Good, Bad, Ugly from JMU 27, Towson 10
The weather stayed dry and the Dukes kind of ground out a win over a game Towson squad 27-10 at Homecoming over the weekend. Here are our thoughts from the win that took JMU to a much-needed bye week and a strong 8-1 record with only three games to go.
The Good
The Defense – shhhh, don’t say it out loud just yet, but the Dukes Defense is starting to click in Coach Hetherman’s scheme. They gave up a few plays here and there. And Flacco did Flacco things that are really hard to account for and not something you see from other QB’s. But the pressure is really getting home consistently and the big plays are starting to come every week. All while still stopping the run. Five different players had tackles for loss. The Tigers had a mere 60 yards rushing and only 29 yards total in the third quarter. If this defense turns teams over, look out! 10 points ain’t gonna beat this edition of the Dukes.
Running Game – Percy went over 100 and the Dukes went for almost 250 on the ground. Even with some big defensive plays in the second quarter and the Polk highlight, it was really great to see JMU and the big boys up front get back to road-grading as it helped squeeze the life out of this game. 27-10 isn’t a complete blowout, but it never felt like a game in the second half.
P5 Speed – What can we say about Brandon Polk?! One thing is for sure, the speed and talent that got him to Penn St. sure plays well in the CAA. But it’s more than just the flash, Polk has become a reliable pass catcher and an impeccable route runner and the connection he and DiNucci have developed is poised to be one of the most explosive things in the country down the stretch. Especially with the Stapleton brothers out-muscling kids on the other side for everything else.
The Bad
The crowd exodus – whooo boy that Homecoming crowd was there to party, not root this week. P-Lot was still packed at kickoff and a whole lot of folks – not just students – rolled after the Dukes seemingly seized control by the half. We try not to complain about this, and we never weigh in on students, but it was very noticeable, especially considering the weather stayed decent all day.
The Ugly
Replay Angles – That long pass down the sidelines that Towson “completed,” and then had “stand” upon further review happened right in front of us. More notably, it happened right in front of Coach Cignetti, who for the first time we can recall this year, gave the refs the full Mickey! The kid dove, caught the ball, and very clearly landed out of bounds. But as we’ve seen over and over at Bridgeforth, for some reason that spot on the field – the JMU sideline from the 5 to about the 20 in the wraparound corner of the stadium, seems to never yield a camera angle that allows for anything to be overturned. As much as we may want to, we can’t really blame the refs if there really isn’t evidence to overturn something like that.
Couldn’t make it in person this weekend, but was treated to Arthur Moats as the color commentator. Reflecting on Flacco’s elder brother, Arthur said something to the effect that: “I had the opportunity to sack Flacco at JMU, at Buffalo, and while at Pittsburgh.”
He also described Holloway’s hits as “tone setting”
Good stuff.
My only angle on the “targeting” call was from 109 so it was down the field from me, but the refs continue to be in the “ugly category” whether its the missed replay call, the targeting call, or the 1,000,000 missed holding calls while Flacco was scrambling around… oh brother…
As a JMU grad and State College resident/working for Penn State some buddies asked me about Polk when he transferred. I think all I said was, “He’s really fast and makes plays but had some drops..it was time to move on from Penn State” – nice to be right about something.
How about that South Dakota State – North Dakota State game this weekend? SDSU gave them a run, but the Bison prevailed, of course. Despite losing their head coach and a cadre of starters, the Bison haven’t seemed to miss a beat and look primed for another championship run. Again, all roads to Frisco go through Fargo, and while I like the momentum the Dukes seem to be building I’m still not sure we’ve got the muster to beat the Bison. Time will tell.
Speaking of former NDSU coach Klieman, what a win for his KSU squad over Oklahoma. Mike Houston should take note…instead of jumping ship at your first FBS opportunity, why not stick around and build a solid program? Although I think I’m finally getting over Houston and becoming more and more sold on Cignetti.
Okay, good talk guys.