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James Madison

SBC · 2-0 · power +14.1 · #59
Our numberJMU -5.3 no book has priced this game

Southern Miss

SBC · 1-1 · power +3.5 · #136
Our side
MoneylineJMU to win ours 30%
Projected score 29–24 JMU – USM
2026-11-05 · 8:00 PM M. M. Roberts Stadium · Hattiesburg, MS SBC game Early season

The books

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

Series James Madison lead 1–0 · 1 meeting since 2024
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game edge James Madison Dukes 144 ranks
James Madison Dukes #36 rush offense Southern Miss Golden Eagles #180 run defense
Pass game edge Southern Miss Golden Eagles 49 ranks
James Madison Dukes #85 pass offense Southern Miss Golden Eagles #36 pass defense
Run game edge James Madison Dukes 116 ranks
Southern Miss Golden Eagles #137 rush offense James Madison Dukes #21 run defense
Pass game edge James Madison Dukes 66 ranks
Southern Miss Golden Eagles #91 pass offense James Madison Dukes #25 pass defense
James Madison Dukes Run-heavy · 62% run Ball-control Dual-threat QB · 42 rush ypg Southern Miss Golden Eagles Balanced · 51% run Avg pace
Bob Chesney · 21-6 Charles Huff · 39-25

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
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
Southern Miss Golden Eagles
RB Steven Robinson 174 rush yds · 3 TD · 1 rec #37 RB
DB Kobi Albert 7 tkl · 1 PD · 3 INT #87 DB
DB Laquan Robinson 17 tkl · 1 PD #192 DB
LB Mathis Haygood 15 tkl · 0.5 sacks · 2.5 TFL #133 LB

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
James Madison DukesSBC +14.1 +10.4 +3.8 #59
Southern Miss Golden EaglesSBC +3.5 +1.6 +1.9 #136

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

Where the number comes from
James Madison offense vs Southern Miss defense+8.5 pts
Southern Miss offense vs James Madison defense-2.2 pts
Travel · context onlyAway team travels 769 mi
Altitude · context only332 m lower than the visitor's home elevation

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.

Situational spots are shown for context, not baked in: travel, altitude and rest were tested against 6,000+ games and the power and efficiency ratings already account for them. Adding them again would double-count.