WSU to try and spoil No. 21 James Madison's CFP race in road matchup

Nov. 21—When his Washington State club is looking at another long flight, headed to another part of the country to play a team from another walk of life, Tucker Large doesn't get too creative. While some teammates might watch movies or listen to music, the veteran safety likes to keep things businesslike.

"The last couple of fights I've really just downloaded film," Large said.

As the Cougars head back east, this time to take on No. 21 James Madison at 10 a.m. Saturday on ESPN+, they'll hope Large notices something on film that can help his group take down the surging Dukes.

At 5-5 on the year, WSU needs one more win to secure bowl eligibility, which would make nine of the last 10 years the program has made a bowl. On the other side, JMU needs a win to cement its case for the College Football Playoff, which takes the highest-ranked Group of 5 conference champion. The Cougs profile as one of the tougher opponents the Dukes will have faced this fall.

The game won't feature ESPN's College GameDay, as it was rumored to last weekend, but it still comes with plenty of high stakes. The Cougs can earn bowl eligibility this week, sure, and many projections see them playing in the New Mexico Bowl. But on top of spoiling the Dukes' playoff run, they can also earn coach Jimmy Rogers' first signature victory, which has eluded the Cougars this fall, even when they've had the opportunity right in front of them.

"JMU is a great team," Rogers said. "They've got great personnel. Defensively, play extremely physical, run around, multiple fronts. They're fast, and they run around together, and they're physical up front, so it'll be a challenge for us offensively. Defensively, they've got numerous backs that are really talented and a really, really good quarterback that's done a really good job this whole season. I think collectively, O-line wise, this may be the most complete O-line that we've faced thus far. It's gonna be a challenge for sure, and we're excited for it."

Under second-year head coach Bob Chesney, rumored to be a candidate for the open UCLA job, 9-1 JMU is soaring. Since suffering their first and only loss of the season, which came to Louisville in early September, the Dukes have rattled off eight straight victories, winning by multiple scores in all but one. Dual-threat quarterback Alonza Barnett III has blossomed into one of the best QBs in the Group of 5 ranks, racking up more than 2,000 yards passing and nearly 400 rushing.

The Dukes' defense is also one of the best nationwide, at least in terms of stop rate, which is the percentage of a defense's drives that end in punts, turnovers or a turnover on downs. JMU's mark is nearly 75%, which ranks ninth in the country. Opponents are averaging just 269 yards against the Dukes' defense, which is fifth in the nation.

Can WSU's offense buck those trends? That much might depend on which version of the Cougars shows up — specifically which version of quarterback Zevi Eckhaus shows up. On the year, he's played well at home, most recently leading WSU to a blowout win over Louisiana Tech last weekend. He avoided throwing an interception in that game, turning around a recent turnover bugaboo, which saw him throw six in his previous three games combined.

But the Cougs haven't looked like the same team on the road. In their last away game, their offense all but vanished in a dismal loss to Oregon State. In their road game before that, they blew a two-score lead in a setback to ACC power Virginia, which used a 12-0 fourth quarter to send WSU packing.

What's been the common denominator? Look no further than penalties. Against Louisiana Tech, WSU was called for nine penalties for 75 yards. Against Oregon State, 10 penalties for 90 yards. The Cougars limited their penalties to only five in a win over Toledo, but in their defeat to Virginia, their lack of discipline reared its ugly head: seven penalties for 33 yards, five coming in the fourth quarter alone.

In a side room in Charlottesville, where Rogers discussed his group's loss to the Cavaliers back in mid-October, Rogers didn't make excuses for the penalties, but he did say the crowd noise made a difference. JMU's Bridgeforth Stadium doesn't hold as many people, with a capacity of about 24,000, but the game has sold out. To walk out of there with a win, with bowl eligibility, the Cougars can't let the environment get to them.

"Versus a tougher team, the margin of error is gonna pay dividends in a win," Rogers said. "So we need to lock in and make sure that we execute in all phases, not just on defense or offense. It's a team and it's our focus. It's the staff included. We need to make sure that we're all champing at the bit to get better."