Dukes Dominate Towson 62-7
Making progress
Hoo boy, what a day! For the first time in what feels like forever, the Dukes truly dominated a CAA opponent and gave us all a fun, easy-going afternoon to send us into the bye week and then the meat of the schedule with a 62-7 thrashing of Towson. As strange as it is to say, it really wasn’t even that close as the offense and special teams did leave quite a few points on the field, especially in the first half.
The Good
Look, the Dukes won 62-7, so while we do have items for The Bad and The Ugly, it’s safe to say we’re picking nits and most all of this game could be listed here. But a few things really stood out in a great way today. First, Brandon Lee and Sage Harold pretty much could’ve won this thing by themselves. Their pass rush wreaked the kind of destruction we haven’t seen since DJ Bryant. They had the sacks, pressures, and forced fumbles that blew the lid off the game and allowed their buddies Rhakeem Stallings (directly) and Jimmy Moreland (indirectly) to be gifted a couple easy TD’s. Seriously, when offense was throwing away chances in the first half and a game that felt like JMU was controlling seemed stuck at 13-0, these guys just took things into their own hands, creating the next two TD’s and sending this to the half at 27-0.
Jimmy ‘Effin Moreland – Seriously, we might have to rename The Good section of our gamers “The Jimmy Moreland.” What did he do today? Oh, just block another field goal early and then jump a route for a pick six. And both of those came when the game was, briefly, still a contest. If he can avoid injury and all types of Nationing, his ceiling seems as high as any Duke ever to play in Bridgeforth.
Vad Lee – He continues to develop in the offense and put our worst fears to rest. His running is surer and you can almost see him thinking through the passing game as his understanding grows. There are times he escapes the pocket and appears to have running room but keeps his eyes downfield for the better play. It can look frustrating against an overmatched opponent like Towson, but that kind of work could very well pay off later in the season when that space doesn’t exist against UR and W&M.
The Bad
Still missing a ton of tackles on D. JMU’s defensive gameplan looked rock solid today and guys were almost always in the right place to make a big play, but the missed/slipped tackles are still keeping opponent’s drives alive and costing the Dukes. Only Marlowe is reliable in that regard right now, though it should be noted we liked what we saw from a healthier Gage Steele and Jeremiah Wilson off the bench on the tackling front.
In a closer game, we probably would’ve put the kicking game in The Ugly, but the answers just may not be on the roster. After hitting the game-winner late against Albany last week, new PK Ryan Maglio missed the first extra point and a short field goal later (he also missed a 50 yarder but that’s on the coaches, not him, for even attempting it). We’re definitely in favor of sticking with Maglio right now, but this remains a scary element of this year’s team.
The Ugly
Targeting – For the second week in row, S Dean Marlowe was ejected after receiving a Targeting penalty. And this one was horseshit. He didn’t even come close to the falling receiver’s helmet when he hit him in the side. And of course the worst part is since it happened in the second half, he now has to sit out the first half of the Dukes’ next game at Charlotte. We don’t know if the CAA has the power to review these calls after the game to prevent the suspension, but given this in out-of-conference game against the 49ers, we’re not hopeful (though better against Charlotte than W&M). This penalty is a debacle right now at all levels of football, but at the FCS and lower levels where there is no replay of the calls, the ejection/suspension is entirely too steep a penalty for questionable calls. Remember at the FBS level, the refs can review the play immediately (the call always stands as a personal foul, but the ejection – and subsequent suspension – can be reversed).
Towson – Dang it was nice to have the Towson St. we all knew and loved all those years at the bottom of the conference back. Really hard to believe the Tigers were in Frisco just this past January. Losing Terrence West is obviously huge, but what a dropoff. Make no mistake, JMU played well today and took their chances well, but this Towson team is terrible.
Up Next
The Dukes have a bye this week before traveling to Charlotte for their last out-of-conference (and boy does it feel waaaay out of conference these days) of the year in two weeks. Hopefully they can keep up the positive performances of these last two games. And hopefully we’ll have a large road-game turnout from one of JMU’s most overlooked alumni strongholds. Go Dukes!
“Boy am I glad that I didn’t have to be around today to see Marlowe get ejected or watch our kickers continue to suck. Life if much simpler and less painful now.”
A little update. At the FBS level they changed the rules this year. They immediately review the play and they can overturn both the targeting penalty and/or the ejection. Pretty sure the FCS rules are the same except the replay happens at the half/end of game instead.
The big difference this week is that we played a 4-3 on defense. Our guys looked much more comfortable and played much more aggressively which led to the pressure and turnovers. Makes since, thats what they were recruited to play. Will be interesting to see if we stick to that scheme going forward.
We didn’t play a 43…we didn’t play a 425…and Withers didn’t scrap the 34… its called a nickel defensive formation with Woodyard in the slot since Towson was in a 3 to 4 WR set most of the game. We were in base 34 when they were in their I formation, Sage and Ankrah played a good amount of their stand up ON/DE hybrid role. I keep seeing this being thrown around how Withers is stupid for not admitting he’s changed his defense… its the same defense weve seen since (formation wise) since Maryland. Albeit they’re playing much better and improving.
Nice to see the Dukes blow up somebody they were supposed to blow up!
Re: Marlowe — I don’t think it was crystal clear that the pick happened before Marlowe made contact w/the receiver; not egregious to take the INT away, even if Towson did score on the extended drive. As far as the hit itself, the available angles (and the crappy feed) appeared to show him leading w/his shoulder — I think the receiver lowering his body combined with the whiplash of both players’ heads caused the helmet to helmet contact.
Doubt the appeal is upheld, but it’s worth a shot.
With the Madizone feed: you get what you pay for…I was watching the game Saturday night and had to stop because the jittery feed was making me ill. Finally watched the game last night, but the overall product was still not great.
Michael-Disagree, We did play some nickel, granted but we had both ends
in 3 points pretty much the entire game and getting upfield. We had three stand up guys playing linebacker, call it what you want (I know that the concept of the 3-4 is to be able to play the hybrid up or down) but when we went with the 4-3 “look” we played much better. I don’t think Withers is stupid, on the contrary he played a different way on defense and that changed the whole complexion of the game. Logic dictates that players that were recruited and coached for 2-3 years for the 4-3 are going to be more comfortable/aggressive in that scheme. Hat’s off to Withers, Staley and staff for making the adjustment and getting a better outcome.
Todd- Just have to say….brace yourself… I agree with 100% of your post-game analysis. You nailed it this week. Here is exactly what I was thinking after the game:
Good: Jimmy effin Moreland is a baller. Kid can play. Sage Harold was all over the field, too.
Bad: Our defense clearly does not know how to tackle.
Ugly: Towson sucks bigtime. On film they are the worst/least talented team we have played in a long time. We’re talking like NEC-level bad. Let’s enjoy the win, but let’s not get TOO excited.
No one else has put 62 on Towson this year and that is with two missed field goals, a missed extra point and an interception at the goal line. Towson may suck but they have been competitive in every game this year accept ours. I watched them play Stony Brook last week. That game was 7-3 until SB scored in the last minute to put the game away.
This team is so deep with talent. It really comes down to learning the offense and defense then executing it. The sky is the limit for these guys. Cut down on the mistakes and there is no reason they cannot win every game left on their schedule.
They need to tackle better and cut down on the penalties. The targeting penalties are BS but they usually are anymore. If you get a big hit on a guy, it likely is going to lead to a penalty even if it is with a shoulder and not head to head.
Looking forward to W&M at home for Homecoming. The Dukes are healthy and getting better with each game.
For all of you throwback Dukes out there: Alex Wood — yes, that Alex Wood — just surfaced as the interim coach of the University of Buffalo Bulls. MACtion, baby!
Don’t believe he’ll stick since normally the whole staff eventually follows the fired head coach into the unemployment line.
But hey, recycling is good isn’t it?
The game Saturday was Towson’s worst loss…..EVER (the 55 point differential). I think the Dukes are turning the corner although Towson is not a great measuring stick. Here’s hoping that the Dukes can win out the rest of the way!