Week 4 Preview: James Madison at Liberty

For the first time since the 2014 FCS playoffs, Liberty and James Madison will be meeting for what will be the first of many planned matchups in the future.

Games between the two teams have been sparse for schools with close geographical and football level proximity over their perspective existences. That said, JMU holds the series lead 12-6.

Saturday’s match up will come as both teams looks to bounce back from starts to the seasons that both would have thought could have, and should have, been better.

James Madison

James Madison will be coming off of a much needed bye week following a disappointing loss to Louisville 28-14 in week 2.

The game on Friday night was one that JMU not only had multiple chances to put away, but had plenty of perplexing choices, particularly on offense, that would doom the Dukes.

However, the bright spot for the evening was the valiant effort James Madison put up against a potent Louisville offense. The Dukes held Louisville to 246 yards total. The bulk of those came on two big scoring plays, a pass for 64 yards in the third to tie the game up and a break out run in the 4th for 78 yards to put the game away.

Without those two plays, the JMU defense held the Cardinals to 122 yards otherwise.

The offense however, was where the Dukes struggled, and many both fans and neutrals are focusing specifically on the coaching staff for answers. The Dukes chose to run a dual quarterback system that did not let either Alonza Barnett or Matthew Sluka find rhythm. Drive charts will show the duo switching back and forth every 2-3 plays.

Play of the Day No. 194: Louisville entered the fourth quarter tied at 14-14 with James Madison. Coastal Carolina transfer Clev Lubin shut the door on the upset bid with a strip-sack the Cardinals recovered for a touchdown (Louisville vs. James Madison, 2025). #POTD pic.twitter.com/ea3Vuubln2

— Sam Teets (@Sam_Teets33) September 10, 2025

What’s more, Sluka had more rushes than JMU’s entire running back contingent combined, 21-18.

Neither quarterback was made available for the press following the loss, but Bob Chesney had this to say about the situation. “Who likes it?” and, “They don’t like it. It’s not their favorite thing to do. They’d rather play football. That’s it.”

Liberty

Liberty suffered it’s second loss of the season in week 3 to Bowling Green. With a final of, 23-13, the Flames would be kicking themselves feeling they cost themselves this game.

While they outgained the Falcons 333-310, the Flames were mired in turnovers. Two fumbles lost and two interceptions by former Coastal Carolina quarterback Ethan Vasko would doom the Flames.

“I’ve been on both sides of the stick. Winning side & losing side. The difference here is we haven’t quit. We’re not going to quit.” – #Liberty DB Damond Harmon on the #Flames attitude amidst 1-2 start to season pic.twitter.com/QNmrXplLxN

— Ed Lane (@FastLaneEdLane) September 16, 2025

This fact is highlighted more by the fact that Bowling Green racked up significantly more penalty yards than their counterparts as well.

This quote from Chadwell highlights the frustration.

“We have to do a better job. You can’t win any game when you turn the ball over five times and have the number of penalties we had. We have to be able to play better. My job is to get us to play better. We are not playing to the level this team is capable of right now, for whatever reason, and that’s on me. I’ve got to figure out how to get that fixed,” Chadwell said.

James Madison at Liberty

Kickoff: Saturday, Sept. 20th at 3:30 p.m. EST

TV: ESPN U

Radio: LFSN Radio (Flagship Station: The Journey 88.3 FM Lynchburg)

Click here for information on tickets. JMU fans can also contact the ticketing office at (540) 568-3853 or email the ticketing office at athletic-ticket@jmu.edu.