James Madison football visits Southern Miss on ESPN2 Thursday night

James Madison (7-2, 4-2 in conference) travels to Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to face Southern Miss (3-5, 2-2) on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, at 8:00 p.m. ET at M. M. Roberts Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.

Dukes look to rebound

The Dukes arrive after two straight overtime losses, both by three points. They fell 34-31 at App State on Oct. 22 and then lost 24-21 to Troy at home on Oct. 29. Before that stretch, James Madison had won three in a row: 45-17 over Marshall on Oct. 3, 27-24 at Georgia Southern on Oct. 10 and 49-22 over Georgia State on Oct. 17.

Quarterback Camden Coleman has completed 145 of 237 passes for 1,742 yards, 16 touchdowns and four interceptions. George Pettaway leads the ground game with 824 yards and eight touchdowns on 124 carries. Corey Scott is the top receiver with 27 catches for 386 yards and five scores.

On defense, Nakian Jackson leads the Dukes with 66 tackles, and Amar Thomas has three sacks.

Golden Eagles come in on a two-game win streak

Southern Miss has won its last two games after a rough stretch. The Golden Eagles lost 24-21 at Tulane on Sept. 26, 55-34 at Troy on Oct. 6 and 23-13 to Arkansas State at home on Oct. 17. They then beat Louisiana 35-31 at home on Oct. 24 and won 35-21 at UL Monroe on Oct. 31.

Landry Lyddy has thrown for 1,326 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions, completing 116 of 200 attempts. Steven Robinson leads the team on the ground with 728 yards and nine touchdowns on 142 carries. Mario Sanders has 44 receptions for 600 yards and five touchdowns.

Mathis Haygood leads the Southern Miss defense with 70 tackles, and Jameer Lewis has four sacks.

Game details

Kickoff is set for 8:00 p.m. ET Thursday at M. M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg, and the game airs on ESPN2.