Game Day: James Madison

Liberty (0-0, 0-0 CUSA) will visit James Madison (0-0, 0-0 Sun Belt) to kick off the 2026 season in the second match-up of the Battle for the Blue Ridge series. Kickoff from Bridgeforth Stadium is set for 12 p.m. on Saturday.

Broadcast Information:
TV: ESPNU

Broadcast team: Cooper Boardman (play-by-play) and Craig Haubert (analyst)

Radio: LFSN Radio (Local: 88.3 FM | Liberty Flames Mobile App | LibertyFlames.com)

Broadcast team: Alan York (play-by-play), Jason Porter (analyst) and Nick Pierce (sidelines)

Game Day Information:
Location: Harrisonburg, Va.
Stadium: Bridgeforth Stadium/Zane Showker Field
Kickoff: 12 p.m. ET

"4 Downs" with James Madison

#1 Liberty is opening a season away from Williams Stadium for the first time since 2022, when the Flames kicked off the year with a 29-27 (4OT) triumph at Sun Belt member Southern Miss. The Flames are visiting Harrisonburg for the first time since Nov. 29, 2014. That evening, Liberty topped JMU 26-21 in the Flames' first-ever FCS Playoffs contest.

#2 Saturday will mark the 20th gridiron battle between the Flames and Dukes in a series which began in 1980. Liberty has only faced two opponents (Charleston Southern and Gardner-Webb - 25 contests each) more often than JMU in program history, with Gardner-Webb scheduled to visit Williams Stadium next week. Liberty's Jamey Chadwell has exactly twice as many wins (124 to 62) and twice as many losses (70 to 35) as JMU's Billy Napier.

#3 Three of Liberty's four quarterbacks started at least one game a year ago. Ethan Vasko made 10 starts for the Flames, Deshawn Purdie started twice for Wake Forest and Jaylen Henderson made one start for West Virginia. The Flames are the only FBS team with three Doak Walker watch list running backs, including first-year Flames Kam Davis, Peyton Jones and Kanye Udoh.

#4 If Saturday's game goes to overtime, it would mark Liberty's fourth consecutive overtime contest, dating back to 2025. Liberty and JMU have never played an OT game against one another. However, 10 of the previous 19 meetings have been decided by seven points or fewer, including each of Liberty's four all-time wins in Harrisonburg.

A LIBERTY WIN WOULD...

Enable the Flames to claim the Battle of the Blue Ridge trophy for the first time.
Mark the Flames' seventh consecutive season-opening victory and the ninth time they have started a season 1-0 in the last 10 years.
Give the Flames victories in back-to-back visits to Harrisonburg for the first time since 1990 and 1992, improving their all-time record against JMU to 7-13.
Snap JMU's seven-game home winning streak and make the Flames the first visiting non-conference team to win in Harrisonburg since Colgate on Dec. 5, 2015.
Push the Flames' all-time record against Sun Belt opponents to 11-5.
Improve the Flames' all-time record against Commonwealth opponents to 46-41.
Represent career victory No. 125 for Jamey Chadwell, as he begins his 17th season as a collegiate head coach, and his first triumph over JMU in three chances.

For Openers
Liberty is 28-25 all-time in season openers, having won its first game in each of the last six seasons.

Liberty fourth-year Head Coach Jamey Chadwell is 6-0 in his last six season openers, with the first three of those (2020-22) coming while at Coastal Carolina.

Starting with a 48-45 victory at Baylor to begin the 2017 season, Liberty has won eight out of its last nine season openers.

Sun Belt Scuffles
Last year, James Madison became the 10th Sun Belt opponent (at time of meeting) Liberty has faced in football.

Despite losing to both JMU and Old Dominion last year, the Flames are 10-5 all-time against Sun Belt teams.

The Flames have away games against JMU and Coastal Carolina on this season's schedule.

Coaching Match-up
Current Liberty Head Coach Jamey Chadwell was the 2020 Sun Belt Coach of the Year during his time at Coastal Carolina. First-year James Madison Head Coach Billy Napier was Sun Belt Coach of the Year in both 2019 and 2021 at Louisiana.

Chadwell and Napier are 1-1 against each other as head coaches, with Napier's Louisiana team beating Chadwell's Coastal Carolina squad 48-7 on Nov. 7, 2019 in Conway, S.C. Coastal then won 30-27 at Louisiana on Oct. 14, 2020. The Chanticleers and Ragin' Cajuns were declared Sun Belt co-champions in 2020 after the Sun Belt Championship was cancelled.

Chadwell is 0-2 all-time against James Madison, with his Chanticleers falling 47-7 at JMU on Nov. 26, 2022 in what was Chadwell's last regular-season game at the helm. Liberty lost 31-13 to James Madison at home, Sept. 20, 2025.

Close Calls
Liberty did not have any of its first six games decided by fewer than 10 points in 2025. The Flames played four one-possession games the rest of the year, going 1-3 in contests decided by eight points or fewer.

Each of Liberty's last four games saw the deciding points scored within the last minute of regulation or overtime.

In total 50 percent of Conference USA games were decided by one score during the 2025 season.

First-Year Coaches
Billy Napier is in his first year as James Madison Head Coach, after serving as head coach at Florida from 2022 through 2025.

The Flames will face four teams with first-year head coaches this season, in JMU (Napier), Gardner-Webb (Kris McCullough), Coastal Carolina (Ryan Beard) and Missouri State (Casey Woods).

Schedule

Players Mentioned

Kam Davis

Jaylen Henderson

Peyton Jones

Deshawn Purdie

Kanye Udoh

Ethan Vasko

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