1985 James Madison Dukes football team

The 1985 James Madison Dukes football team was an American football team that represented James Madison University during the 1985 NCAA Division I-AA football season as an independent. In their first year under head coach Joe Purzycki, the team compiled a 5–6 record.^[1]

1985 James Madison Dukes football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–6
Head coach	Joe Purzycki (1st season)
Home stadium	JMU Stadium
Seasons ← 1984 1986 →

1985 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 9 Georgia Southern ^			–					13	–	2	–	0
No. 11 Eastern Washington ^			–					9	–	3	–	0
No. 18 Richmond			–					8	–	3	–	0
Colgate			–					7	–	3	–	1
Delaware			–					7	–	4	–	0
Tennessee State			–					7	–	4	–	0
No. 16 William & Mary			–					7	–	4	–	0
Lafayette			–					6	–	5	–	0
James Madison			–					5	–	6	–	0
Lehigh			–					5	–	6	–	0
Holy Cross			–					4	–	6	–	1
Florida A&M			–					4	–	7	–	0
Western Kentucky			–					4	–	7	–	0
Bucknell			–					3	–	7	–	0
Northeastern			–					2	–	8	–	0
^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 7	at East Tennessee State	Memorial Center Johnson City, TN	W 14–9		[2]
September 14	Morehead State	JMU Stadium Harrisonburg, VA	W 35–14	11,700	[3]
September 21	Liberty	JMU Stadium Harrisonburg, VA	L 3–9	11,000	[4][5]
September 28	at No. 7 William & Mary	Cary Field Williamsburg, VA (rivalry)	L 14–31	12,200	[6]
October 5	vs. Richmond	Foreman Field Norfolk, VA (rivalry/Oyster Bowl)	L 15–31	17,000	[7]
October 12	at Lafayette	Fisher Stadium Easton, PA	L 13–20	10,500	[8]
October 19	at Appalachian State	Conrad Stadium Boone, NC	L 0–36	14,007	[9]
October 26	Davidson	JMU Stadium Harrisonburg, VA	W 28–0	14,000	[10]
November 2	No. 7 Georgia Southern	JMU Stadium Harrisonburg, VA	W 21–6	5,000	[11]
November 9	at VMI	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, Virginia	L 7–14	5,900	[12]
November 23	Towson State	JMU Stadium Harrisonburg, VA	W 13–0	9,000	[13]
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA Football Committee Poll released prior to the game