JMUSB Game #3 Preview: Albany @ JMU

And just like that, conference play is here with the Albany Great Danes coming to town for an early-season test before the big road trip to Texas next week.

The Basics

Match-up: #10 JMU Dukes (2-0) vs. Albany Great Danes (1-1), unranked

Kickoff: 3:00 in Bridgeforth Stadium

Weather: Perfect. 84 degrees, sunny. It really doesn’t get better than this for serious rootin’

Broadcast: Comcast SportsNet (Yes, that CSN so almost all of JMU Nation should be able to catch this one)

On Albany

As  you may recall, the Dukes Ryan Maglio kicked a game-winning Field Goal at the gun that allowed the Dukes to slip out of upstate NY with the win last year 31-28. As you may also recall, like last week’s opponent Lehigh, this game appeared on the schedule before JMU had really begun clicking on what would ultimately turn into a huge run of success to end the season. In fact, this game was the start of that run and a season and program turning point coming off back-to-back losses and a questioning fanbase early in the campaign.

It’s hard to glean much intel from Albany’s first two games which have gone as expected. A blowout loss to solid MAC school Buffalo to open is nothing to say the Danes aren’t good and a blowout win over hapless Rhode Island last week is nothing to say they are. Albany features a Penn St. transfer, D.J. Crook, at QB, though he only threw a handful of passes for the Nittany Lions before starting this season. And while they return four players along the O-Line, they lost mostly all of their significant skill-position contributors including the RB that caused the Dukes a good bit of trouble last year. That said, Freshman Eliot Croskey is the current CAA Rookie of the Week after posting 141 yards and two TD’s on a whopping 33 carries last week.

A really big disappointment for the Danes in the early season has been the loss to injury of their leading tackler and all-around stud LB Mike Nicastro. This helps the Dukes for sure, but we hate to see players lost to injury for anyone.

Biggest Factor This Week

Tempo and Turnovers – plain and simple. With that run-heavy offense and a shaky, raw player at QB, the Great Danes will try and control the clock and limit the Dukes’ murderous offense’s opportunities. As we all know, the Dukes simply don’t give a crap about Time of Possession and we also know that when you AVERAGE 55.5 points it truly doesn’t matter because that tempo forces the other team to keep up and ultimately leads to mistakes. But the Dukes have GOT to limit their own turnovers so as not to assist Albany in their efforts to slow the game down. If the Dukes have zero or one turnover this week, they should be able to handle the Danes. Anything more and this could get a lot dicier than we’d all like.

It will also be interesting in a potentially frightening way to see how the Dukes’ defense handles the loss of Simeyon Robinson to suspension earlier this week, especially given how much Albany would like to run the ball and control the clock.

Tailgate Invite

So it’s only half of us, and that’s the unfortunate part for rational fans, but through the generosity of a fellow Duke, we’ve moved into the heart of P-Lot craziness for this week. Just look for the JMUSB banner near the tunnel end of the lot. We’ll be working from around 10 a.m. on a low country boil along with the below mentioned beers of the week.

JMUSB Beer of the Week

Freak of Nature Double IPA from Wicked Weed Brewing in Asheville, NC. This is the closest thing we’ve found to the untouchable Heady Topper. It can’t match that Vermont legend, but it’s darn good and similar to it’s northern neighbor, possesses a signature bunch of flavors all its own. Wicked Weed is an incredible brewery supported by the money from the Guthy-Renker late night infomercial people. They have a whole separate facility for sours, an unbelievable pub facility in downtown Asheville, and a lineup of beers a mile long. This is one of their absolute best and has been widely released for the first time this year. If you’re looking for a regular IPA from them, they’re also doing four-packs of the lighter Pernicious this year.

Official JMUSB Prediction

The Great Danes traded punches with the Dukes all game last year and nearly sent the season into a tailspin. JMU will not take Albany lightly after last year’s close call and with this being the first game in CAA play. Hopefully the Dukes will play with chips on their shoulders, determined to prove that they’re better than they showed last year in New York’s rotten capital. We’re ready to sound the “all aboard” for the Dukes Death Star. Albany hangs around for a half, but the Dukes just keep firing and the defense keeps improving. 52-20 Dukes. Keep rootin’!