James Madison beats Georgia State 49-22
Team pages: Georgia State · James Madison
James Madison beat Georgia State 49-22. Share this game
We had James Madison favored. It won.
Next: Georgia State at Arkansas State, Sat Oct 24 · 7:00 PM ET · Georgia State favored by 2.5
Next: James Madison at App State, Thu Oct 22 · 7:00 PM ET · James Madison favored by 10.5
How it swung
Before kickoff, our ratings gave James Madison a 76% chance, and the closing betting line (James Madison was a 7.5-point favorite) put it at 73%.
Favored the whole way: James Madison never fell below 75%.
Georgia State never had better than a 24% chance.
James Madison 49-22 Georgia State
James Madison wonMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.Georgia State 22-49 James MadisonGeorgia State lostMove across the chart, or tap a numbered swing, to see any play.No single play moved the chance by 20 points.
No single play moved the chance by 20 points.
How to read this chart
Starts from the pregame line (James Madison -7.5), at 77% 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.Every drive
James Madison scored on 7 of its 14 drives; Georgia State on 4 of its 13.
James Madison’s drives are teal, Georgia State’s amber. A line runs from where a drive started to where it ended; a filled dot means it scored.
“Yet again yes. I think it was one of the wide receivers”
When fans got loud
Busy
The jump was busy; the crowd was quiet.
What it cost
James Madison’s chance to make the playoff rose from 16% to 20%.
Make the playoff
Win the conference
Before the game (October 16, 2026) → after this result, in our model.
Georgia State plays at Arkansas State on Sat Oct 24 with a 7% chance to win the conference. James Madison plays at App State on Thu Oct 22 with a 20% chance to make the playoff.
Box score
James Madison 49, Georgia State 22
James Madison covered −7.5 by 19.5. The total, 71, went over 57.5.
| Team totals | Georgia State | James Madison |
|---|---|---|
| Total yards | 373 | 515 |
| Passing | 16 of 29, 185 yds | 17 of 27, 265 yds |
| Rushing | 37 for 188 yds | 41 for 250 yds |
| First downs | 22 | 24 |
| Third down | 4 of 13 | 6 of 12 |
| Fourth down | 1 of 3 | 1 of 1 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 1 |
| Penalties | 7 for 40 yds | 8 for 85 yds |
| Time of possession | 30:09 | 29:51 |
Georgia State leaders
- Passing Cameran Brown 13 of 25, 134 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
- Rushing Cameran Brown 9 for 71 yds; DJ Murray Jr. 9 for 56 yds
- Receiving Rodshaun Dorsey 3 for 57 yds, 1 TD; Grant Hollier 3 for 44 yds
James Madison leaders
- Passing Camden Coleman 13 of 19, 185 yds, 2 TD
- Rushing George Pettaway 14 for 119 yds, 1 TD; Seth Cromwell 13 for 41 yds, 1 TD
- Receiving Cole Keller 2 for 54 yds; Jeremiah Harrison 2 for 54 yds
No rain through the game
53° at kickoff · no rain recorded
Game-day temperatures at Bridgeforth Stadium
Drag along the chart, or step through the game.
Where this weather comes from
Measured at Bridgewater airport, 6.7 miles away. Wind and rain are airport readings near the stadium, not 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. 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 three games
Georgia State · 4-1
Rated 155th in our preseason ratings, 89th now, up 66 spots.
2-1 in its last three — but nothing on this résumé beats a top-40 team yet.
Last three games
James Madison · 6-0
Rated 85th in our preseason ratings, 37th now, up 48 spots.
Three straight wins — but still hunting a ranked opponent.
Week by week
James Madison
- Wk 2Wvs Wagner87-3
- Wk 3Wat San Diego State26-13
- Wk 4Wat Old Dominion46-20
- Wk 5Wvs Marshall45-17
- Wk 6Wat Georgia Southern27-24
Georgia State
- Wk 1Wvs North Carolina A&T59-10
- Wk 2Wat Kennesaw State31-17
- Wk 3Lat UCF30-44
- Wk 4Wvs Northern Illinois35-14
- Wk 5Wvs Old Dominion42-10
Power rating by week
James Madison is rated 5.4 points ahead as of week 6. Our power rating by week; higher is better.
Matchups
Biggest mismatch: James Madison’s rushing EPA against Georgia State, 52 points
Each row ranks the two sides among all teams. The longer the line, the bigger the mismatch.
James Madison’s rushing EPA against Georgia State’s defense
James Madison offense, 91st percentile · Georgia State defense, 39th
James Madison’s EPA/play against Georgia State’s defense
James Madison offense, 89th percentile · Georgia State defense, 68th
Season profile, all the rows
Season profile
The series
James Madison leads the series 5-0
5 meetings since 2012 · James Madison has won the last 5
- 2025James Madison 14-7
- 2024James Madison 38-7
- 2023James Madison 42-14
- 2022James Madison 42-40
- 2012James Madison 28-21
Each line is James Madison’s chance to win through that meeting. Older meetings have no play by play, so no line.
Line, fans and home field
The betting line, and the fans
James Madison fans are feeling it more than most fanbases this week (81st among FBS fanbases), in line with the numbers.
James Madison favored by 7.5 · Total 57.5
How games like this usually go
James Madison by 7.5, and it went to form
Half of games8 in 10 gamesThis game
The band is where a favorite’s chance ran in the 385 games since 2025 with a favorite of 7.5 to 14.5 points.
The market
The spread moved 5 points toward Georgia State.
The total rose 3 points.
Spread: −12.5 → −7.5 · Total: 54.5 → 57.5
The books’ cut: 4.3%, the margin built into the odds
Home field
James Madison is worth +6.4 points (±4.6) more at home than on the road since 2018 — top third of FBS, 88th percentile.
88% at home, 66% on the road against FBS opponents (22-3 home, 21-11 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 +1.9 at home vs. away over 58 games — inside the ±8.9 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.
The visitors travel about 447 miles to get here.
Where next
Conference standings
Place in the conference, then conference record.
- James Madison1st3-0
- Georgia State6th1-0