The Dukes Take on Towson

JMU has a road game at Towson this weekend. Mickey and the 3-1 Dukes will look to get back on track after a disappointing last second loss to Delaware at home. Towson played relatively well last weekend, but faded down the stretch and lost to 8th ranked UMass 27-14. Unfortunately for the Tigers, it was their 4th loss of the young season and they find themselves in the all too familiar position of looking up at the rest of the CAA.

Let’s Take a Look at the Polls

After stumbling against the Blue Chickens, JMU slipped from 3rd to 7th in the latest Sports Network/Fathead.com rankings. True to form, the poll is littered with CAA teams. Delaware jumped all the way to #2 and Villanova, William & Mary, and UMass are all in the top 10. Richmond finds itself at 11 and New Hampshire is hanging on at 22. Even Rhode Island and Maine got votes last week! That just shows you how good the CAA is. Every single team in the conference is ranked or at least getting votes in the poll. Every team except for Towson that is.

So What’s Up With Towson?

Looking at the polls it’s easy to see why folks say the CAA is “the SEC of FCS football.” I’m pretty sure that makes Towson the Vanderbilt of the CAA. Really the only difference between the two schools is Towson’s drastically lower academic standards. Well, that and the fact that the Vandy campus is crawling with beautiful little debutantes in sundresses, while Towson’s campus tends to be overrun with homely woman who are rarely seen without a pinch of Skoal and camouflage pants. Oh, and people at Vandy speak with a pleasant Southern drawl and Towson folks have that excruciatingly painful Balmer accent. On second thought, the analogy sucks. But both schools lose a lot of football games.

Great Moments in Towson Football History

As JMU fans, we’re fortunate to have a lot of great memories. We argue about which was the best. Chatanooga? Scotty’s return against Richmond? The App State game? For Towson fans however, one thing shines above all others, November 15, 2008. It was unquestionably their proudest moment of the last decade or so and arguably the apex of the football program. Facing the 5th ranked Villanova Wildcats on the road, Towson burst out of the gates and stormed to a 17-7 lead. Nova was not ready to lay down however, and they battled back to take a 20-17 lead into the break and then took control of the game in the second half. Towson wouldn’t go away quietly however and just when Nova thought they had locked up a comfortable 10 point win, the Tigers scored a garbage touchdown to make the final score 34-31 Villanova. It might have been the finest moral victory anyone ever witnessed.

Are the Tigers Really That Bad?

Yes.

Say Something Nice About Towson

We covered this in our season preview of the Tigers. Their video board is awesome. And we were right when we said Hakeem Moore could be a difference maker. He’s leading the CAA in all-purpose yards.

How Towson Can Win

If they hang around and wait for the Dukes to beat themselves. Towson forced 3 turnovers against UMass and didn’t turn it over once themselves. That’s usually a recipe for success. If they can do the same thing this weekend, and get good field position from Hakeen Moore returns, they could steal this game.

How JMU Can Win

By opening up the playbook, getting the offense clicking, and scoring some damn points. We fully expect the D to take care of business. JMU’s offense is really struggling though and needs to find a rhythm fast. In a weird way, this is actually a very big game for the Dukes. They need to prove that they can sustain drives on offense. The o-line is very young and a big offensive showing on Saturday night could really accelerate its maturation.

JMUSB Beer of the Week

Flying Dog Raging Bitch Belgian IPA. I grew up in the DC area in the Virginia suburbs, so I pretty much disrespect all things Maryland. Maybe I’m the only one, but I kind of thought that’s what I was supposed to do. Anyway, the list of things I like from Maryland is really short. Flying Dog Brewery is on the list though.

JMUSB Prediction

JMU’s defense does what it does, and the offense starts to show signs of life. Dukes win 27-3.