There are just three unbeaten teams remaining at the top level of college football.

James Madison (7-1) lost its first game of the season as James London hit a 40-yard field goal in overtime to give Appalachian State a 34-31 win over the Dukes.

It’s JMU’s first regular-season loss in over a year. The Dukes last lost in Week 2 of the 2025 season in a 28-14 defeat to Louisville.

App State took a 31-24 lead with just under six minutes to go, but JMU went 71 yards in 15 plays to force overtime on QB Camden Coleman’s six-yard TD run with just three seconds to go. Dukes coach Billy Napier could have gone for the win with a 2-point conversion, but he instead opted to go to the extra period.

At the time, it was a defensible decision. Napier had the better team entering the game. But App State sacked QB JC Evans on first down for an 11-yard loss to start overtime. JMU then had to attempt a 47-yard field goal and Morgan Suarez’s kick bounced off an upright.

Mountaineers QB Malachi Singleton was 26-of-40 passing for 271 yards and threw two touchdowns while Henry Hasselbeck — the son of former NFL QB Matt Hasselbeck — threw for another score. JMU RB George Pettaway rushed 15 times for 57 yards and a TD before he had to leave the game due to injury.

The loss is a significant blow to JMU’s hopes of making the CFP for a second straight season. A year ago, the Dukes got help from Duke as the Blue Devils won the ACC title. JMU finished as the fifth highest-ranked conference champion in the CFP committee’s rankings and earned a trip to Oregon in the first round.

A similar scenario is unlikely to repeat itself in 2026. In all likelihood, JMU is competing with Boise State and others for the non-power conference champion spot in the playoff. And with Boise State’s lone loss — so far — coming at the hands of Oregon, the Dukes are in a very disadvantageous position.