This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/RWREmpireBuilder on 2023-10-23 01:41:15.
If any of you remember the 2017 season, you will remember that UCF claimed a national championship after going 13-0 with a Peach Bowl win over Auburn. They edged out CFP winners Alabama in the Colley Matrix, a computer poll that is considered a “major selector” of national championships by the NCAA. The Colley Matrix puts a heavy emphasis on winning percentage, and UCF took #1 in a year where they ended up being the only unbeaten at year’s end.
This year, James Madison is 7-0 and ineligible for a bowl game or conference championship due to transitioning from FCS. However, they have been steadily climbing the ranks in not one, but TWO major selector polls. The first is the Colley Matrix, which has the Dukes 6th and has fellow G5s Liberty and Air Force lurking in the top 15. The second is the Wolfe Ratings, which has JMU 5th and ahead of all 1-loss teams.
Colley:
Wolfe:
If we continue to see top teams get picked off in upsets later into the season, JMU could find themselves in position to take the #1 spot heading into bowl season. As a refresher, UCF didn’t leapfrog Georgia in the 2017 Colley Matrix until the very last game, with Alabama defeating Georgia and only being able to climb up to 2nd in the poll. JMU climbed 3 spots in each poll this past week, and there’s plenty of season left to make up the remaining spots.
Go Dukes!
EDIT: Btw, Virginia beating UNC yesterday moved JMU from a hypothetical 8th in the Colley to 6th.