James Madison's ratings edge dwarfs San Diego State's home record

A 2-0 start and a 1-1 mark look close enough on paper, but Versus sees this non-conference matchup, James Madison of the Sun Belt Conference visiting San Diego State of the Pac-12, as anything but even. The Dukes sit 47th in FBS with a B overall grade, while the Aztecs check in at 90th and graded C, a 43-spot gap that the win-loss columns alone do not show.

James Madison's B+ offense ranks 35th nationally within FBS and pairs with a B defense at 52nd, a well-rounded profile that has carried the Dukes to 13 straight winning seasons. San Diego State's defense grades out slightly better than its offense, C+ against C, but both sit outside the top 75 in their divisional ranks. The one number working against James Madison is its strength of schedule rank of 129, far softer than San Diego State's 97.

Home comfort has mattered plenty for San Diego State, which has won seven consecutive games at home, but James Madison arrives having won five straight true road games and nine straight overall dating back to last season. Versus projects James Madison to win 31-23, giving the Dukes a 68 percent chance to extend that road streak against a San Diego State team still building on last week's split start.