Gameday Open Thread: JMU vs. NDSU
Gameday. Dukes vs. Bison for the chance to go to Frisco. What else needs to be said? Consider this your official open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game chatter.
Go Dukes!
Lock the Damn Gates!
Keep Rootin!
LET’S GO BABY!!!!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
GO FOR IT. SEND A MESSAGE
Jesus…Mike Houston should be a motivator speaker, hell with this coaching thing
Just gotta settle down.
Khalid may run for 6,000 yards tonight guys. In the zone!
Here we go baby…offense looks good and D is doing what it needs to go
What a drive! Just exactly what you would want to see from the Dukes. If Chavious can settle down a little, I think we can really get our offense clicking.
Their front lines on both sides are damn impressive, though. They definitely live up to the hype.
The coaches did a good job gameplanning the run against NDSU defense
Really enjoying my first Dukeweiser of the night! Great heavyweight title fight so far.
Bend but don’t break, like my bank account in college…wait no it broke like our 2015 defense
Some questionable calls by the reffing so far, but really liking how JMU is looking. Just gotta keep up the plays on all three sides.
I have a bet here…JMU scores in 90 seconds I’ll chug a beer..JMU doesn’t score – I’ll chug a beer
Glad I’m not the only one who has been noticing some questionable calls…
Let’s Go Duuuukkess!
Ok..that’s a BS personal foul call…they can jump on piles and cut block, nothing…some guy gets pushed…late hit? man up
ND coach at halftime, “someone run this pile of cash to the ref”. Dang
Ok Chavious is having a rough game, but a square at least two of those false starts should be on the defense…that d-end is simulating the snap which is an obvious defensive penalty. I feel bad for Chavious because the NDSU players are baiting him into jumping. Might have a heart attack over here, you guys.
So Chavious has a lot (5) of false start penalties but the refs need to throw a flag on the DE at least once as he’s pump faking and making him jump…I’m not saying he doesn’t deserve the flags but he’s getting played
well yeah…what he said
@Salerno….did we just become best friends?
so much room for activities
Double of rye got us that last field goal. Ok guys, I’ll take one for the team and get us some more points…
Abdullah! I did that. With whiskey.
Holy crap! Get a stop here and then close this thing out.
Sweep the leg!
Also, I’m pacing around my house like a raving lunatic.
Post touchdown…My wife texted me and said are you ok, I heard a thump…”yeah I just picked the recliner up and put it down”
Salerno, where are we watching the title game?
in my pants!!! or Pizza hut!!…actually we need to organize something out by me where we can organize a Gage Steele/Gunner Kane detective marathon pregame followed by stories starting with “I saw Mickey Matthews say”
Holy Crap. DUKES!!!!!!!!
Better program won?…yeah I got your better program right here
well..sorry…better team won, but better program lost they said
We just beat NDSU? We just beat NDSU.
Let me say this first. I’ll save my negative comments on the espn coverage for the post game blog. I seriously love the family feel we have on here. Maybe it’s the mixture of vodka tonics and beer. But maybe it’s just the fact you guys and gals make it fun. Yalls comments make me laugh my ass off but also provide some deep coverage. Thanks a lot.
Holy moly! What a game. Defense stepped up big time in the 4th quarter. I was super confident all week, but was a complete mess of nerves in the second half.
Frisco bound!
Yeah, what was that better program lost but better team won remark by the ESPN anchor? Admittedly they’ve won lots of titles but I guess I don’t see it. Whatever. Was looking shaky in the 3rd quarter but they helped us out with their penalty on the pooch punt and then that TD pass in the 4th secured it. And good to see the FG kicker come through. Interesting game…was expecting lots of scoring but it was defense that ruled the day. A year ago after giving up all of those points against Colgate, who would have thought the defense would be holding NDSU to 17….at their place? Will be hard waiting for the championship game. Eastern Wash will be a tough opponent. Think we could take Youngstown easily. Ok go Dukes!
This team has moxie. When things aren’t going their way and they get wobbly, they right themselves and punch back. What a tough bunch. The defense is phenomenal!
Very proud to be a Duke, tonight and always.
FRISCOOOOOOO!!! And screw you espn, biased are you?
wow, what a game. thought it was looking bleak at 17-17, defense tired and offense struggling, but we locked the gates and finished the cage (steele) match! Proud to be an alum tonight.
’88 grad and a military officer for the last 28 years. Lived all over the world and only been able to make one JMU game since graduating — that game was played Friday, December 17 2004 in Chattanooga TN and the Dukes won their first National Championship.
Tonight I’m booking tickets for Frisco TX for January 7th.
Go Dukes!
If this was played anywhere other than the Fargodome, we blow that team out. Ridiculous home field advantage.
…….AAAAAAND Hereford and Alls both missed the game.
This is the first football game I remember that was won with a timeout.
Over the last 4 or 5 years it is clear that 2004 Duke and I have not agreed many times. Tonight though we are definitely on the same page. At JMU we win by 28 or more. Neutral site we win by 10 or more…oh wait, we did that at the Fargo Dome! Duuuuukes!
I’ve always loved 2004 duke’s realism but after the past 2 weeks, I really want to drink with him. Hopefully the offensive line can get fully healthy before the game. Nights like tonight prove why I can’t go to one of the watch parties. I’m a little too nervous and running around the house. I ran up our steps 2 at a time and didn’t fall (after all that beer).
what’s the best way to get tickets?
and do we know what sideline we have, or do we have to wait until tomorrow’s game is over to find out?
jmusports.com already has them for sale. I know if you buy from them (as a duke club member or not) they will put you with other JMU fans guaranteed. $75 each.
Wow amazing game, I’m so glad I waited to book my flight unlike 2008 when I had to call the airline to cancel my flight.
Let’s go to Texas.
1) What a game. I really thought once we went up 17-0 that it would be a SHSU-type blowout. Unfortunately, we let them back in. But the tea is too talented to give up that big of a lead.
2) @JMUsportsblog can you guys do a national championship tailgating special? I’ve never been to Frisco so it would be great to know where to tailgate with the rest of the JMU faithful! What time does the tailgate start, you guys? 7am? 8am?
Barring a complete meltdown out of nowhere, this 2016 JMU team should crush either East Wash or Youngstown fairly easily. I always keep it real with you guys…..and a blowout of EWU/YSU in Frisco is entirely possible.
My biggest holdout on this years’ team has been the defense, and they all of a sudden figured it out in about week 11. The secondary started playing very physical, similar to the New England Patriots’ style. LOVE IT.
If there is any weakness, it is the O-line. They are not bad…but they are just not on the elite level of the rest of the team. They block fine, but most of our rushing yards have come from excellent playcalling and probably the greatest RB to ever play at JMU. The OL does a good job of fitting to their blocks and covering people up, but they don’t really blow people off the ball and dominate the line of scrimmage (and that’s ok because it works for this team). The RT was getting TORCHED on pass protection last night. It was partially due to the noise (and he is only a rFR), but it was more because NDSU lined their DE’s up wide. That is a nightmare scenario for an OT. Credit to the coaching staff for seeing it and pounding the ball just inside the DE to the tune of over 200 yards. That made them stop cheating the DE out wide and saved the OL.
Frisco, TX resident here. Congrats to JMU Football and all their fans !!! Looking forward to seeing lots of purple and gold in town for the championship. NDSU Bison fans have turned Frisco green and gold with their strong showings in recent years. JMU fans have big shoes to fill but I’d bet you’re more than capable. Championship weekend makes for a great atmosphere in Frisco, for visiting fans and the local community alike. Hope to see throngs of you here. GO DUKES !!!
Lock the Damn Gates!
Heading to Frisco baby….
Where are those North Dakota fans that were on this site with their predictions..Guess what your team Lost Pal and even with the refs on your side..where is all that talk now…but you had a great run now maybe we can duplicate your run after we take this year Championship. At this point DDUUKES One more big one #Lockthegates
I’m still having trouble understanding how last year’s team has morphed into this year’s team. What an outstanding transition …
We beat the 5-year champs … in their own noise-extreme ‘box’ … OMG!
What a great effort and what a great coaching staff!
Amazing BIG Win … in my Daughter’s Senior Year, no less! Thanks to all involved! 🙂
A few post-game observations:
1. Chavious had a tough game – we need everyone healthy so that he returns to his back-up role where he can improve over the summer.
2. Rigney’s loss was tough – the running game seemed to stall once he went out. The O-line was not getting the same drive.
3. The Refs should go into both the Bad and the Ugly column. One or two of the false starts on Chavious should have been on the DE. We had something like 16 penalties by the middle of the 3rd quarter, and about 6 of those were BS.
4. Love the Defense bringing the heat virtually every play during the last two NDSU drives. We were blitzing from all sides from all different players and getting good hits on the NDSU QC. He was clearly hurting by the end of the game and was missing throws badly.
5. Gage has improved almost every game over the last two years. He went from looking a step too slow at the beginning of last year to just dominating the middle during this game.
Big Shout out to Holloway for stepping up! He was all over the field. Hopefully the Southland Refs don’t call the championship game. I think they may have still been a little miffed for the beat down we put on their Southland representative, SHSU, the week before. Hoping for SoCon refs as they called a good game in the New Hampshire playoff game. Guess we could have BigSky refs now since EWU lost.
My sunday is being spent breaking down the JMU ND game on replay as I traveled over 1400 miles in 2 planes, 2 airports and text messages from my family during the game(yes, bad trip planning).
10+ Takeaways from this Alpha Dog:
1. Officials blew a lot of calls and had poor judgement (like Abdullah celebration, roughing QB in 3rd Q, holding calls, botched fumble call, missed roughing Kane in 4th and more)
2. Announcers wanted to see ND win their 6th but quickly became JMU fans. That said, late in the game they were still making “in awe” comments about ND team and gratuitous crowd shots. They know better now.
3. Specialty teams. ND punter held Davis in check, Carter and other specialty players like Ravenel also were steady and productive.
4. JMU is so deep they didn’t miss a beat on players that “didn’t make the trip”. nuff said-don’t ask.
5. Oline has been epic through injuries. Great championship teams are all anchored by great offensive lines. Jamal Powell is a very good Oline coach-don’t want him to move on just yet. A++ guy!
6. ND has a huge advantage with the facility and travel to play them. 109 decibel crowd! WE want to become the ND of the East with our stadium and our crowd.
7. Schor and Abdullah proved once again why they were players of the year and why they are legit All-Americans. True role models, true team players with their comments and character. Major assets. Combine them with coach Donnie Kirkpatrick and you’ve got the explosive offense that has embarrassed opposing defenses.
8. Bob Trott’s defense has filled the void from a poor coaching effort on defense the last two years. Perhaps the key to the season.
9. Coming out of the ND dominated 3rd quarter the Dukes showed a lot of character putting back together the offense, then defending the lead to the end of the game. Frankly, this was the defense team’s finest team effort vs a good opponent. Gage Steel, Jimmy Moreland and soph. Demetri Holloway were impressive.
10. Schor’s play in fourth quarter(including fielding a ground snap for a pooch punt) was epic folklore stuff. Tyler Gray’s career (by 12 yards) long kick-another huge late game performance.
11 and finally… Mike Houston’s passion and professionalism as demonstrated in locker room talks, press conferences, mindset, character, and transparency move him (in my mind) to the front of pack of coaches at JMU in the Division 1 era.
With Matthews, Shear, and Challace McMillin, the JMU football nation has been blessed with some of the finest coaches in the nation and the resulting program that all of us agree is the “GEM” of FCS football. #whowouldntwanttocomehere
Well stated Joe, see you in Frisco!
Ran the DVR tonight right at the end of a family dinner — and gave my mother-in-law another reason to think I don’t like her — and managed to not throw anything through the TV screen at the Linesman.
Very gritty performance by the Dukes on Friday night:
weathered the early crowd noise
dominated most of the 1st half
weebled through 20 minutes of game clock (wobbled, but didn’t fall down) through the end of the 3rd quarter
got their back up in the 4th on both sides of the ball and closed out the deal
agree with 2004Duke that the timeout was big given what happened with the offside/FG, but…
“Schor Thing’s” 3rd down flip/throw back to the right to Miller, while running left, might have been the most important play of the game
held them to 132 yds rushing, more than 100 under their average
Urzendowski had only 2 catches, both inconsequential. Good work by the secondary all night — no PIs or defensive holding calls
Holloway made several big plays and Gage Steele was a bad man on Friday.
Trying to work the logistics of traveling back to sunny Texas! This rocks!