JMU Suffers Back-breaking Loss Against UMass
Well, that just about does it. UMass defeated JMU 21-14. Barring a miracle, or just an astoundingly bad decision by the selection committee, the 2010 JMU Dukes are not going to the playoffs. JMU looked good at times. Unfortunately they didn’t look good in times that mattered. It went from a looking like a confidence building win, to complete disaster in a matter of minutes in the 3rd quarter. Just a quick and ugly turn of events.
I think we’ll probably have more to say about this later, but this next 3 weeks are absolutely huge for JMU. Not in terms of a playoff birth (ain’t happening), but it terms of setting the tone for the program going forward. JMU has invested tens of millions of dollars in the football program and will be playing in the best FCS stadium in the land next season. The money wasn’t spent so that 10,000 fans can more comfortably watch a mediocre team try to finish above .500. It was build so 25,000 fans could go nuts watching the Dukes win championships. Mickey Matthews isn’t going anywhere, but his job will be much easier if he ends the season with some big wins. Offensive Coordinator Jeff Durden however, is sitting on a seat that is getting hotter by the day. Or at least it should be.
We’re going to give you the quick summary good, bad, and ugly style below. Before we do that however, let’s share a little experience Todd and I had while watching the game.
The Awkward
Todd and I met at Baileys for the viewing party yesterday. Hat tip to Baileys for showing the games and for the Duke Club for making the arrangements. The set-up is pretty sweet, with a ratio of about 2 tvs showing the JMU game for every fan in attendance. Not tough to do when only 4 people show up (literally), but I digress. Anyway Todd and I were proudly sporting our JMUSB “Old Guys Leave” t-shirts and enjoying the surprisingly entertaining first half, when were approached by an old guy. A legitimately old guy. This was not just a guy college kids would think was old. This was a guy who folks that lived through prohibition would call old. Anyway, he strutted up started a conversation and then blurted out “What’s up with the shirts?” Thank God Todd was there, because he’s generally just a nicer and more outgoing person that me. Todd politely explained the story and then turned the conversation to college football. On the other hand, I was completely freaking out inside. I thought this geriatric bar fly was ready to throw down. I mean he’d have nothing to lose. What would stop him from busting a bottle over our heads in an effort to stand up for his kind? I’m pretty sure the only thing on his agenda for the day was trying not to die, so he clearly had the time. He’d go out in a blaze of glory and be a legend at every assisted living center in America if he took a swing at us with his dying breath. It was tense for minute there. Alright, back to football.
The Good
Dudzik and the Dukes first half offense. It’s a cliche to say that a football team just needs to “play loose” or “have fun out there”, but for the first time in months it looked like that what the Dukes were doing. They were mixing it up and getting multiple players involved and it was working. They even closed the half with a 97 yard TD scoring drive to go up 14-3. I’ve always said that Dudzik is at his best when he just relaxes and gets into a rhythm. That’s exactly what he did yesterday. The rushing game was working and Drew was having success tossing it to different receivers. For the first time in ages, the offense was fun to watch. Until the second half that is.
The Bad
The state of the injury depleted defense. The D has been rock solid all season and they came up big a number of times yesterday, keeping UMass out of the endzone. The injuries just caught up with them though and they couldn’t do anything to stop the Minutemen for much of the second half. I’ve been proud of the effort the D put forth all season and yesterday was no exception. By the end there were just too many regulars missing and too many guys playing out of position. The offense disappeared and the team was relying on the D to save the day once again. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get it done.
The Ugly
The play-calling down the stretch. I don’t want this to be one of those blogs that pretends to have a greater grasp of game strategy than the coaching staff, but it’s tough to figure out what was going on during the last gasp 2 minute drill. As I said before, to me, it appears as if Dudzik plays better when he gets into a rhythm. He was getting into a nice little groove on the last drive and had the Dukes looking like they were gonna score. Then the coaches decide to mix it up, take Dudzik out, and insert Kavon Seaton for the wildcat. WTF was the point of that? UMass was on its heels and the Dukes looked like they were rolling. Seaton promptly got sacked and it completely took the wind out of JMU’s sails. A few failed plays later and the game is over. The game didn’t come down to that one play, but I just thought it was a stupid decision.
So now the Dukes move on to Richmond and are playing for pride here on out. Missing the playoffs sucks, but JMU still has a chance to finish 7-4 and knock off two state rivals over the next few weeks. We still have the Tech win, right?
please tell me the “old” guy was at least 50!
Oh, this guy was well over 60. I’d say over 70, but it may have been just the decades of serious commitment to drinking the heart out of EVERY afternoon making it appear that way.
what about the UMass punt return aided by the halo rule and the blantant clipping? That was the beginning of the end.
Good write up. I agree, the wildcat thing was unbelievable. I still say that the #1 problem with the offense is that they are being too trendy. The O-line just dances around and trys to walk through the plays rather than blow the D off the ball.
Love this blog. Great write-up. Defense seems like they’ve really been doing an outstanding job, but when I looked at the numbers, outside of Passing Defense, the Dukes aren’t really shining in any catagory across the CAA. Dukes are dead last in number of sacks of any CAA school, and have been outscored in the 4th quarter by 43 points to 10, and couple that with giving up an average of 62 penalty yards per game (in which opponents have averaged 34), losing looks like a team effort. Especially the 4th quarter out scoring – that’s on both the Defense and Offense. I’ve spent 2 out of the last 3 Saturdays watching the Dukes blow it with 18 unanswered second half points (New Hampshire, UMass). Is it conditioning? Is it coaching? I won’t pretend to know. Just hope we see some magic in the next few games so I can justify upgrading my season tickets (yeah, I’m already thinking about next year).
@2004 Duke, I didn’t see the clip, but the halo rule thing was a bad break. Rose held up and before he knew it the returner was gone. Brutal.
@2005 Duke, thanks for the kind words and glad you like the blog. I think you have a valid point about the D. I’ve been really impressed with their effort all season, but while they’ve kept the Dukes in a lot of games, they haven’t caused too many turnovers (notable exception was at VA Tech) or gotten a lot of sacks. It seems to be a classic Mickey Matthews “bend but don’t break” defense. That works great when the offense can score more than 2 TDs. I’m still pleased with that side of the ball and have big expectations for next year. Just gotta get some offense!
Look…. the Mickey Matthews historically successful football formula is not very difficult to figure out. Here are the three steps:
1. Recruit the best athletes you can find. It doesn’t matter what position they play because you can/will move them when they arrive on campus. Make sure your run the #1 stregnth and conditioning program in FCS.
2. Play solid defense. Play the field position game. Stuff the run.
3. Put your leftovers on offense and tell them to hold the ball for 40 minutes and try to score some points.
Summary: Be physical in every phase of the game. Final score should be about 17-10. Under Matthews JMU would look like the FCS version of Ohio State.
Now, let’s take a look at this year’s team. I have to question the conditioning because they consistently have packed it up in the 4th qtr. The defense is addressed by @2005 Duke above. The offense CANNOT hold the ball and sustain a drive, let alone score points.
I hate to say it, but we just don’t look very tough.
To make it worse, I have to work with a bunch of Bill & Mary Griffons fans. SNAP OUT OF IT DUKES.
Surprised I saw no mention of the boneheaded decision to go for it on 4th and 1 from midfield. I said to my father in law at the time “even if they make it, this is stupid”. Sure enough our pattycake O-line gets stuffed and a couple plays later, UMass was in the endzone. To me, that was where the coaches lost it. Wildcat was stupid too.