JMU vs. William & Mary Preview

The 2011 CAA opener for the JMU Dukes is this Saturday. JMU will head to Williamsburg for a game with 5th ranked William & Mary, the team that practically everyone picked to win the conference. It’s the marquee CAA match-up for the weekend and the winner will emerge with plenty of momentum, not to mention a huge target on its back.

TV Coverage: Comcast Sports Mid Atlantic at 7:00

Viewing Parties: Bailey’s in Ballston for the Nova folks

How We Got Here

Each team enters the game with identical 2-1 records. You know the story for the Dukes. A blowout loss in Chapel Hill followed up by a shaky win over CCSU. They are fresh off a confidence building win over Liberty last weekend though in which the offense came to life. William & Mary also opened the season with a blowout loss to an ACC team, falling 40-3 to UVa, before getting back on the winning track with a 24-7 defeat of VMI. Last weekend the Tribe had a less than inspiring 3 point win over Division II New Haven. Their much heralded UNC transfer QB, Mike Paulus, was benched in the first half of the game. As a result Tribe fans are still unsure what to think of this team.

The QB Situation

Earlier today W&M’s coaches named Mike Graham the starting QB for Saturday. Graham is a recruited walk-on who was the third on the depth chart entering the season, before both Mike Paulus and Brent Caprio failed to impress head coach Jimmy Laycock. And failed to impress is an understatement. The Tribe is ranked 115th out of 121 teams in passing efficiency. Paulus has only completed 18 of 48 pass attempts on the season. So in the span of just a few years, he went from signing with UNC as one of the top 10 QB recruits in the nation, to transferring to W&M, to being benched after struggling against a Division II team. If not for the fact that his brother took Deron Washington’s nutsack to the face, that would have to be the athletic low point for he and his family.

The Dukes QB play is on a little firmer footing. Justin Thorpe has struggled to win fans’ support, but he bounced back from a rough home opener with a strong game at Liberty. He didn’t play mistake free football, but he made the throws when he needed to and showed a lot of poise down the stretch. Fans are hoping it was his breakout game.

The Academics Excuse

Spend a night out with a group of W&M alums and I can guarantee you two things will occur. 1.) You will be bored to death and 2.) You will lose track of how many times they refer to their alma matter as “the college”. They seem to think that this little pet name for their school somehow makes it sound more prestigious. In reality it just sounds sort of douchey. And it’s stupid, because the school’s academic reputation speaks for itself. There is no denying that the W&M diploma is respected all over the world. And W&M fans continue to use the rigorous academics as an excuse every time the Tribe fails to meet expectations with athletics. You’d think that a bunch of smart people would find a way to use a school’s prestige and top notch academics as a recruiting advantage, but apparently not. I’m sure there are some recruits who can’t cut it academically and thus don’t end up at W&M. That’s not the biggest reason the Tribe loses football recruiting battles with other schools though. They lose far more recruits because the school is just mind-numbingly boring. W&M is a great school, but it would be more fun to spend the four years after high school in an Armenian prison than hanging out in Williamsburg delis with high achieving, yet distinctly unattractive W&M undergrads.

Keys to the Game for JMU

Three weeks into the season and Dae’Quan Scott has already has eclipsed the 100 yard rushing mark twice. That might surprise some folks, but not the W&M defense. Scott shredded the Tribe last year as a wildcat QB, rushing for 3 TDs in the Dukes’ upset win. A win in which the Dukes only attempted a single pass. The Tribe will focus on stopping Scott, so it’s going to be up to Justin Thorpe and the offense to execute a balanced attack like they did against Liberty. The more they can get TE Brian Barlow involved, the better off they’ll be.

On Defense, the Dukes will probably put 8 in the box to try to shut down W&M’s Jonathan Grimes. Grimes is one of the top rushers in the CAA and a key part of the Tribe attack. With Mike Graham getting his first start at QB, look for the Tribe to lean on Grimes even more than usual. The Dukes passing defense struggled against Mike Brown and Liberty last weekend, so facing an inexperienced QB might be just what the doctor ordered.

JMUSB Beer of the Week

We’re going back to Cali for the BOTW this week. Our recommendation is Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA. There are plenty of West Coast IPAs that just crank the bitterness up to attract hop heads and turn off everyone else. Racer 5 is not one of those beers. It’s got a pleasant citrusy hop aroma that beer geeks will dig, but it’s balanced enough to be enjoyed by all beer drinkers. Get some. It’s very drinkable and very good.

Prediction

I had this one marked for a loss in the preseason, but I’m much more confident now. W&M has struggled mightily and will be relying on a 3rd string QB Saturday night. The Dukes’ offense impressed me last Saturday, but the pass D gave me heartburn. I’m willing to chalk that up to the outstanding play of Mike Brown though and I think the D will bounce back this weekend. The Dukes win comfortably on Saturday and are the CAA favorites Sunday morning.