Appalachian State (4-2, 1-1 Sun Belt) vs James Madison (7-0, 4-0 Sun Belt)
Thursday, October 22nd, 2026
TV/Video: ESPNU
Radio: FLAGSHIP 97.3 FM (North Wilkesboro), 730 AM & 97.5 FM (Charlotte), 950 AM & 92.7 FM (Greensboro), 980 AM & 96.7 FM (Winston-Salem), 107.7 FM & 1450 AM (Hendersonville), 93.7 FM & 790 AM (Johnson City, TN) 87.7 FM (In-Stadium)
Kidd Brewer Stadium
Capacity: 30,000
Surface: Astroturf
Jeff Sagarin Ratings
App State: 57.90
JMU: 74.60
Home: 3.82
James Madison is favored by the Sagarin ratings by 12.88 points
VegasInsider Consensus: App State +10.5
Series: App State leads 14-6
Last Meeting: James Madison 58, App State 10, November 15, 2025, Harrisonburg, VA
Now that we have the Myrtle Beach Monkey off of our backs, the time now is to focus on James Madison. And the key word here is focus. I’m as guilty as anyone of getting too high after a win and too low after a loss. Usually it is never as bad as it really seems, but its hard to put away what happened last year in Harrisonburg. James Madison had a really good team last year, and Appalachian was inconsistent. Decent in spurts against mediocre teams, but pretty bad against really good teams. The Mountaineers have lost an unfortunate game this year, but they have not gotten their tails whipped like last year. I hope those memories of last November are alive and well in the mind of those players that had to endure last years game. Whoever wins on Thursday night will have had to earn it. In the history of this series with James Madison, blowouts wins have not been common. Most of these games have been played tight with plenty of drama. I’m looking forward to the same later this week.
This week’s game is not short on storylines and we probably do not have the time on a short week to cover them all in depth like we could. But it is fitting that Billy Napier’s return to the Sun Belt would include a trip to Boone. It was just a week and twenty-four years ago that Napier was involved in the “Miracle on the Mountain” as he quarterbacked Furman to an improbable go-ahead score to give the Paladins a 15-14 lead with just seconds remaining. Josh Jeffries and Derrick Black took care of the two-point attempt and forever gave Billy Napier a horrifying memory of the south end zone at Kidd Brewer. Napier’s record against App State as a coach while he was at Louisiana was 3-4. The Mountaineers won the first four games in Napier’s first two seasons, including two conference championship games. However, Napier’s Cajuns prevailed in a rain-soaked downpour during the 2020 season in Boone. The following year, it was Napier’s turn to win a conference championship, as both the regular season matchup and championship game were played in Lafayette. Napier went on to Florida after going 40-12 in four seasons at Louisiana. He was fired last year after three and half seasons and a 22-23 record in Gainesville.
Enough about Billy. He coaches James Madison now and has now slid into a perfect spot professionally to return to a power school at some point. But in the meantime, he has also found himself slap dab in the middle of a series that did not really need much more reason to be hyped up. Napier is not a villain as much as he is a victim in his small chapter in App State football history. However, James Madison is the villain. Their recent “elevation” to the American Conference has added to that role they play. The Mountaineers have always been annoyed with purple schools like Western Carolina and Furman. And there has always been a history with Appalachian and James Madison in some playoff duals. Big games have been won by the teams that were not favored or should have won. Last year was not that case. James Madison was clearly better and App State did not do themselves any favors in making the score look more respectable. It was a terrible beating, and a deserved one. Madison was better team and they bullied their entire schedule last year all the way to the College Football Playoff. Oregon put them away early and ended their season, but the Dukes have continued rolling this season as they remain undefeated.
When is the last time you have seen a box score where one quarterback led the team in passing yards, and another quarterback led the team in rushing yards and they did not play for a service academy. I’m sure its happened elsewhere, but it has not happened at App State that often. This result created the most balanced offensive game the Mountaineers have had against FBS competition this season. It was quite the bounce back game from just six days prior when the Mountaineers could not move the ball. The first quarter offensive possessions included alternating snaps from Malachi Singleton and Henry Hasselbeck that led to touchdowns on the first two drives. Coastal figured out that they needed to blitz Singleton as it was obvious his injured ankle was limiting him which led to a ten-point Coastal lead at halftime. Hasselbeck took all of the snaps in the second half and took complete control. He ran for 80 yards in the second half before taking two long kneels to seal the game. In all, Hasselbeck threw for 112 yards and a touchdown and ran for 125 yards for the game. Jaquari Lewis ran for 85 yards on just thirteen carries and scored four touchdowns on the way to being named the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week.
This four year run for James Madison has been pretty historical in terms of an FCS to FBS transition way of looking at things. Schools like Boise State, Marshall and Appalachian State had always been viewed as the most successful programs to maintain a winning edge after making the jump to I-A or FBS. That all takes more than just winning, but great timing and foresight by administrations. James Madison had the money long before they moved. They were essentially playing FBS football while still in the FCS. The stadium expansion came in 2011. That $62 million project was not built to stay in FCS. When Everett Withers was hired away from Ohio State, that was an FBS move. Following Withers was Mike Houston, who then went to East Carolina. Then Curt Cignetti, Bob Chesney and now back to Billy Napier. That is a really successful string of head coach hires that kept James Madison relevant before and after their move. The Dukes have not finished a season below .500 since 2002. This has been a long process for James Madison and the timing for them could not be better to move to the American. It’s hard to fly a little below the radar while being wildly successful at the same time. Madison is no longer under the radar, and much like App State fans in the past, they want their respect. But this quick ascension to the American will not come overnight. Everything gets tougher. Your opponents might be better and the travel will definitely be different as well. All the while, you are suddenly the marked man who is making their way out and everyone will have their eyes on you. This might be the toughest stretch of the season for Madison in as far as how the schedule goes. This is a true short week for the Dukes as they played on Saturday and get the quick turnaround for a road game. But this will be the first of three Thursday night games in a row as they return home for Troy and then travel to Southern Miss. They finish the season with a nine day rest before going back on the road for UConn and then have two weeks off before closing the season against Coastal. Someone along the line is going to trip them up and its quite possible App State could be the best team remaining on their schedule. Yet again, do not read too much into that. We have seen this App State team rally from being down a couple of scores to tie games. We have also seen them let teams back into games late and provide some nervous moments. None of that can happen against James Madison. They want to control the game with their tempo, and we saw last year what happens when you have to start playing the game in a way that makes you uncomfortable. It gets out of hand really quickly. App State needs to control the ball and have long possessions, and most importantly, score points. The best way to stay in the game is to give Madison fewer possessions and keep your defense off the field and run the ball. Similarly to Coastal, James Madison doesn’t have a receiver that they really key on. They like to spread it around and find their tight end. Madison’s nineteen touchdown passes have been spread amongst eight players and three quarterbacks. The system works. The Mountaineers must find a way to disrupt it.
The First Pick
Duke Dogs 37
Mountaineers 24