Why undefeated James Madison football (probably) isn't making a bowl game

Out of 133 schools in the NCAA's Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), there are just 11 undefeated college football teams left ahead of Week 8. The Big Ten has the most with three: No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Ohio State, and No. 6 Penn State. The ACC has two in No. 4 Florida State and No. 10 North Carolina.

The remaining six undefeated teams come from six different conferences, including the Big 12 (No. 7 Oklahoma), Conference USA (Liberty), Mountain West (No. 22 Air Force), Pac-12 (No. 5 Washington), SEC (No. 1 Georgia), and the Sun Belt (James Madison).

Every one of those teams has a very good chance to make one of the 42 NCAA bowl games at the end of the 2023 season, except for James Madison. Due to an NCAA rule, the Dukes cannot appear in a bowl game in 2023, except on a technicality.

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How James Madison football started

The James Madison football program started in the early 1970s after the school became a co-educational institution in 1966. Dr. Ronald E. Carrier, James Madison University president from 1971 to 1988, had the idea to start a football program.

“I knew that we needed to change the psychology of the campus,” Carrier later said, per James Madison archives. “I put the forces into place – the activities, the events, the new courses – that would change the attitude of people and show them that this was truly a coeducational institution."

Football seemed like the best way to do this.

The 1972 season made for a rocky start. While the USC Trojans captured their seventh consensus national championship, the Dukes needed coaches to fill in during some practices to form two teams for scrimmage purposes. Coach Challace McMillin originally came to James Madison to launch a track and field program.

It took McMillin just three years to go from winless to undefeated. The 1975 Dukes team earned the Virginia College Athletic Association division title with a 9-0-1 record.

It took another 12 years before the Dukes reached the playoffs in the Football Conference Subdivison (FCS), called Division I-AA at the time. In 1991, they got their first playoff win under coach Rip Scherer. In 2004 under coach Mickey Matthews, the Dukes broke through for their first FCS title in a win over Montana.

After that 2004 title season, the Dukes were a fixture in the FCS playoffs and haven't had a losing season since.

They earned a second FCS title in 2016 under Mike Houston. In 2021, after their fifth Colonial Athletic Association Conference title in six years, the school's athletic program decided to move up to the FBS and into the Sun Belt Conference starting in the 2022-23 year.

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How James Madison could still make a bowl game

Moving from the FCS to the FBS can be an adjustment for any program regardless of conference. The change in competition also comes with requirements to satisfy eligibility across the athletic program. NCAA bylaws require programs to wait two years before being eligible for a bowl game per the latest bylaw change in 2017.

Since 2008, 13 teams have moved from the FCS level up to the FBS:

• Liberty was the most recent mover before James Madison. The team got approval in 2017 to move up to the FBS. The Flames posted a 6-6 record in 2018 before going 8-5 in 2019 and earning their first of three straight bowl-game wins.

• Coastal Carolina moved up to the FBS level one year earlier. The Chanticleers went 3-9, 5-7, and 5-7 in the first three years. In 2020, the team went 11-1 and made its first bowl game.

• Starting in the 2015 season, the Charlotte 49ers moved up to Conference USA but the team's had just one winning season since then.

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But unlike these recent programs, James Madison's hit the ground running.

The Dukes went 8-3 in their first FBS season, including a win over then-No. 23 Coastal Carolina in the season finale. Since 2008, only Georgia Southern (2014) and UTSA (2012) managed at least eight wins in their inaugural FBS season.

James Madison athletics filed a waiver request to shorten the re-classification period to one year. The NCAA denied the request in April. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, a James Madison alum, wrote a letter asking the NCAA reconsider the decision.

NCAA president Charlie Baker rejected the request in a letter Wednesday.

Will 'common sense prevail'?

Despite all of this, there is a way the Dukes could make a bowl game in 2023. FBS bowls require teams to win at least six games with a minimum 0.500 win percentage. If there aren't enough teams that meet that criteria, James Madison could be selected, per Baker's letter.

“I really believe at the end of the day common sense prevails," James Madison coach Curt Cignetti said earlier this month. "We have a number of very difficult challenges coming up down the road... I think six, seven, eight weeks from now when we have a clearer picture of who’s done what, common sense will prevail.”

The Dukes are 6-0 this season, including wins against Virginia and Utah State, with six games left in the season. They've already met standard bowl requirements and now just need at least one spot to open up in the FBS bowl schedule to have a chance.

James Madison vs. Marshall how to watch: TV and streaming

The Dukes head on the road to take on Sun Belt Conference foe Marshall Thundering Herd Thursday night. Kickoff at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington, West Virginia, is at 7:00 p.m., ET, on ESPN and the ESPN App.

How to watch: Click here to sign up for ESPN+

James Madison vs. Marshall odds and picks

James Madison is slightly favored over Marshall per the latest odds from BetMGM. Marshall is 3-0 all-time against James Madison.

• Favorite: James Madison (-3.5)

• Moneyline: James Madison (-180), Marshall (+150)

• Point total: 49.5 points

Fox Sports, Action Network, Covers, and Athlon Sports are all picking the Dukes to get the program's first win against the Thundering Herd this week.

James Madison vs. Marshall key injuries

• Thundering Herd TE Cade Conley (ankle) is questionable

• Thundering Herd OL Ayden Conley (undisclosed) is questionable

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Undefeated James Madison football isn't bowl eligible. Here's why.