LANDOVER, Md. — Can a Top 10 Football Championship Subdivision football program beat a top a Top 10 Football Bowl Subdivision program on a neutral field?

In the end, after you chase away all the talk, that is what today’s 4:30 p.m. meeting between West Virginia University’s No. 8/9 FBS Mountaineers and James Madison’s No. 4/5 FCS Dukes is all about.

The matchup survived when WVU joined the Big 12 and had to cut a game from its schedule, the Mountaineer administration making a money grab for a game in a pro stadium in a highly important recruiting area rather than risk what could be a magnificent season by going to Florida State and playing the No. 7 Seminoles.

Considering tickets sales, it appears the public would have rather have seen a game against FSU as this one may not break 40,000 in attendance, half of them WVU fans, in the massive 79,000-seat Fed-Ex Field.

Not that a soul in the administration is bemoaning the fact that the game will not have the attendance of a real home game or the television exposure of a Florida State battle, being instead on ROOT Pittsburgh rather than on a national network.

The reason is the $2.3 million guarantee, plus the TV rights. WVU normally takes in around $2 million for a sold-out home game in Morgantown.

WVU coach Dana Holgorsen likes the idea of playing in a pro stadium in the Washington, D.C., area.

“It is important to us to have a presence over there,” he said of the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area. “It is important, too, recruiting-wise. It is important to the 20 or so kids from that area.

“(Athletic director) Oliver (Luck) and (WVU President) Dr. (James) Clements have looked at it as important. We have switched conferences and will be playing a lot of games in the Southwest and Midwest, so this is important for us. In the Big East, we played over there three times a year. We want to have a presence.”

His players also are looking forward to playing in a pro stadium.

“It is nice for our guys to play in the pro stadiums. I wouldn’t want my home stadium to be a pro stadium. We did it twice last year, but it seemed like our guys got juiced up for that. Next year, we will play in the Ravens stadium. Family and friends get excited for that, too. Recruits and players do, too,” Holgorsen said.

The game also will serve as a tribute to one-time WVU great Sam Huff, a member of both the college and professional halls a fame. Huff, 77, was an NFL pioneer, and the CBS special narrated by Walter Cronkite on the life of a middle linebacker for the New York Giants — entitled “The Violent World of Sam Huff” — is credited as being an important element in the rise in popularity of the professional game.

“I was at an event with Sam this past summer and hung out with him one night. He’s a great guy and a tremendous legend here in West Virginia,” Holgorsen said. “His name and number is up in our stadium. The players don’t remember the footage of him, but they understand what he means in West Virginia.”

None of that can take away from the only legitimate reason for the trip across the Alleghenies, and that is the Mountaineers’ continued march toward national prominence and, perhaps, a spot in the national championship game.

There is a stark contrast in styles between these two teams. James Madison is more old-fashioned and basic in its approach, a team that will run first if it can and one that is built around its defense.

“They tackle well, and they are sound. If you are fundamentally sound and you play with effort, you will be good,” said Holgorsen.

He then heaped truly heavy praise on the Dukes, especially in view of a poor defensive performance against Marshall in a 69-34 opening victory.

“What I see out of them is what I would like to see out of us. We want to get to the ball and make tackles. We need to do it all the time, instead of two-thirds of the time. It is really pretty impressive watching them get to the ball and making tackles. The challenge offensively for us will be getting to guys and sustaining our blocks. It is going to make our job harder offensively because of their fundamentals.”

The offense is built around the skills of two players — tailback Dae’Quan Scott and quarterback Justin Thorpe.

Scott’s availability was in question for most of the week due to an ankle injury suffered in JMU’s 42-3 victory over Alcorn State to make them 2-0.

WVU, however, provides a team of different skills than Saint Francis, Pa., and Alcorn State, their two victims, with Geno Smith launching his Heisman Trophy campaign with a near-perfect game at quarterback, throwing to Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey while Shawne Alston chewed up yardage behind a powerful showing by the offensive line.

“I don’t know if you can get ready,” JMU coach Mickey Matthews, a former Marshall assistant under Jim Donnan, said. “You are competing against a guy who is probably going to win the Heisman (Smith). I don’t know if he’ll win it, but he’ll be invited to New York, and he has two guys who will be carrying suitcases for him catching passes.”

That, of course, would be receivers Austin and Bailey

Lower-division schools have gotten no mercy from Holgorsen in prior meetings, the scores of his games against FCS/Division I-AA teams in seven victories being 55-16, 55-7, 55-3, 75-7, 62-0, 80-21 and 63-7.

That adds up 445 points scored and 61 allowed.

Email Bob Hertzel at bhertzel@hotmail.com or follow him on Twitter @bhertzel.