for a second straight season.
The timing could not have been worse for James Madison. Ahead of Thursday, the Dukes were sitting just outside the AP Top 25 at No. 29, collecting the fourth-most votes.
That made them the second-highest ranked Group of Six team, trailing only No. 21 Boise State by eight spots.
That unbeaten record had been JMU’s biggest edge. Now that it’s gone, so is a big chunk of the cushion the Dukes were carrying into the stretch run. With Boise State favored by 13.5 points on Saturday, JMU is likely to slip even further in the rankings as the season moves deeper into November.
Boise State now looks like the frontrunner to finish as the highest-ranked Group of Six team and claim the CFP berth that goes with it. But the race is not completely settled. A few others are still hanging around if they keep winning.
New Mexico and Oregon State are next in line in the AP poll among Group of Six teams, but both still have demanding paths ahead. New Mexico’s toughest tests are a Saturday home game against North Dakota State, which is 6-1, and a Week 13 matchup against Air Force, which is 5-1.
Oregon State’s biggest challenge comes in Week 11 on the road against Boise State, which is 5-1. Beyond that, Oregon State has a better record than anyone left on its schedule.
For fans who love the sport at its most chaotic, the final six weeks should be fascinating. Boise State holds the inside track right now, but this season has already shown plenty of surprises, and there’s every reason to expect more before the Group of Six picture is finally sorted out.
In Other News...
Oregon State May Already Have A New Portal Problem In Corvallis
Oregon States quarterback room may already be facing a familiar kind of offseason uncertainty, and the conversation starts with Braden Atkinson. The Mercer transfer arrived in Corvallis with a strong rsum after winning last seasons Jerry Rice Award, and the early returns have made it easy to see why the Beavers were so interested in him.
Atkinson has given Oregon State a legitimate passing threat, piling up 2,604 yards with 24 touchdowns and only two interceptions, production that has helped make him one of the more notable transfer success stories around the country. For a program trying to stabilize its offense and avoid another revolving-door situation, the bigger question now is whether the Beavers can keep that kind of momentum from becoming just one more season-long audition. [Read more 🡒]
Colorado Test Will Show What Oklahoma State Really Learned
After a season-opening loss to Tulsa, Oklahoma State spent the next week looking much more like the team it expected to be, and the Oregon game offered a clearer view of the progress. The offense and defense both graded better in that rebound effort, with Drew Mestemaker and Caleb Hawkins among the players who helped steady things after a rough start.
Now comes a different kind of test against Colorado, one that should show whether that uptick was a one-week correction or the start of something more durable. Coach Eric Morris has already pointed to Colorados recent competitiveness as a sign this matchup will demand another clean performance, and for Oklahoma State, the challenge is proving the improvement was real. [Read more 🡒]
Boise State Suddenly Has A Real Threat In The Playoff Race
National experts are starting to frame the College Football Playoff race around the Pac-12, and Oregon State has suddenly moved into the center of it. The Beavers are being mentioned alongside Boise State as one of the Group of Six teams with a realistic path to the playoff bid, a reflection of how much the conferences late-season matchups could shape the national picture.
Boise State still has Washington State on the schedule before Oregon State comes to town later in the year, and that meeting is looming as one of the most important games in the race. The winner is expected to put itself in position to host the Pac-12 championship game, which means Oregon States path to the bid may end up running through a game with a very high ceiling and plenty still hanging in the balance. [Read more 🡒]