Â鶹´«Ã½¹ÙÍø

And plenty has changed since the Cardinals won 34-10 in 2022.

The Dukes are now fully established as an FBS program, having undergone a coaching change and winning their first bowl game.

Louisville is also under the guidance of a new head coach, with Jeff Brohm taking over his alma mater’s program not long after it beat JMU for the first time.

Both teams have a rich history.

As the season begins to gain momentum, there’s a real possibility that both teams will find themselves in their conference championship games.

“It's going to be extremely physical,� Dukes second-year head coach Bob Chesney said. “They are very good. The matchups all over the place certainly favor them in a lot of different ways. … I think it's ultimately making sure that we believe in the plan, that we believe in each other.�

Like last year’s date with an ACC program, JMU will once again be tasked with limiting a high-power run game led by sophomore Isaac Brown.

The running back entered his second collegiate season with over 1,000 rushing yards to his name after a dominant freshman year.

In 2024, Brown carried the ball 165 times for 1,173 yards, averaging 7.1 yards per attempt and 90.2 yards per game.

In the season opener last week against Eastern Kentucky, Brown carried the ball just six times but still finished the game with 126 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

The Cardinals also have Duke Watson, who only had two carries against EKU, but finished last season with 597 rushing yards.

Despite limited rushes last week, Watson did have a 30-yard touchdown reception.

“These running backs are violent, they're quick, they're decisive, they're fast, they're everything you would hope for in a running back,� Chesney said. “The offensive line is really good. I think we're talking about a four- or five-star quarterback here. … There is no weakness on this team. It has got to come from us playing our best football, period.�

JMU defensive lineman Amar Thomas is stepping into a bigger role this season after recording 20 total tackles a season ago.

Against Weber State last weekend, Thomas picked up three tackles to start the year and is ready to face a good Louisville offense.

On Monday, Thomas emphasized that the Dukes need to be focused on their job if they want to limit a player like Brown in the run game.

“Stay in my gap, don't get turned out,� Thomas said. “Then literally, it all comes down to doing our job. We all got to do our job. We all got to stay, do our 1-11, just hold our ground, don't get turned, stay square. We're going to stop them.�

Louisville’s offense doesn’t stop with Brown at the running back position.

The Cardinals have quarterback Miller Moss on their roster now after he started his career at Southern California.

Chesney described Moss on Monday as a quarterback who was one of the best in the entire country at one point.

Moss only played in the opening half against EKU but completed 17 of his 25 pass attempts for 223 yards and a touchdown.

The 6-foot-2, 210-pounder also had a pair of interceptions, one of which he said was on him and the other was “fluky.�

Moss has a good cast of receivers to pick from, headlined by returners Chris Bell and Caullin Lacy.

The duo finished as Louisville's top pass-catchers on Saturday.

Bell finished with a team-high 63 receiving yards, while Lacy came in right behind him with 62 yards.

“It starts up top,� JMU defensive coordinator Colin Hitschler said. “The head coach is the offense coordinator. He's as good as it gets. Everything has been run for years in different ways, and it makes your head spin when you watch the film, so he just does a really good job layering things and keeping you off balance.�

Entering Friday’s game, the Dukes are going to face a top-level pass rush from Louisville, which did well against EKU. The Cardinals recorded four sacks Saturday, which accounted for EKU losing 29 yards.

Chesney described Louisville’s pass rush as “aggressive� and said that JMU expects it to be something the Cardinals bring into the game Friday. The Dukes’ head coach also said he felt his team did well against the blitz last weekend, outside of one, which was “not ideal for us.�

JMU offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy also credited Louisville’s defensive front for its experience and skill.

“Their front seven, it's good,� Kennedy said. “I think they have two players that are sophomores. Everyone else is either a redshirt or junior or senior in one shape or form. So that's one of the things that sticks out, just like we've been saying, it's an experienced group that's played a lot of snaps.�

Louisville does have some familiar faces for the Dukes on the defensive side of the ball, including a pair of players JMU faced last year. The Cardinals’ defense added Clev Lubin (Coastal Carolina) and Denzel Lowry (Old Dominion).

“It does [help] because we've been against some of those guys,� JMU running back George Pettaway said. “Obviously, they're incremented into a new defense, so we got to focus on the Louisville team. But I actually grew up with one of those guys on that team, so I know him pretty well, but we just got to continue to dive into the film.�

Friday brings JMU’s first real test of the 2025 season. The season opened with a win over Weber State, an FCS program projected to finish in the bottom half of the Big Sky Conference, and now the Dukes move onto an ACC program that has title-game aspirations.

While the games may be different on paper, Thomas is heading into the game with the same mindset that he had a week ago. To the 6-foot-1, 241-pound defensive lineman, he views Power Four opponents the same as every other team he faces.

“Everything's day by day,� Thomas said. “You bleed how I bleed. We all got to work. We all got to earn it. It's not going to be easy at all, and I know it isn't, but I'm just going to work because I know we all going to work because we want it bad.�

JMU and Louisville face off Friday at 7 p.m. The game will air on ESPN2.