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The Dukes enter their first of two bye weeks this season after falling 28-14 last Friday on the road against Louisville.

It’s a game that JMU coach Bob Chesney said he felt like his team should’ve won.

But it wasn’t in the cards for the Dukes, and now they have a week to recoup before putting their 20-game in-state winning streak on the line against Liberty.

“You just go until they say you have a break,� Chesney said. “I think wherever it shows up, it’s an opportunity to reflect and get better on your own. But after two weeks, and sometimes off a loss is one of the better ways, or even like last year off of an average game, it’s one of the good.�

Following the loss at Louisville, Chesney said he believed that the bye week was ultimately coming at the right time because JMU has been given enough to build from.

After opening the season at home against an FCS opponent, the Dukes were tasked with going on the road to face a tough ACC opponent.

It was the team’s first hostile trip of the year, and Chesney said a coach starts to learn more about their team when they’re put in an environment similar to what JMU experienced at Louisville.

“I think there’s enough in here that we got to make sure that we clean up but just disappointed in a lot of it,� Chesney said. “That’s all. I think we just got to go back and clean up.�

Against Louisville, the Dukes were flagged 12 times for 95 yards, and Chesney said he will address the penalty situation during the bye week.

Two of the penalties against JMU were defensive delay of game — something that confused Chesney and safety Jacob Thomas.

On the first call, which went against linebacker Trent Hendrick, Chesney said the explanation was that he moved his arms forward, which appeared to be an attempt to draw the offense offside.

The second delay-of-game call left Chesney even more perplexed, but he said that he doesn’t think it’s an issue at all.

The officials told the staff the players could continue to move as long as it wasn’t toward the ball.

“I think that was a little bit frustrating to me is that we actually asked them and they said, ‘No, we’re not calling that,’� Chesney said. “I think someone from the back end or the one official on the side felt like they saw something different. I watched a lot of football over the weekend, and a lot of teams were doing that, and nobody was getting flagged with it.�

Heading into the week off, Thomas said that he felt this loss was going to sit with him and the Dukes for a good bit of time.

While the initial emotions circled around disappointment and feeling like an opportunity was missed, Thomas sees the bye week as a chance to move forward.

“I think (the loss is) only going to turn into something greater for the end of it,� he said. “I know our offense is going to come out and they’re going to be electric when we come back out vs. Liberty. In our defense, we’re going to have a chip on our shoulder because there’s no way we should give up that many points against a team of that nature.�

For the JMU offense, receiver Nick DeGennaro said the bye week will bring the same focus as every week. The group needs to be sound in every aspect of the game.

“We all have a job, and we all matter,� said DeGennaro, who played three years at Richmond. “If we can do that job and not get it wrong and be so consistent, we have the talent to beat anybody in the country. That’s what it comes down to. Just take this with humility and just work.�