James Madison-Appalachian St. betting: Odds, preview, picks, start time for Thursday Week 8 college football — SkimNews
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- James Madison (7-0, 4-0) visits Appalachian State (4-2, 1-1) at 7 p.m. ET Thursday at Kidd Brewer Stadium, with DraftKings listing JMU as a 10.5-point favorite and the Over/Under at 56.5.
- JMU's offense leads the Sun Belt at 461 yards and 42.9 points per game, while its defense allows a conference-best 16 points per game and has racked up 18 sacks with 11 different players getting to the quarterback.
- Camden Coleman has thrown for 1,335 yards with 17 TDs and just one interception, while running back George Pettaway has piled up 667 rushing yards and seven scores to anchor a balanced attack (223.7 rushing, 237.3 passing yards per game).
- Appalachian State snapped a two-game skid with a 35-32 comeback win over Coastal Carolina, where Jaquari Lewis ran for four touchdowns and backup QB Henry Hasselbeck added 125 rushing yards and his first career TD pass.
- The SportsLine model projects Under 56.5, hitting in 68.9% of its 10,000 simulations, and both defenses allow fewer than 38 points combined while making it tough to run.
- JMU routed App State 58-10 in last season's meeting, holding the Mountaineers to 146 total yards and a single rushing yard — a stark contrast to JMU's current +7 turnover margin.
- App State is 4-2 against the spread but has covered just once in four home games, while JMU is 6-1 ATS and has gone Over the total in three of four Sun Belt contests.
Why it matters: JMU, last year's CFP first-round participant now fourth among AP Top 25 teams receiving votes, faces a conference test that could cement its Sun Belt title push. The 10.5-point spread rests on JMU's 16-points-per-game defense against an App State offense that has scored 27 or fewer in three of seven games, and the model's 68.9% Under projection leans into the defensive matchup rather than JMU's inflated 42.9-point scoring average (skewed by an 87-3 win over Wagner).
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