James Madison Dukes

0–0 · 0–0 SUN BELT

Way too early

WEEK 8 · 2026

88%

Sun Belt title game

74%

Win the Sun Belt

75%

Make the playoff

<1%

First-round bye

avg seed 9.3

Way-too-early read: ratings carry last season forward — the portal will have opinions. The week-8 job: beat App State.

Playoff odds by week

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

If James Madison wins out: 87% to win the Sun Belt, 91% to make the playoff.

The Saturday rundown

ranked by what moves James Madison's path

Your game

TBD

THU OCT 22

James Madison at App State

Your game. Beat App State and your playoff odds are 76%; lose and they drop to 50%.

James Madison 93%

Worth a glancesmaller, but real

TBD

SAT OCT 24

Old Dominion at Louisiana Tech

Louisiana Tech winning thins out the at-large competition for your playoff spot.

Old Dominion 63%

TBD

SAT OCT 24

Virginia Tech at Clemson

Virginia Tech winning thins out the at-large competition for your playoff spot.

Clemson 89%

TBD

SAT OCT 24

Vanderbilt at Kentucky

Kentucky winning thins out the at-large competition for your playoff spot.

Vanderbilt 82%

TBD

SAT OCT 24

Louisiana at Southern Miss

Sun Belt race: Louisiana losing helps your spot in the standings; Southern Miss visits your schedule in week 10 — keep them ranked.

Southern Miss 51%

TBD

SAT OCT 24

Pittsburgh at Miami

Seeding watch: Pittsburgh winning moves you from around the 9th seed toward the 9th — a friendlier bracket.

Miami 87%

TBD

SAT OCT 24

Oklahoma at Mississippi State

Mississippi State winning thins out the at-large competition for your playoff spot.

Oklahoma 76%

47 more games that don't move your needle

South Alabama at Marshall

Georgia State at Arkansas State

Middle Tennessee at Florida International

Missouri State at Delaware

Liberty at Kennesaw State

New Mexico State at Sam Houston

East Carolina at Memphis

Duke at Virginia

NC State at Stanford

Army at Tulsa

Texas A&M at Alabama

LSU at Auburn

Tennessee at South Carolina

Ole Miss at Texas

Baylor at Kansas

BYU at UCF

Colorado at Oklahoma State

Houston at Utah

Iowa State at Arizona

Kansas State at Arizona State

Texas Tech at Cincinnati

West Virginia at TCU

California at SMU

Boston College at Georgia Tech

Syracuse at North Carolina

Oregon at Illinois

Indiana at Michigan

Iowa at Minnesota

Rutgers at Northwestern

Michigan State at UCLA

USC at Wisconsin

San Diego State at Colorado State

Utah State at Texas State

Boise State at Washington State

Massachusetts at UConn

Rice at Florida Atlantic

North Texas at Navy

UTSA at Tulane

Air Force at Wyoming

Hawai'i at Northern Illinois

San José State at Nevada

Akron at Kent State

Bowling Green at Buffalo

Eastern Michigan at Ohio

Western Michigan at Toledo

Miami (OH) at Central Michigan

UL Monroe at Troy

Based on 50,000 season simulations entering week 8, with last season's ratings carried forward — way too early, enjoy responsibly.