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East Carolina’s London Montgomery (7) carries the ball during an NCAA college football game in Greenville, N.C., Saturday, Oct. 16, 2025. Ben McKeown / Associated Press
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East Carolina’s London Montgomery (7) carries the ball during an NCAA college football game in Greenville, N.C., Saturday, Oct. 16, 2025. Ben McKeown / Associated Press
James Madison University and tight end Lacota Dippre compete in the College Football Playoff on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in a first-round game at Oregon.
No. 10 Miami (10-2) is at No. 7 Texas A & M (11-1) at noon, and No. 11 Tulane (11-2) is at No. 6 Ole Miss (11-1) at 3:30 p.m.
A Lakeland High School graduate and former all-state player, Dippre is a sophomore starting tight end for the Dukes and contributed to a Sun Belt Conference championship season. James Madison (12-1) enters as the No. 12 seed. Oregon (11-1) is the No. 5 seed.
The game will be televised on TNT, with the winner advancing to play No. 4 Texas Tech on Jan. 1 at noon in the Orange Bowl on ESPN.
No. 9 Alabama (10-3) plays No. 8 Oklahoma (10-2) on Friday at 8 p.m. in a first-round game on ABC to start the quest for a national championship.
“Definitely, very exciting,” Dippre said. “Obviously, growing up playing football, it is the thing you dream about — being in the playoffs. Given over the past couple of years, you’ve gone to a 12-team format. Now you allow one G5 (Group of Five). Throughout this year, obviously, how it played out, and every Tuesday night, they would put Tulane in. So, we kind of had a feeling that we had to control our controllables, but they might be out of a bigger hand than we could hold.
“When we were all together, and we watched JMU get put up on the TV screen, it hit. It clicked. Everyone celebrated that we were blessed with the opportunity. Now it is more of the fact that we had a really strong week of practice. We have to go out there confidently and go out there with your brothers on a mission.”
Dippre, a 6-foot-4, 253-pound honorable mention Sun Belt Conference all-star, transitioned to offense after transferring from Charlotte to James Madison.
Originally committed to Holy Cross when Bob Chesney was the coach for the Patriot League school in August, before his senior season with Lakeland, Dippre decommitted and chose Charlotte.
He initially played tight end, but had his biggest impact at defensive end at Charlotte, recording 25 tackles to go with three tackles for loss and a sack in 2024. After a coaching change, Dippre reunited with Chesney at James Madison.
This season, Dippre has 15 receptions for 187 yards and three touchdowns. He had a season-high three catches against Georgia State and a season-high 43 yards against Liberty. His touchdowns came against Louisville, Georgia Southern and Coastal Carolina.
Earlier this season, Dippre received a PFF grade of 87.7 in Week 7.
James Madison won the Sun Belt Conference championship in Chesney’s second and final season, as he accepted the head coaching job at UCLA.
The Dukes are heavy underdogs to Oregon, which finished third in the Big Ten. The Ducks’ only loss was to conference champion and top-seeded Indiana.
“We are just talking about us and how to make sure that we play our best game,” Dippre said. “I can’t speak about it defensively. Offensively, we have a very solid game plan. Understanding that there is going to be pressure at times. Understanding that the way that their defense plays is to take away your primary thing. I like to say that our primary thing is running the ball. Now they are going to bring pressure and load the box. We have to find ways to get 3 to 4 yards a play. You can’t be in second-and-10 and third-and-10 against these guys.”
Dippre’s brother, CJ, a tight end signed to the New England Patriots, also played in a CFP game as a starter at Alabama. The Crimson Tide lost to Michigan, 27-20, in overtime in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2024. CJ had two receptions for 15 yards in the game.
“We talked about it. It is a little different; with us, we are going all the way across the country, which he did too in the Rose Bowl, but we are playing at a home field,” Dippre said. “All week, we did the Jumbotron noise and speakers in the background, using a silent cadence, which they might not have had to do as much because they were playing at a neutral site.
“I was talking to him and understanding to enjoy it all. Obviously, Coach Chesney is leaving, and a lot of guys are seniors. Just enjoy it, every moment, enjoying it with your teammates and your family.”
Montgomery in a bowl game
East Carolina (8-4) and running back London Montgomery will play the University of Pittsburgh (8-4) in the Go Bowling Military Bowl on Dec. 27 at 11 a.m. in Annapolis, Maryland, on ESPN.
Montgomery, the former Scranton Prep all-state player and transfer from Penn State, led East Carolina in rushing this season. The 5-11, 197-pound redshirt sophomore ran for 742 yards on 156 carries with seven touchdowns.
This season, Montgomery had two 100-yard games. He ran for a season-high 125 yards against Tulsa and had 103 yards and two touchdowns against Memphis.
Former Dallas standout Luke DelGaudio, a senior, is a backup linebacker, and Valley View graduate Adam Howanitz, who is out injured, is a redshirt sophomore tight end for the Panthers.
DeLuca in Pinstripe Bowl
Penn State (6-6) plays Clemson (7-5) in the Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in New York on Dec. 27 at noon on ABC.
Dominic DeLuca, the former all-state standout from Wyoming Area, closes out his career with Penn State as a multi-year team captain.
DeLuca, who rose from a walk-on to a starting linebacker, has 34 tackles and two sacks this season for the Nittany Lions, who have won three straight games. He had a season-high 12 tackles against UCLA and had 20 tackles in the last three games.
In his career, DeLuca has 161 total tackles, with 90 solo. He also has eight passes defended, 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, two blocked punts and five interceptions for 127 yards and two touchdowns.
Quick hits
Old Dominion defeated South Florida, 24-10, on Wednesday night in the StaffDNA Cure Bowl. The Monarchs finished the season with a 10-3 overall record, with two losses coming to CFP playoff teams Indiana and James Madison.
Former Delaware Valley standout and 2023 Times-Tribune Defensive Player of the Year Justin Kalitsnik is a freshman linebacker at Old Dominion.
Delaware defeated Louisiana, 20-13, in the 68 Ventures Bowl on Wednesday night. The Blue Hens completed their debut season as an FBS program with a 7-6 record.
Former Western Wayne standout Thomas Chernasky is a senior backup offensive lineman at Delaware.
