James Madison football celebrates a successful second-to-last FCS season
HARRISONBURG, Va. — The James Madison Dukes announced this season that the team would be leaving the FCS level of college football for the FBS level. The team will join the Sun Belt Conference in 2023. But before the Dukes move on to the highest level of college football competition, they are savoring their successful 2021 campaign.
The Dukes had an outstanding run in the 2021 season, winning the CAA title and reaching the FCS playoff semifinals, losing to perennial FCS powerhouse North Dakota State.
The team won its first four games before losing at home to CAA rival Villanova. But the Dukes would come back to win their next eight games, including rivalry matches with Richmond, Delaware and William and Mary.
The Dukes went 4-1 against FCS Top 25-ranked teams during the regular season. Their highest-rated win was a 37-24 win over No. 9 Weber State on Sept. 18.
The team鈥檚 outstanding performance helped them clinch an automatic playoff spot. The Dukes and Villanova were the two CAA teams to make it in this year鈥檚 FCS playoffs.
The first two games of the playoffs were dominating ones for the Dukes. On Dec. 4, they defeated Southeastern Louisiana 59-20, with quarterback Cole Johnson throwing for 321 passing yards and five touchdowns. They then had their best win of the season, going 28-6 against No. 5 Montana on Dec. 10. Running back Latrele Palmer had 167 rushing yards and a touchdown in that game.
The Dukes鈥� season ended in the semifinals on Dec. 17 against North Dakota State in Fargo. Johnson had two touchdown passes in the third quarter, but the Bison鈥檚 Hunter Luepke had 199 all-around yards and two touchdowns to give the Bison a 20-14 victory. The Bison will be competing in the FCS Championship against Montana State on Jan. 8.
The Bison have defeated the Dukes three times in the playoffs since 2017. These include FCS Championship wins in 2017 and 2019.
Because the team is entering the transition from the FCS to FBS level, the Dukes will be competing as an independent program in 2022. The team will not be eligible for playoff competition either. But the Dukes are looking forward to the long-term growth the program will experience.
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The 2022 James Madison Dukes program will be ending their FCS era with a new quarterback. Todd Centeio will spend his senior year at James Madison, transferring from Colorado State. Centeio had 2,958 passing yards with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in 2021. He was one of the few bright spots for a Rams team that finished the season with a 3-9 record.
The Dukes will be the third school Centeio has played quarterback for. He also played with Temple for two seasons.
Bourne is hopeful that the 2022 season will be a good stepping stone towards the Dukes being more competitive at the FBS level.
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