For the first time in history, the Sun Belt crashed the College Football Playoff.
The James Madison Dukes (12-1, 7-1 Sun Belt) earned the No. 12 seed and final spot in the 2025 College Football Playoff, qualifying as the fifth highest-ranked conference champion. James Madison will battle No. 5 seed Oregon (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten) in the first round on Saturday, Dec. 20, and it will travel three time zones west to Eugene, OR for a cross-country business trip.
James Madison received the bid courtesy of Duke,
which knocked off previously-No. 17 Virginia in the ACC Championship Game on Saturday night in Charlotte. The unranked Blue Devils’ thrilling overtime victory provided a pathway for JMU to qualify as one of the five highest-ranked conference champs.
James Madison is the fastest team to earn a CFP berth, punching a ticket to the field in just its fourth year of FBS membership. The Dukes clinched their first-ever Sun Belt championship on Friday night, utilizing a dominant fourth quarter to slide past Troy, 31-14 in Harrisonburg, VA. They remain led by second-year head coach Bob Chesney, who already accepted the lead position at UCLA for 2026. However, Chesney committed to coaching JMU for the remainder of its playoff run. When the season concludes, former Louisiana and Florida head coach Billy Napier will succeed Chesney.
Oregon earned its second-straight CFP bid and its third since the advent of the event in 2014. The Ducks remain in the hunt for their first national championship, eyeing their first playoff win since 2014. This is the program’s third-straight 11+ win season under fourth-year head coach Dan Lanning, continuing one of the most successful stretches in program history. Oregon is one of three Big Ten teams in the field and the lone one participating in the first round. The Ducks will host the first-ever Pacific Time Zone first round game in the brief history of the 12-team playoff.
This is the only first round matchup pitting two 1-loss teams against each other. James Madison’s sole defeat transpired Week 2, falling 28-14 at Louisville on a Friday night, while Oregon’s single blemish materialized Week 7, dropping a 30-20 matchup to current No. 1 Indiana on its homefield. This upcoming CFP matchup marks the first-ever meeting between the Ducks and Dukes.
The most consequential Big Ten vs. Sun Belt matchup in history kicks off Saturday, Dec. 20 from Eugene on ESPN at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT.
