James Madison vs. Louisville
After Week 1 wins against FCS teams, the James Madison vs. Louisville Week 2 matchup should provide a good measuring stick for both teams. The Dukes took a very minor step back last season going from Curt Cignetti to Bob Chesney and smoked overwhelmed Weber State to start off Chesney’s second season. The Cardinals had no issues with Eastern Kentucky, but now step up in class to face something of a more comparable opponent.
James Madison’s most recent data point against an ACC school was a 70-50 win over North Carolina. It’s hard to see a similar result here against Louisville, as the Dukes are getting a two-touchdown head start and the total is 57.5.
How to Watch James Madison vs. Louisville
Where: ESPN2
When: Friday, September 5, 7:00 p.m. ET
James Madison vs. Louisville College Football Odds
Louisville -14 (-110) // James Madison +14 (-110)
Total: 57.5 (-110/-110)
Odds from Circa Sports as of September 2, 6 p.m. PT; check out our Circa Betting Splits and DraftKings Betting Splits.
James Madison vs. Louisville Game Preview
James Madison
The odds-on Sun Belt Conference favorites went just 4-4 in league play last season and lost their last two regular season games. Chesney still managed to have good starting lineups on both sides of the ball, but Cignetti’s departure, coupled with something of a transfer portal exodus, definitely had an impact on the team’s depth.
Three of the four losses for the Dukes also came on the road, so they did struggle a little bit away from home. We’ll see how they fare in Kentucky for this one, as JMU will have to rely a bit more on their go-to guys this week. Alonza Barnett III was 14-of-22 for 130 yards passing and had five carries for 30 yards. Backup QB Matthew Sluka also made his Dukes debut after transferring in from UNLV with 45 total yards. The Dukes had 7.1 yards per pop on the ground and nine different players tallied at least one carry.
This will be the first big test for new DC Colin Hitschler, who came over from Alabama, where he was the co-DC. This was widely regarded as a tremendous hire and he does have a decent amount of returning talent to work with, as the Dukes rotated in a lot of players to stay fresh last season.
James Madison only allowed 2.6 yards per play to Weber State, but did fail to record a sack. Three interceptions gave them some extra possessions and fueled the blowout. They’ll want to harass Miller Moss a bit more here.
Louisville
The Cardinals essentially played a controlled scrimmage against Eastern Kentucky in 51-17 to get their season underway. Many believe that coaches experience a Year 3 bump and this will be the bump year for Jeff Brohm. In hopes of getting there, Louisville opened up the NIL budget to pluck Moss from USC and he should be a more than sufficient replacement for Tyler Shough, who was a second-round pick.
Moss started the season with a bit of a dud, despite the lopsided score. He threw two interceptions in 25 pass attempts. While his 17 completions did account for 223 yards, plus a rushing touchdown, the two interceptions are noteworthy, given that he had a 27/10 TD/INT ratio over four seasons with the Trojans.
Fortunately, Isaac Brown is a legit weapon at the running back position. He had six carries for 126 yards in his first encore presentation after an 1,173-yard season last year. With a tall WR transfer in Dacari Collins and hopefully better returns from Chris Bell and Caullin Lacy, this offense absolutely has some potential to shine.
Defensively, the Cardinals only allowed 3.7 yards per carry and 5.4 yards per play last season. They only allowed 2.83 YPP to the Colonels, so this season got off to a good start, albeit against a FCS foe. This will be a better test against a very experienced QB in Barrett and a well-coached team.
James Madison vs. Louisville Prediction
Eventually, I think that Moss will be a good fit in this offense, but we’ve seen a lot of QBs and offensive lines struggle to work in tandem already this season. That makes a 14-point head start for the Dukes seem like a little bit of a tall mountain to climb. While I do really like this Louisville team long-term, James Madison is well-coached with a strong DC and a veteran QB in Barnett who has only thrown five interceptions in 17 NCAA games.
Pick: James Madison +14
