NEW ORLEANS – Following a 12-1 campaign, No. 24 James Madison earned the Sun Belt’s first-ever berth into the College Football Playoff, as one of the five highest-ranked conference champions. 
 
The No. 12-seeded Dukes will hit the road for a College Football Playoff First Round matchup against No. 5-seeded Oregon (11-1, 8-1 Big Ten) at Autzen Stadium in Eugene, Ore., on Saturday, Dec. 20. The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT and will be nationally televised on TNT. 

The Sun Belt has had six teams listed in the College Football Playoff Selection Day Rankings over the past seven seasons, with No. 24 James Madison joining No. 20 App State (2019), No. 12 Coastal Carolina (2020), No. 19 Louisiana (2020), No. 23 Louisiana (2021) and No. 24 Troy (2022). 
 
The Dukes completed the seventh all-time unblemished 8-0 run through the Sun Belt regular season and capped their current 11-game winning streak with a 31-14 win over Sun Belt West Division champion Troy in the Credit Union 1 Sun Belt Football Championship presented by Visit Pensacola. With the win, James Madison became the second program all-time to complete an undefeated Sun Belt regular season and win the championship game, joining Louisiana (2021). 
 
James Madison’s current 11-game winning streak trails only No. 1 Indiana (13), while its seven wins over bowl eligible teams lead the nation alongside No. 1 Indiana and No. 2 Ohio State. 
 
James Madison enters its first College Football Playoff appearance boasting the nation’s No. 2 rushing defense (68.5 yards per game), No. 2 total defense (247.6 yards per game), No. 6 rushing offense (245.8 yards per game), No. 10 scoring defense (15.8 points per game) and No. 10 scoring offense (37.3 points per game).