Week 13 - Washington State Cougars @ James Madison Dukes: Preview, Storylines

Washington State bounced back after their loss to Oregon State, taking down the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, and now they look toward James Madison. The Dukes have steamrolled teams en route to a 9-1 record and are pushing for a Top-25 bid.

Here's everything you need to know about Saturday afternoon's contest:

Washington State Cougars (5-5, 0-1 Pac-12) vs. James Madison Dukes (9-1, 7-0 Sun Belt)

Date: Saturday, November 22nd

Time: 1:00 p.m. ET // 10:00 a.m. PT

Location: Bridgeforth Stadium - Harrisonburg, VA

TV: ESPN+

Radio: TuneIn Radio

Betting Line: James Madison -13.5 on FanDuel

Cougs Have to Stop Three-Pronged Dukes' Offense

The difficulty with defending the James Madison offense, as nine teams have tried and failed to do, is that fact that explosive plays can come from anywhere. Quarterback Alonza Barnett III has dominated through the air and on the ground, running backs Wayne Knight and Jordan Fuller have been consistently effective through the rushing attack, and the receiving game has seen continued success from the likes of Landon Ellis, Knight, Nick DeGennaro, and Jaylan Sanchez, among others.

It's not a problem of too many mouths to feed for the Dukes' coaching staff, but an abundance of talent that they can unleash whenever they want to. The Cougs have certainly had an up-and-down season defensively, and will need a strong outing to keep the high-powered JMU unit at bay, especially with the offensive inconsistency of their own.

What Eckhaus do Cougars Get?

After earning the starting job and keeping it because of his consistency and veteran presence, it's been much more of a dice roll as to how quarterback Zevi Eckhaus will perform in recent weeks. He'll have stretches where he's making smart decisions and impressive throws, and follow it up with ill-advised passes and crippling turnovers.

The James Madison defense, much like their offense, is an impressive top-to-bottom squad. Dissecting their scheme is no easy task, and entering the game as underdogs, the Cougs' offense all starts with Eckhaus. They can't afford to get down early and will need to get the good version of their signal caller to be competitive on Saturday.

Cougs Need to Play Perfect

The Cougars have been able to compete with some impressive teams so far this season, but the Dukes are a whole different animal. While their talent isn't as high as teams like Ole Miss and Virginia, they are extremely well-coached and take an approach to the game that prioritizes capitalizing on opposing mistakes.

Washington State, on both sides of the ball, has had its fair share of mental issues through 10 games. Entering the game as underdogs, they must limit them as much as possible, because if they don't, it could quickly get messy.