James Madison 26-13 San Diego State (Sep 19, 2026) Final Score

Team pages: James Madison · San Diego State

James Madison3-026

San Diego State1-213Final

Sat, Sep 19 · Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, Calif. · Crowd 26,487

James Madison beat San Diego State 26-13.

We had San Diego State favored. James Madison won.

Next: James Madison beat Old Dominion 46-20, Sat Sep 26

Next: San Diego State lost to Toledo 41-16, Sat Sep 26

Top comment in the game thread

The Pac-12 folding screwed everything up

Q4 4:19 · r/CFB game thread · Sat, Sep 19

How it swung

The turning point: Kneel-down (Q4, 0:46). James Madison went from 78% to 60% to win.

Before kickoff, our ratings gave James Madison a 34% chance, and the closing betting line (James Madison was a 3-point underdog) put it at 40%.

A tight one: James Madison bottomed out at 35% and won.

Up to 65% in the first quarter, then San Diego State lost it.

FinalJames Madison 26-13 San Diego StateJames Madison wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.

The two plays that swung it

1Q1 12:14Coleman 4-yd TD run, James Madison goes ahead 7-0James Madison 44% → 60% (+16)
2Q4 1:50PenaltySpecial teams43-yd punt, Acevedo returns it 10, illegal block in back on SdsuJames Madison 78% → 93% (+15)

The two plays that swung it

1Q1 12:14Coleman 4-yd TD run, James Madison goes ahead 7-0San Diego State 56% → 40% (−16)
2Q4 1:50PenaltySpecial teams43-yd punt, Acevedo returns it 10, illegal block in back on SdsuSan Diego State 22% → 7% (−15)

What fans said, play by play

The line in bold above each quote is written by our model from the thread’s comments and the play-by-play.

Q1 9:20JMU fans mock Denegal's reverse pass to Kinnard as a failed trick playCan't try the same trick that close together.r/CFB game thread
Q2 3:10JMU fans celebrate the turnover on downs and mock the slow whistleSlowest whistle of all time lolr/CFB game threadThat’s vintage JMU defense right therer/CFB game thread
Q2 1:03Hooten intercepts Denegal, Coleman scores touchdown to extend JMU leadI think Coleman should throw morer/CFB game threadHooten has arguably been our best transfer this season, only one close is Harvey the Safety from Findlayr/CFB game thread
Q4 13:49Coleman throws a 20-yard touchdown pass to Keller, extending JMU's lead to 26-7Coleman for Heismanr/CFB game threadLmao Coleman still definitely gonna get yelled at for that even though it workedr/CFB game thread
Q4 4:19SDSU turnover on downs ends drive as JMU fans discuss ACC expansionQuoted at the top of the page.JMU would jump at the chance to be in the ACC, but I don't think the ACC is going to come calling anytime soon.r/CFB game thread

James Madison’s chance to win after every play.

How to read this chart

Starts from the pregame line (San Diego State -3), at 35% for James Madison (the play-by-play feed's kickoff number, moved to match the line; our model's and the betting line's own numbers are in “The betting line, and the fans”). Dots are the biggest swings; ticks under the chart are scores. Under the scores, r/CFB comments per minute from fans with a San Diego State or James Madison flair (29 and 207); both sides share one scale, regulation only. A gold diamond marks a play fans were reacting to.

Watch the plays

The bar and the arrow show James Madison’s chance to win after each play; the logo is the team the play helped.

Every drive

James Madison scored on 5 of its 13 drives; San Diego State on 2 of its 13.

James Madison’s drives are teal, San Diego State’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.

From San Diego State’s side

San Diego State’s best moment: Kneel-down (Q4 0:46). It lifted San Diego State’s win chance by 18 points.

How San Diego State fans took it: “GG JMU... Tecs have a lot to clean up” r/CFB game thread

“The Pac-12 folding screwed everything up”

A James Madison fan

When fans got loud

Busy

Fans peaked right at the end.

Jump to the loudest stretch

The jump was busy; the crowd was quiet.

What it cost

James Madison’s chance to make the playoff fell from 4% to 0%.

Make the playoff

James Madison · won4% → ▼0%

San Diego State · lost0% → 0%

Win the conference

James Madison · won12% → ▼0%

San Diego State · lost16% → ▼15%

Before the game (September 19, 2026) → after this result, in our model.

Box score

James Madison 26, San Diego State 13

James Madison covered +3 by 16. The total, 39, stayed under 46.5.

Team totals	James Madison	San Diego State
Total yards	417	401
Passing	19 of 27, 246 yds	18 of 33, 209 yds
Rushing	47 for 171 yds	44 for 192 yds
First downs	20	21
Third down	4 of 13	7 of 17
Fourth down	1 of 1	1 of 4
Turnovers	1	2
Penalties	7 for 63 yds	7 for 55 yds
Time of possession	30:19	29:41

James Madison leaders

Passing Camden Coleman 19 of 27, 246 yds, 2 TD
Rushing George Pettaway 20 for 82 yds; Nick Herman 12 for 60 yds
Receiving Braeden Wisloski 5 for 90 yds; Corey Scott 5 for 55 yds

San Diego State leaders

Passing Jayden Denegal 18 of 33, 209 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Javion Kinnard 33 for 181 yds, 1 TD; Nathan Acevedo 2 for 11 yds
Receiving Javion Kinnard 4 for 70 yds; Nathan Acevedo 6 for 66 yds, 1 TD

No rain and calm

69° at kickoff · no rain recorded · wind 5 mph from the west-northwest, gusts to 10

September game-day temperatures at Snapdragon Stadium

Drag along the chart, or step through the game.

Fourth quarter, 0:46 left10:40 p.m.

James Madison 26, San Diego State 13 · San Diego State 40% to win

no rain · wind 2 mph from the northwest · 67°

Kneel-down

Measured at San Diego/montg airport, 2.4 miles away, and San Diego/lindberg airport, 5.0 miles away. Rain is NOAA's radar-and-gauge estimate at the stadium and wind is an airport reading; neither is measured on the field. Game times come from the play-by-play, good to a minute or two. Source: National Weather Service, through the Iowa Environmental Mesonet; rain radar from NOAA MRMS, through Iowa State University. Field direction from OpenStreetMap contributors.

Before kickoff

Recent games, the series and the betting line below are as they stood going in; the season profile is the season so far.

Recent games

Last two games

James Madison · 2-0

Rated 85th in our preseason ratings, 82nd now.

Two straight wins — but still hunting a ranked opponent.

W 87-3 vs Wagner #248 of 668

won by 84 as a 46.5-point favorite

W 20-13 vs Liberty #87 of 668

won by 7 as a 6-point favorite

Last two games

San Diego State · 1-1

Rated 36th in our preseason ratings, 45th now.

1-1 in its last two — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.

L 10-28 @ UCLATop 25 #50 of 668

lost by 18 as a 13.5-point underdog

W 53-20 vs Portland State #242 of 668

won by 33 as a 38.5-point favorite

Week by week

San Diego State

Wk 1Wvs Portland State53-20
Wk 2Lat UCLA10-28

James Madison

Wk 1Wvs Liberty20-13
Wk 2Wvs Wagner87-3

Power rating by week

San Diego State is rated 4.6 points ahead as of week 2. Our power rating by week; higher is better.

Matchups

Biggest mismatch: San Diego State’s EPA/play against James Madison, 81 points

Each row ranks the two sides among all teams. The longer the line, the bigger the mismatch.

San Diego State’s EPA/play against James Madison’s defense
San Diego State offense, 3rd percentile · James Madison defense, 84th
San Diego State’s rushing EPA against James Madison’s defense
San Diego State offense, 4th percentile · James Madison defense, 85th
James Madison’s explosive plays against San Diego State’s defense
James Madison offense, 55th percentile · San Diego State defense, 93rd

Season profile, all the rows

Season profile

James MadisonSan Diego State

EPA/play, offense

EPA/play, defense

Success rate, offense

Success rate, defense

Explosive-play rate, offense

Explosive-play rate, defense

Rush EPA, offense

Rush EPA, defense

Pass EPA, offense

Pass EPA, defense

Line, fans and home field

The betting line, and the fans

James Madison fans are in a better mood than San Diego State fans (81st vs 33rd among FBS fanbases), even with San Diego State favored.

San Diego State favored by 3 · Total 46.5

How games like this usually go

San Diego State by 3: the game against the usual path

Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game

The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 252 games since 2025 with a favorite of under 3.5 points.

The market

The spread moved 1.5 points toward San Diego State.

The books’ cut: 4.2%, the margin built into the odds

Weather at kickoff

Mild and dry. Feels like 69° at kickoff.

James Madison at San Diego State · Saturday, Sept. 19, 2026 · Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego

69°feels like at kickoff
Dryno rain at kickoff
100weather score, Ideal
Tiedfor the best of the day's 4 kickoff times

At kickoff, Sept. 19, 2026.

Weather score: 0 to 100, higher is better, for the first 3 hours and 20 minutes of the game. Ideal is 100, Comfortable 90 to 99, Mixed 75 to 89, Rough 50 to 74, Harsh under 50.

Later kickoff times scored higher that Saturday

Games in this time zone used 4 kickoff times that day, local time (kickoffs within 30 minutes of each other count as one). This game, ringed, was tied for the best of the day's four kickoff times. At Snapdragon Stadium that day, a 12:30 pm kickoff would have scored 89, against 100 at 7:30 pm.

12:30 pm: 89, Mixed
4:15 pm: 99, Comfortable
7:30 pm: 100, Ideal (this game)
8 pm: 100, Ideal

Weather score at each kickoff time.

Tap a dot to read that kickoff time.

At kickoff, Sept. 19, 2026. Wind is not drawn here; gusts are in each score.

Home field

San Diego State is worth +3.5 points (±3.4) more at home than on the road since 2018 — middle of FBS, 37th percentile.

62% at home, 44% on the road against FBS opponents (30-18 home, 20-25 away).

Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads -0.2 at home vs. away over 99 games — inside the ±5.8 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.

Night kickoff — historically worth about half a point more to the home side against the number, and not much more than that. The visitors travel about 2,168 miles to get here.

James Madison beats San Diego State 26-13