It’s the first big test for the Dukes in the New Era. And we figure folks might want to talk about it. So consider this your official thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game chatter. Enjoy the game everyone and Go Dukes!
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Supremely sloppy JMU team so far with all these penalties. Is Mickey still here?
How the hell did they call that kickoff out of bounds?!?!
Been coming to this game up year every other year for the past 10 or so years and this is the most people by far (family weekend).
Out of bounds call was horrendous right in front of is. Got some great bounces.
Why villanofun stopped running the ball is beyond me.
OMG … half-time lead !!!!
Nice to see A. Hill contributing …
GO DUKES!
Is Latney hurt? Guy started but haven’t seen him since.
With the crappy tackling and defensive back play, every game may be a shoot out.
This “tackling” is just sickening. Basic fundamentals of football totally lacking.
Maybe some big school transfers on defense next year? Just lame defense. Really getting pushed around.
Defense totally gave home field advantage back to Villanova. Maybe they got their corsets tightened too much at halftime. Definitely playing like a bunch of girls.
Blitz that god damn quarterback!
Never developed a running game on offense. Good night.
Done wasting my time with shitty football. Thank god I got to watch my son’s team win this morning. Guess cutting out sports will give me a lot of extra free time just like cutting out booze did.
Nice as vad lee shows he is a turnover machine, his replacement at GT is about to put away VA Tech in Blacksburg. Guess that’s why they let him walk away.
I don’t blame Lee. Crappy defense and poor offensive play calling in second half. Should have established the run more.
This defense is just plain bad. Withers needs some time to work on that.
“Defensive front 7 is the strength of our team”
Defense horrendous and I hate to say it, but Dukes looked SOFT all day. Nova out hit us from the get go, unbelievable that we have sunk to this level….
When is the last time JMU allowed 49 pts? Or 35 in a half? Wow. I can’t say I didn’t see it coming after the last few weeks of allowing yards and points by the dozen but I really started to believe at half time. I think it’s safe to say we have a long year a head of us. Defense is awful. Offense has no identity. I was on the Mickey bus out of town (and I know it’s only 4 games in for Withers) but we have taken a BIG step backwards. It should be an interesting poll this week.
Offense looks fine, apart from Vad throwing a ton of interceptions every game. Defense looks terrible. They need to get it together and become a more disciplined team. Teams rarely win when they give up 6+ penalties a game.
Talent level on this team, especially defense, has been overrated. Withers will need some time to recruit players that don’t suck.
Honestly I don’t blame Withers for this. Matthews sat on his fat ass the last several years getting into his assistants business or blaming them and running off good coordinators, when really he let the talent level on this team drop. It will take a few years of recruiting to get a better product on the field.
My, my Xerk. You related to Withers? According to him, everybody & everything is SO different from those “inept” previous years. So he has to own it. And so do you :). Matthews is gone & left a national championship trophy. So get over it and talk about the coach that is on the sideline.
Did anyone honestly have this game penciled in as a “W”. Villanova is a very, very good football team. We just need to sustain it a little more. Reading the negativity on here makes me madder than watching people leave after the band is done at halftime.
Offense is inconsistent but 31 points should be enough to win a game. What I want to know is how the heck do you give up two 60+ yard runs (one was actually a shuffle pass) right up the middle where the runner does not get touched by one defensive player? That resembles crappy high school defense that I get to see most Friday nights! There has got to be someone standing on the sidelines that can play better than our current staring DLine and Linebackers. I suggest we start that talent search immediately!
If only CAA games were 30 minutes ….
JMU has not been good for a long time. Adding a new head coach and some transfers is not going to change that overnight. I think the culture of the team and the program has improved and will continue to do so. That is a good start. Winning will also improve that. In recent years it looked like the players didn’t care. That has changed. Yesterday they lost to a superior team on the road…the #8 team in the country. JMU is the #8 team in the conference. Is the talent level there? I think it is on offense. Vad Lee will get better. The rest of the offense is pretty strong right now.
The defense is not good. I don’t think the talent is where it needs to be and they need to understand their roles in the new scheme. The talent is not the new coaches fault…not understanding the new scheme is the coaching staff’s fault.
Was there unrealistic hype from the coaching staff? Yes. But what do you want a new staff to do? Come in and say we are going to suck? Part of creating a winning culture is to make the players believe they can win. I am ok with the hype.
Being a good fan is supporting your team through the growing pains and the hard times. What I have to say to those fans that want to stop supporting the Dukes because of 4 games…I am glad you are jumping off the bandwagon. I am sure we will see you again when JUM starts winning again…talking about YOUR Dukes.
OBXDuke1983 is absolutely right. It has been a tough several seasons to be a JMU Football fan, but you do it because you love it. We all read this blog and take the time to comment because we love JMU Football. I can’t begin to tell you how much I hate the “fair-weather fan” types who are so quick to be loudmouths and announce to everyone how great their team is after a big win or a string of solid wins…only to completely write them off/ make excuses after a couple of bad losses (or even seasons). That’s called being a Hokie; and if you are like me, those are fighting words.
Let’s all take a step back and realize that, realistically, we are not going to win every game, every year. I’m not saying we should lower expectations…BUT…There are going to be bad, heartbreaking, and downright ugly losses right alongside solid, edge-of-your-seat, 21-16 esque victories…hopefully way more of the latter. Isn’t that all what makes being a college football fan so exciting? It’s normal and completely OK to be upset when your team loses…but if you aren’t willing to stay supportive of JMU then do us all a favor and root for the other team down I-81.
Everyone wants to “give Withers time” and “be patient” but I’m not on board with that. He is promising us juice but so far his team isn’t even providing the squeeze required. No excuses on defense (other than Stephon he barely lost any players). In the first two games of his tenure his defense has given up 52 and 49. Remember how good OSU’s defense was last year? We shouldn’t be surprised. Want to know how long it took Mickey to give up 52 and 49 points? NEVER. And before you think I’m just defending Mickey keep in mind that I think Alex Wood is the worst thing that ever happened to JMU football and Wood also NEVER game up 52 and 49. Withers doesn’t know defense so maybe he can figure out a way to score 60 a game?
High scores given up per game by JMU defense:
2013: 42 to SB
2012: 42 to WVU
2011: 42 to UNC
2010: 28 to UNH
2009: 38 to MD (we scored 35)
2008: 38 to UMASS (we scored 52)
2007: 37 to UNC
2006: 35 to YSU in playoffs (we scored 31)
2005: 34 to Delaware
2004: 45 to WVU
2003: 43 to VT
2002: 41 to Northeastern
2001: 45 to Villanova
2000: 34 to Northeastern
1999: 47 to VT
Let’s everyone step off the legde and settle down. The offense played well enough to win. You score 31 points you should win the ball game. The defense really needs some work and is no different than the defense was last year (with Stephon Robertson) — the defense was really bad last year too. The offense is night and day better than last year. Vad produced 450+ yards of total offense against a damn good Villanova team – the best team in the CAA.
JMU is standing 2-2 and I think exactly where most fans (even the coaches) figured JMU would be after 4 games. I think the remainder of the schedule sets up nicely and the next 4 games are all very winnable before W&M at home.
The new staff cannot just waive a freaking magic wand and fix the defense over-night which sucked was awful last year. It does not matter how many returners you have on a unit that was not good last year.
All the negativity on here is appaling. Do you guys even like JMU?