Dukes Comeback to Beat Lehigh 31-28
Everett Withers got his first win as head coach of JMU yesterday. After finding themselves down 21-10 at the half, the Dukes stormed back to beat the Lehigh Mountain Hawks 31-28. Lehigh drove down the field and had a chance to tie it with a 27 yard field goal attempt with 51 seconds remaining. Freshman cornerback Jimmy Moreland blocked the kick though and the Dukes ran out the clock. At the risk of over-simplifying things, the first half was not fun to watch and the second half was a lot of fun to watch.
JMU’s first half featured a whopping 296 yards of offense. Unfortunately, it also featured a overthrown pass to a wide open receiver in the end zone, a dropped pass that could have been six, a missed FG, and several untimely penalties. Despite moving up and down the field, the mistakes resulted in JMU only scoring 10 points. Lehigh’s offense was also moving, equaling the Dukes’ 296 yards. Fewer mistakes for the Mountain Hawks enabled them to convert that production into 21 points and an 11 point halftime lead however.
After an extended halftime break due to a lightning delay, JMU stormed back (pun intended). Pulling himself together after a rough first half throwing the ball, Vad Lee looked more comfortable and passed much more effectively. The Dukes put together scoring drives of 66, 99, and 98 yards. With their backs against the wall, the offense delivered. And the defense played a quintessential bend but don’t break final two quarters. The Mountain Hawks moved the ball, but the Dukes managed to limit them to only 7 points in the second half. Jimmy Moreland saved the day with a huge blocked FG to prevent Lehigh from tying it and seal the Dukes’ win. Below are a few quick thoughts on the game.
606, 322, 284
Those numbers equate to JMU’s yards of total offense, rushing yards, and passing yards respectively. While the mistakes that limited the Dukes to only 10 points in the first half were frustrating, they’re also correctable. And it’s very encouraging that the offense was able to move the ball so well. Lee looked completely out of sorts in the first half, completing only 9 of 22 passes. He calmed down and managed to go 11 for 15 after the break. It would be nice to see him and Daniel Brown connect more, but his second half play was impressive. He took command of the offense and the Dukes scored in bunches. Good stuff.
Rushing wise, the Dukes were overpowering. Khalid Abdullah got dinged up and didn’t play in the second half, but he cruised to 86 yards in limited action. Freshman John Miller carried the load in Abdullah’s absence and finished with 107 yards on 16 carries. JMU has a ton of talent at running back and an offensive line that was clearing huge holes all day against Lehigh. If yesterday’s effort is a sign of things to come, we could see some great running performances down the line.
98, 287
That’s the average number of yards rushing JMU allowed per game last season, followed by the number of yards rushing the Dukes gave up yesterday. Credit to Lehigh QB Nick Shafnisky and his teammates who played very well, but JMU simply cannot expect to win if they let teams move the ball like Lehigh did. Lehigh had 504 yards of total offense. They ran the ball between the tackles and they ran around the edges. JMU really struggled playing contain and gave Lehigh a lot of space. Hopefully the D is just experiencing growing pains as it adjusts to the 3-4, but there is work to do. Lehigh is a pretty good team with a good QB. The CAA has some better than good QBs who will pick JMU apart if they don’t fix some of these issues though.
22
That’s the number of months since JMU beat Maine in Orono for their last road win prior to yesterday’s victory in Bethlehem. That puts things in perspective. It’s only one game, and it doesn’t mean JMU is going to roll through the CAA, but it was a gutsy win. Obviously, there were plenty of mistakes early and we were as frustrated as anyone in the heat of the moment. The team hung in there and battled in the second half, outscoring Lehigh 21-7. While it would have been great to see JMU take control from the start, the team showed a lot of resolve turning things around. There are things that have to be fixed, and fixed quickly before CAA play starts. There is a whole lot of talent on JMU’s roster though. And the win was a nice step forward after a disappointing outing at Maryland.
Let me put this in perspective:
-Lehigh was not a playoff team last season.
-The team that won the Patriot league got beat by the 3rd place CAA team 45-7.
-We played 2013 Buckeye defense and gave up 504 yards to a not-playoff team.
-We won the game on a miracle in front of a crowd of 50 band parents.
And next week we get to really show everyone how “real” we are when really test ourselves against SAINT FRANCIS.
I think I’ll go fishing next weekend or something. Call me for the Villanova game when they can try to earn my Duke/Varsity club donations and show me something. Gotta play the game on All-Madden. Rookie doesn’t count.
Who knows what it means and maybe we just haven’t seen that kind of behind-the-ropes video before, but I love the reaction of the rest of the team and the whole sidelines to the block. I have no idea if this team, or this coach, is any good yet, but you have to give Withers credit for having them care. After last week and that first half, I know what we would have seen from the last two Dukes teams and this was different. There were times last season when half the sideline (players and coaches) couldn’t even tell you what was going on on the field any more than Rob’s three-year old, probably less.
I should have said this too:
BIG props to Jimmy Moreland for stepping up big when we needed it! Love to see guys show up as clutch players when they are still just kids…. #RESPECT
I’d hate to be a Lehigh player. Those stands were bare. 2004Duke if you are going to go fishing can I have your tickets? I’ll sell them on stubhub and give half of the proceeds to the Duke Club and the other half to St. Mary’s Fund for the disenchanted and disenfranchised.
2004Duke… go fish.
The defeatist/”fail to finish” culture needed to go… for players and fans. Withers and his staff have turned the team around and set a good work ethic. Yes, they are really, really young, inexperienced and will take time to get back to contender status. Based on what we saw Saturday… they’ve started that journey. They had their first “bleed purple” moment… and passed!
“Hopefully the D is just experiencing growing pains as it adjusts to the 3-4, but there is work to do.” Is the obvious comment of this article. Ah, growing pains? Yes, there are growing pains on the 2nd game of the season with the low number of returning starters. Why would people who know football rank them 8th in the CAA?
Another week, another opportunity to grow… here we go.
I’m thinkin’ that all of our first-stringers who have a boo-boo, no matter how small, are being rested … so that we can go ‘full tilt’ when the CAA season gets underway. Thankfully, a couple of Freshmen stepped up this week to get us our first W. Success breeds success …
We have some great talent on our squad. Let’s hope the Dukes 2014 potential shines through in a couple weeks!
…What Cory said.
Does 2004Duke even like JMU? Sometimes I can’t figure it out
Funny guys. JMU is like raising a daughter who turns 18 covered in tats with two babys from two different men and has nude pics on the internet. You love her, but she is a total disappointment.
PS- I hear there is a fire sale on tix for the St Francis game. 60% off, I believe. To our credit, Maryland’s tix were only $4.50.
Hey 2004Duke, remember the 2012 Lehigh team? They went 11-1, and still missed the playoffs. Just because you miss the playoffs doesn’t mean you’re not good
I know, but we have to draw the line somewhere.
Ask the 10-0 Hampton University teams of the past what a 10 win season in cupcakeland really means…