JMUSB Game Preview #3 – Norfolk State at JMU

JMU wraps up the out of conference portion of its schedule this Saturday when the Dukes welcome the (Googles it) Spartans of Norfolk State University (NSU) to the ‘burg. It’s another chance for JMU to work out some kinks and get prepared for when CAA play starts next week. If it sounds like we’re looking ahead and chalking this one up as a W, there’s a simple explanation. It’s because we’re looking ahead and chalking this one up as a W.

All kidding aside, it’s nice to see NSU on the schedule. Yes, NSU doesn’t seem to be quite up to JMU’s level, but we’d personally much rather see JMU play another in-state team, than some random NEC squad. And NSU’s head coach Latrell Scott, served as JMU’s tight ends coach under Mickey Matthews, so he’s got JMU ties. He also used to coach the Spiders, which is a bit of a red flag on any resume.

The Basics

Match-up: #1 JMU Dukes 2-0 vs. NSU Spartans 0-2
Kick-off: 3:300 PM on Saturday, September 16 in Bridgeforth Stadium
Weather: Clear skies with highs in the low 80s
Broadcast: Televised on MASN2 and Streaming (outside of VA) via Madizone

How We Got Here

The Dukes defeated ETSU 52-10 last weekend to move to 2-0 for the season. It was JMU’s 14th win in a row, the longest active streak in D1 football. Bryan Schor threw for over 300 yards and 5 TDs. And the defense completely dominated ETSU, limiting them to only 3 offensive points. The running game was uncharacteristically off after an outstanding performance in the season opener against ECU. Through two games JMU has played well, but is still looking for a game where all phases find their “A game.”

NSU on the other hand, comes into the game slightly less hot than the Dukes. The Spartans lost to William & Mary by the score of 20-6. Against the Tribe, NSU struggled to find any sort of rhythm, converting only 3 of 13 third downs and surrendering 5 sacks. With the loss, NSU fell to 1-14-1 versus CAA teams.

Prior to the W&M game, NSU played Virginia State from Division II. And they lost. They played a legit 60 minute football game with real refs, a stadium, scoreboard, and all the trimmings, along with a team full of Division II players. And again, they lost. Saturday might not go well for them.

What You Need to Know About NSU

They play two QBs and JB Smoove went there. Since this is a football preview, we’re probably obligated to discuss the former, so here goes. Coach Scott hasn’t settled on a QB year and has given two guys reps behind center. Juwan Carter has taken the majority of the snaps. He’s got plenty of talent, but has his work cut out for him as a true freshman. Coming out of high school in Richmond he was the 5A State Player of the Year as a senior and a two time state champion. He struggled in his first game, completing only 7 or 19 for no TDs and a pick. He was slightly better against W&M, going 11 for 19 with no picks.

Tripp Harrington is also a freshman and has seen limited action through two games. He’s a dual threat QB who came to NSU after a year at Fork Union. He’s attempted only 18 passes all season, completing 9 of them. He can make plays with his feet, but appears to be the second option in Scott’s mind.

JB Smoove doesn’t play football and has pretty much nothing at all to do with Saturday’s game. He’s hilarious though and he did attend NSU back in the 80s though, studying engineering and graphic design. And once I found out he went to NSU, I kind of got lost in this YouTube wormhole of Curb Your Enthusiasm clips (here’s a sample). I’m 100% certain it was a better use of my time than doing further research on NSU football. Also, Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 9 premiers October 1.

What We Want to See From the Dukes

Balance, balance, balance. The passing game was lights out in game two. The running game was lights out in game one. We’d love to see them both firing on all cylinders Saturday afternoon.

With Jonathan Kloosterman back from suspension this weekend, the Dukes will have another veteran to help the offense while passing or running. He’s a solid blocker who also developed some nice chemistry with Bryan Schor in the passing game down the stretch last year. Nick Carlton played well in Kloo’s absence and earned valuable playing time, but we expect the offense to improve now that it’s one step closer to full strength.

And if the Dukes could cut out the dumb penalties in the return game, that’d be cool too.

How NSU Can Win

By generating turnovers, getting some lucky breaks, benefitting from some bad calls, hoping JMU makes dozens of dumb mistakes, controlling the clock, praying for a monsoon to strike every time the Dukes get the ball, experiencing some weird geological phenomon that causes the field to literally tilt downhill every time they’re on offense, and making big plays. It’s a simple game plan. They just need to execute it.

How JMU Can Win

Play smart and don’t beat themselves. The guys on NSU are good athletes. They’re better at football than we are at most things. We’re busting chops, but we really do respect the Spartans the same way we respect all college athletes. But JMU is a far better football team. The Dukes just need to limit the mistakes and play football. They don’t need to do anything fancy.

Interlude

If you’ve made it this far, you probably deserve a treat. Well, we can’t give you anything tangible, but here’s a cool gif of a manatee smashing its face into some glass.

Time for the Plugs

As you all know, there are plenty of people hurting after the most recent hurricanes. All are worthy of our support, but we decided to focus on trying to help one JMU alum who lost pretty much everything. We’re donating $1 for every point JMU scores this weekend, plus some more based on the number of others we can get to join in. We would love it if some of you considered helping out as well. Read all about it here.

Also, the Richmond Duke Club is participating in an online food drive contest. It’s the Alumni Charity Challenge hosted by the VCU Alumni Association and involving a alumni from a whole bunch of different schools. The goal is to collect 20,000 pounds of food. Read all about it and find out how to donate here.

JMUSB Beer of the Week

Oktoberfest starts Sunday in Germany, so I wanted to try a few Oktoberfests or feist beers and offer one up as our BOTW. Unfortunately, it’s hard to find many of them on the shelves, because they seem to be crowded out by that awful sludge called pumpkin beer. I’ll keep looking though and see if we can slide one in down the road.

So we’re back to another IPA. Because IPAs are what I’ve been drinking lately (evergreen sentence). The JMUSB Beer of the Week is Citra Ass Down by Against the Grain Brewery. Based on the name, you can probably tell it features citra hops, so it’s more fruity than piney. It’s a good one to have while we hang on to the warm weather for a few more weeks. Grab some cans and let us know what you think.

Official JMUSB Prediction

The Spartan gameplan we described above is a solid one, but we don’t think they execute. Schor and the receivers pick up where they left off last week, Marshall and Johnson go over 100 yards, and the defense dominates. Dukes roll big. JMU 45 – NSU 3.