Dukes return from bye week, preparing to open Sun Belt play at App State

HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) - The James Madison football team is gearing up for its first-ever Sun Belt Conference game.

JMU is coming off a bye week and getting ready to travel to Appalachian State for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff Saturday afternoon in Boone, North Carolina.

“It’s going to be a physical game,” said JMU head coach Curt Cignetti during Monday morning’s SBC media Zoom teleconference. “I don’t have any doubt about that. We are going to be tested like we have not been tested all year.”

App State has been in the national spotlight over the first few weeks of the season. The Mountaineers defeated Troy this past Saturday on a Hail Mary in the final seconds to cap off a day that featured App State hosting ESPN’s College Gameday. A week prior, the Mountaineers stunned the college football world by winning at Texas A&M.

“I think as a staff, as a program, we have to kind of reset,” said App State head coach Shawn Clark during his weekly press conference Monday. “And for me personally, I have to get off the phone and get some rest...we have a very mature football team and our team has pushed the reset button.”

James Madison is off to a 2-0 start in 2022 as the Dukes make their debut at the FBS level this fall. JMU ranks second in the country in scoring offense (53.5 points per game) while allowing just 7.0 points per game defensively (7th in FBS).

“It’s a great challenge but also a tremendous opportunity for us,” said Cignetti. “We have a lot of pride in our program and our guys expect to be successful every time they go out, so I am really looking forward to this game.”

Saturday’s contest between the Dukes and Mountaineers will be broadcast live on ESPN+.