2020 James Madison Dukes football team

{{short description|American college football season}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{Infobox college sports team season

| year = 2020

| team = James Madison Dukes

| sport = football

| image = James Madison University Athletics logo.svg

| image_size = 200

| conference = Colonial Athletic Association

| division = South Division

| short_conf = CAA

| STATSRank = 3

| FCSCoachRank = 3

| record = 7–1

| conf_record = 3–0

| head_coach = Curt Cignetti

| hc_year = 2nd

| off_coach = Shane Montgomery

| oc_year = 2nd

| off_scheme = Spread

| def_coach = Corey Hetherman

| dc_year = 2nd

| def_scheme = 4–3

| captain =

| stadium = Bridgeforth Stadium

| champion = CAA South Division champion

| bowl = NCAA Division I Semifinal

| bowl_result = L 35–38 vs. Sam Houston State

}}

{{2020 Colonial Athletic Association football standings}}

The 2020 James Madison Dukes football team represented James Madison University as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by second-year head coach Curt Cignetti and played their home games at Bridgeforth Stadium.

On July 17, 2020, the Colonial Athletic Association announced that it would not play fall sports due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but that they would permit conference members to compete as independents for the fall 2020 season if they still wanted to compete.{{cite web |last1=Singelais |first1=Mark |title=Reports: CAA football won't play this fall |url=https://www.timesunion.com/sports/article/Reports-CAA-football-won-t-play-this-fall-15414291.php |website=Times Union |accessdate=17 July 2020 |date=16 July 2020}} At the time of the conference postponement, JMU announced that they would opt to compete as an independent for the fall season,{{cite web |title=CAA officially suspends football season, JMU still planning to play in the fall |url=https://www.whsv.com/2020/07/17/caa-officially-suspends-football-season-jmu-still-planning-to-play-in-the-fall/ |website=WHSV |accessdate=29 April 2021 |date=17 July 2020}} however they officially suspended their fall campaign on August 7 preceding the impending postponement of the NCAA FCS Playoffs.{{cite web |title=James Madison Suspends Fall Football Campaign |url=https://jmusports.com/news/2020/8/7/james-madison-suspends-fall-football-campaign.aspx |website=JMU Sports |accessdate=29 April 2021 |date=7 August 2020}}{{cite web |title=The NCAA's FCS playoffs will not happen this fall after two more conferences postpone football |url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/08/08/us/ncaa-fcs-playoffs-will-not-happen-in-fall-spt-trnd/index.html |website=CNN |accessdate=29 April 2021 |date=8 August 2020}}

In September, the NCAA announced changes for the Division I Football championship, with a 16-team playoff being conducted from April 18 to May 15.{{cite web |title=DI Council approves changes to FCS championship |url=https://www.ncaa.com/news/football/article/2020-09-16/di-council-approves-playing-and-practice-changes-fcs-championship |website=NCAA.com |accessdate=29 April 2021 |date=16 September 2020}}

The Dukes finished the regular season undefeated and won the CAA South Division title. The Dukes were not selected as the conference champions, instead the championship was awarded to Delaware (who also finished the regular season undefeated). The Dukes received an at-large bid to the FCS Playoffs, where they defeated VMI and North Dakota before losing in the semifinals at Sam Houston State, the eventual national champions, whom they blew a 27-10 lead to a matter of minutes.