Bob Chesney Reveals James Madison Prep For Autzen Stadium Chaos

The No. 12 James Madison Dukes are set to travel to Eugene, Oregon, on Thursday before facing the No. 4 Oregon Ducks in the first round of the College Football Playoff. The Ducks are the hosts as the higher seed, meaning James Madison coach Bob Chesney and his team are busy preparing for the notorious noise of Autzen Stadium.

Chesney spoke to the media on Monday and revealed how James Madison is trying to mitigate the effect that Oregon fans could have on the game:

Bob Chesney James Madison Dukes Oregon Ducks dan lanning autzen stadium college football playoff first round — Nov 22, 2025; Eugene, Oregon, USA; The Oregon Ducks fans cheer against the Southern California Trojans during the second half at Autzen Stadium. | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

"So, obviously we're in finals last week, so we had a couple speakers out there and that was it. But now we'll be able to go live in the stadium and just make sure it's loud as it can be where we want to try to make this where we can't even hear each other on both sides of the ball and knowing it will affect the offense and the special teams more than it will ultimately the defense, but that is definitively what we're jumping into," said Chesney.

"Yeah, we have all their songs, all the things they do, right? Their band, their music, everything that we could gather is what we're putting on display out there for our guys, so that that's something that they've heard before," Chesney said.

Chesney also addressed James Madison's travel plans, flying across the country from Virginia to Oregon. The Dukes will arrive in the Pacific Northwest on Thursday ahead of Saturday's game.

"We'll just make sure that we're using all the time we got to make sure that we're buttoned up on the plays that we want to run, and offensively and defensively, and just making sure that we're not missing anything. To get out there, the time difference, not a whole lot you could ultimately do about it. But it does make the game a little bit later, which is a night game that we've been playing, which is good. But it makes the mornings a little bit later even, which sometimes could be a benefit, so I think it's a welcome change," Chesney said.

Autzen Stadium is known for giving Oregon a home-field advantage, and the Ducks had won 18 straight games at home before losing to the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers earlier in the year.

While the Ducks are expected to have a home-field advantage, Oregon is heavily favored over the Group of Five opponent. Odds on DraftKings Sportsbook have Oregon favored by 21 points over James Madison. Still, the Dukes rank No. 10 in scoring defense and scoring offense, and the Ducks could have their hands full on Saturday.

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Chesney is considered one of the top Group of Five coaches in the country, and he is set to become the next head coach at UCLA once JMU's run in the CFP comes to an end. Until then, Chesney's focus is on Oregon. He broke down some of his thoughts on the Ducks' roster, and the James Madison coach was quite complimentary of Oregon's players and coaching staff:

"Well, I mean, their personnel is very good. So whether you go to the O-line or D-line or you go into the secondary or the receiver group, you go to the running back or the linebackers, they have a lot of talent, speed, size on that field. That's one. Two, then, is that they're extremely well coached. They are just really, really good in understanding protections and trying to break those protections," said Chesney.

"They do not quit as they're pursuing the quarterback. And I see a lot of the big plays that have happened against them have been quarterbacks being able to evade some sort of rush, then get their feet set and find something downfield. Offensively, the way that they are in unison on the O-line is just very, very good," he continued.

Chesney was also asked about managing the excitement level of his team as James Madison prepares to play in the first CFP game in school history.

"Yeah, well, you've been around long enough to know that for us, we know what got us to this moment, and that's what we have to continue to do," responded Chesney. "We won't need to change anything that we do. This isn't necessarily special, this is important. And just like every game that we go into, none are ultimately more special than the other, they're important. And your preparation will lead you to that moment."

"When you walk on that field and you have no regrets because you've prepared the way that you're supposed to prepare, and then you just go out there and you have to just fire every bullet you got and make sure that you are fully locked in and excited for the opportunity," the James Madison coach continued.

"And I think that our guys understand that this can't be different as far as our preparation or anything that goes into it. Obviously, there's a little bit more with the size and the speed and the angles you have to take and the way you have to tackle," said Chesney. "All those things have to be as fundamentally sound as humanly possible."

"Every gap has to be handled on defense and every opportunity to make a catch or a competitive catch or to break a run and see the hole perfectly as it presents itself. You can't go searching for those things, but you have to be fully locked in and just continue to be who you are and do that on a play-by-play basis," Chesney concluded.

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