It was a total snow day at James Madison’s Sun Belt Championship game against Troy, and the fans decided to get a little too into it. The stadium resembled a snow globe, and the student section began launching snowballs with abandon. Things got a little out of hand when they actually pegged Troy’s punter. The AD had to chime in before the home-team advantage turned into a penalty-fest.

The scoreboard at Bridgeforth Stadium put up a warning telling fans to stop throwing snowballs, or they’d get kicked out. Fans didn’t mind one bit. So, AD Matt Roan had to jump on the PA system and basically scold the crowd like a parent. Roan’s message was pretty straightforward:

“The officials and game management will throw a penalty,” he said. “Please stop throwing snow, thank you.”

The AD simply didn’t want to ruin their home-team advantage, so he had to hop in before the refs threw any flags. The crowd didn’t love it and booed a bit.

You can’t tell these college kids how to have some fun. Despite the snowy shenanigans, the James Madison Dukes got down to business on the field and crushed it! They beat Troy 31-14 to win the Sun Belt title, the first time in the program’s history.

The game was actually pretty tight going into the final quarter, with James Madison leading by just three points. But that’s when they really put the pedal to the metal. Their quarterback ran one in for a touchdown, and a little later, one of their linebackers, Drew Spinogatti, had a sweet scoop-and-score after Troy fumbled the ball.

They were stacking up impressive stats on both sides of the ball, with the offense putting up over 400 total yards while the defense completely shut down their opponent, holding them to less than 200 yards. Nabbing the Sun Belt championship with a flawless 9-0 conference record is no joke. This dub bodes their chances of making the playoffs.

If they make the playoffs, they’d face the No. 5-ranked Oregon Ducks. Do they stand any chance?

JMU’s chance against the Oregon Ducks

If James Madison makes the playoffs as the No. 12 seed, they would have to play Oregon on the road. The Oregon Ducks have won their last 24 of 25 games at Autzen. On paper, Oregon is the favorite because they are bigger, faster, and have a lot of talented players. But JMU has a style of play that could give them a chance to compete.

One reason is JMU’s defense.

Oregon likes to win with fast plays and significant gains, but JMU’s defensive line is strong and can pressure the quarterback without taking substantial risks. If they can slow Oregon down and make it take longer to score, it can make the game easier for JMU.

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Another advantage is the JMU offense. Need to give Dukes for running the ball well, keeping long drives going, and avoiding petty mistakes. This slows the game down, and Oregon doesn’t play as well when the other team controls the ball.

These predictions don’t necessarily give James Madison any edge by any means. It’s a mismatch from the start. Look at their performance today. They were barely hanging on until the game hit the final quarter. For James Madison to win, Oregon would need to play its worst football of the last five years or Danning Lanning’s era.

The Dukes must play their best football of the decade. Then maybe the Dukes might have a 60% chance of pulling it off. However, it could easily be either one of the most exciting first-round games or one of the most one-sided first rounds of the 12-team playoff era.