Story by Preston Adams
Maurice Fenner carried the ball from the 1-yard line and scored a touchdown for JMU, giving the Dukes the lead again over Montana, 24-21.
JMU lost the ball on their previous drive and Montana quickly capitalized by taking a 21 to 17 lead. The games JMU played in the 2004 season and a team loaded with upperclassmen didn’t faze the Dukes, marching down the field on their next drive to take the lead again and never relinquishing it.
This is the story of how JMU won a football national championship in 2004. It’s also the story of a championship team that laid the foundation for football excellence to come.
Matthews’ Early Years
“It was a complete rebuild. It was like JMU had never played football before,” Mickey Matthews told Dave Riegert.
Matthews’ statement shows just how dire JMU was after the 1999 season, when the Dukes actually won the A-10 Conference. But Matthews was faced with a tough task and didn’t see immediate success with his first freshman recruiting class. The first two years of the freshman recruiting class were tough, with JMU having back-to-back losing seasons. But there was a silver lining when the Dukes went 6-6 in 2003.
It seemed like something was going to happen to the Duke’s family.
2004 Special Teams
“I think we knew this was going to be a special year,” Trey Townsend said in a separate interview with Riegert. “We had a lot of guys who were three-year starters … there was a trust built into each other.”
The former standout linebacker wasn’t wrong in any of those assessments: Many of the players who first enrolled at JMU under Coach Matthews redshirted their freshman years and were veterans by the time 2004 rolled around. Even Matthews spoke with quiet confidence: “We never expected to win a national championship in August, but we knew we could do well.”
Team cohesion would be quickly tested when JMU found itself embroiled in a quarterback battle early in camp. Matt Lezotte was a talented quarterback but was injury-prone. Justin Rascati, a transfer from Louisville, didn’t have as good an arm as Lezotte, but was the type of quarterback Matthews liked and a threat in the run game. Rascati eventually won the starting spot, and the Dukes started the season strong.
Other than the loss to West Virginia, JMU looked like a team on a mission: They won eight of their first nine games, including two against Maine and Delaware that Matthews said were their toughest games of the season.
“They had three times as many yards as us. They were better,” Matthews said of Delaware.
But he also said a line that was a staple of that 2004 JMU team and continues to this day: “We had a team that refused to lose.”
However, the following week they lost a game against the College of William and Mary.
“The stadium was silent when the ball went through the hoop,” Townsend said of JMU’s final-minute field goal loss.
“The loss was a bit of a wake-up call but we continued with the same mindset of coming prepared and playing hard,” he added.
That mentality propelled JMU to four straight road wins, including revenge over the University of William & Mary in the semifinals of the Class 1-AA playoffs. JMU then beat the University of Montana, 31-21, in the national championship game, on what Matthews said was “the worst field I’ve ever seen.”
A new standard
So what traits from that 2004 team helped shape JMU into the FBS program it is today?
Well, I think a winning culture is obviously one of them. It’s a term that gets thrown around a lot in sports, but JMU has a winning culture in all sports, not just football. JMU hasn’t had a losing season in football since 2002.
In a quote from his pregame speech during the 2016 playoffs, then-JMU coach Mike Houston said, “The standard is the standard,” and that standard began with Mickey Mathieu’s first freshman class and the 2004 national championship.
Another pillar of the 2004 national championship team was their stout defense, allowing just 2.5 yards per run and giving up just over 16 points per game. Except for the years after Coach Matthews, JMU has prided itself on its hard-nosed defense and run-stopping.
Townsend talked about running an eight-man front in 2004 because he trusted his safeties and cornerbacks that much. Now, 20 years later, no one does that as the game has become more pass-oriented, but this shows JMU’s focus on stopping the run is and remains so.
Another pillar of the 2004 team was their steady running back presence. When Alvin Banks and Maurice Fenner were sidelined with injuries, redshirt junior Raymond Hines picked up the ball and led JMU to the semifinals before eventually burning out. From there, as the season dragged on, a healthy Banks and Fenner led JMU to victory and a dominating championship game on the ground.
JMU continues that tradition by having a deep and diverse corps of running backs and a quarterback who usually complements them well with his legs.
Another thing to note about the 2004 season was the number of close games JMU played. The Dukes’ first two playoff wins were by scores of 14 to 13. JMU was playing an incredibly competitive game in the A-10.
Looking back at the years since, you’ll also notice that JMU has rarely been overwhelmed by teams at its level. In the A-10, CAA and now the Sun Belt, JMU has occasionally dominated rivals but never been overwhelmed. In its two years in the Sun Belt, the Dukes’ biggest loss to a conference opponent was a 14-point defeat at Marshall in 2022 when starting quarterback Todd Centeio was injured.
That “we can’t lose” attitude still permeates the walls of the Plecker Center, making losses tougher for fans and players. Every team wants to believe they can win any game, any time, if they get between the lines. JMU believes that wholeheartedly, and it all started in 2004.
Looking Back Nostalgically
JMU President Linwood Rhodes and Athletic Director Jeff Vaughn were at the helm when the Dukes won their first football national championship in 2004. They embodied the vision of former president Ronald Carrier, who wanted JMU to be a powerhouse in both academics and sports. Field hockey had won a national championship in 1994, but the 2004 football national championship set the athletic department on a trajectory to become one of the most successful and well-rounded “mid-size” schools when it came to sports. That standard was the standard in all areas, and it started with JMU football in 2004.
On September 6th, Mickey Matthews and the 2004 JMU National Championship winning team were inducted into the JMU Hall of Fame. Most fans would say this was well deserved and some might ask why it took so long.
Mickey Matthews and the 2004 JMU football team were honored at yesterday’s game. pic.twitter.com/pyo72FWV0H
— Tommy Gurganous (@TommyGurganous) September 8, 2024
With this induction came a lot of reminiscence and reminiscence. I wasn’t at JMU during this championship, but doing research and watching old videos made me feel like I was there. I think it’s because that season is when the DNA of JMU football as we know it today began. The 2004 national championship with streamers fluttering from the stands and beating a conference rival in a legendary matchup are things every JMU fan knows and loves.
The 2004 national championship team didn’t just win a title, it was the start of a winning football tradition that has led the Dukes to where they are today. The standard is the standard, and that standard began in 2004.
Photo courtesy of JMU Athletic Communications