← Matchups

Marshall

SBC · 1-1 · power +5.2 · #121
Our numberJMU -5.8 no book has priced this game

James Madison

SBC · 2-0 · power +14.1 · #59
Our side
MoneylineJMU to win ours 75%
Projected score 24–30 MRSH – JMU
2026-10-03 · kickoff TBD Bridgeforth Stadium · Harrisonburg, VA SBC game Early season

The books

No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.

Series James Madison and Marshall split 4 (2–2) · 4 meetings since 2022
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game edge James Madison Dukes 151 ranks
Marshall Thundering Herd #172 rush offense James Madison Dukes #21 run defense
Pass game even 36 ranks apart
Marshall Thundering Herd #61 pass offense James Madison Dukes #25 pass defense
Run game even 33 ranks apart
James Madison Dukes #36 rush offense Marshall Thundering Herd #69 run defense
Pass game edge James Madison Dukes 65 ranks
James Madison Dukes #85 pass offense Marshall Thundering Herd #150 pass defense
Marshall Thundering Herd Run-heavy · 62% run Avg pace Dual-threat QB · 60 rush ypg James Madison Dukes Run-heavy · 62% run Ball-control Dual-threat QB · 42 rush ypg
Tony Gibson · 5-7 Bob Chesney · 21-6

Ranked by team-unit strength (rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265 D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the 2025 season.

The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above

Who carried each team in 2025
Marshall Thundering Herd
DB Caleb Clark-Glover 20 tkl · 2 PD #50 DB
DL Kelvon McBride 6 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 2.0 TFL #91 DL
TE Toby Payne 9 rec · 61 yds #49 TE
DL Nate Blanc 2 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 1.0 TFL #323 DL
James Madison Dukes
K Morgan Suarez 3 FG · 14 XP · 23 pts #20 K
RB George Pettaway 99 rush yds · 4 TD #76 RB
DB Ken Willis 14 tkl #273 DB
RB Nick Herman 135 rush yds · 2 TD · 2 rec #160 RB

Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no 2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.

Power breakdown
TeamPowerOffDefRank
Marshall Thundering HerdSBC +5.2 +3.8 +1.3 #121
James Madison DukesSBC +14.1 +10.4 +3.8 #59

Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).

Where the number comes from
Marshall offense vs James Madison defense+0.1 pts
James Madison offense vs Marshall defense+9.0 pts

An efficiency adjustment from season-to-date EPA and success rate applies once teams have played enough games; before then it is 0 and the number is the power rating alone.