Thoughts on the JMU Loss to UNC
JMU opened the 2011 football season with a 42-10 loss to UNC. In his first start, QB Bryn Renner, came out of the gates slinging the ball and helped the Tarheels jump out to an early lead they’d never surrender. The Dukes had a chance to pull within 14 points near the end of the half, but Justin Thorpe and Daniel Brown couldn’t connect on a fade route in the endzone and the Dukes had to settle for a missed FG. The truth was that the game was never really close though. It was UNC all the way.
Surprisingly enough, neither Todd nor I were at all discouraged by the Dukes’ performance. We actually liked some things we saw and are confident JMU can build on this performance. There are also obviously some things that need to be improved upon.
There Are Different Divisions for a Reason
There is a difference between FCS football and FBS football. The gap is closing and there can always be upsets, but generally speaking BCS teams should easily defeat FCS teams. Those extra scholarships, an extra 10-20 lbs per player on the lines, and tenths of second difference in 40 times all add up to a tremendous advantage. The Dukes win over VA Tech was amazing. It was also an anomaly. This isn’t a knock on any of the Dukes. They are tremendous athletes, but it’s a tall order to ask them to outplay a team like UNC for 60 minutes. UNC’s lines were too big and too strong for the Dukes and that was pretty much it. Not much you can do if you’re getting pushed 4 or 5 feet off the line every single snap.
Some Positives From Yesterday
Because of those differences mentioned above, it’s sort of foolish in my opinion to focus solely on the final score when analyzing a loss like yesterday’s. The Dukes got beat badly. The outcome was never in doubt. They did some things that should encourage fans about their chances at the FCS level. And the most encouraging thing I saw was the play of Justin Thorpe. Everyone has been worried all offseason about the Dukes’ QB play. Actually, everyone has been worried about it since Rodney Landers graduated. Well, Thorpe threw the ball very well yesterday. He was under relentless pressure all day from a line of NFL prospects, and he still went 11-15 for 1 TD and no picks. And his TD pass to Daniel Brown was the nicest toss I’ve seen from a Dukes’ QB in years. Brown’s play was a positive sign, as was Brian Barlow’s on offense. It’s tough to assess the D, but I think they’ll be fine at the FCS level. And it was nice to see redshirt freshman Dean Marlowe get a pick.
Take a Deep Breath and Calm Down
An upset would have been great, but as we learned last year it wouldn’t have meant the Dukes were playoff bound. Similarly, yesterday’s loss doesn’t mean the Dukes are done. JMU lost 45-10 to West Virginia in 2004 and went on to win the National Championship. In 2008 JMU lost to Duke 31 -7 and the great Rodney Landers went 4-11 with a pick. That team went on to win the CAA. These games are basically exhibitions. Wins like last year’s over VA Tech will be remembered forever and rightly so, because they just so damn rare. Focus on the positives. Thorpe appears to be a more confident and accurate passer. Barlow and Brown look like legit receiving threats. The Dukes put together a 10 minute drive and moved the ball at times. Those are good things. If something happened, like a much heralded transfer QB going 5-22 for only 35 yards (we’re talking about you W&M), then I might be worried. Even then it would be tough to read too much into a single loss. Yesterday’s result doesn’t have me concerned at all though. No injuries and the check cleared. Let’s move along everyone.
Well said!!
I agree with the assessment. Their lines (both O- and D-) were just much bigger and stronger and they just wore us out. Thorpe looked good on several throws and the one thing I really like was his composure at the line making the reads and audibles as well as after the snap when he was pressured a lot. This year was definitely not the year for the Week 1 FCS upsets over FBS teams so JMU was in good company with just about everyone (see W&M, New Hampshire, Delaware, ‘Nova, App State, etc.) Let’s just get ready to have New Bridgeforth ROCKING next week.
These season openers need to be treated more seriously than “exhibitions”. That’s an interesting choice of words. Perhaps applicable for a club sport. I think that was part of the problem yesterday…we played the game like it was an “exhibition”. UNC did not treat that game like an exhibition. We seemed intimidated from the start. Keep in mind, collegiate sports at this level is 80% mental. I saw a lot of heart from UNC…not so much from JMU. We continued to run plays that were not working. We need to quickly adapt and change things up during the game. The passing game seemed to be effective “when” we leveraged it.
Not a good way to start the football season.
You’re seriously going to go to the “they lacked heart” argument? Seriously? I’m not trying to be an apologist or make excuses, but UNC was just bigger and faster. I don’t think it had anything to with them “having more heart”. A team without heart wouldn’t have come out of halftime and executed a 10 minute drive, wouldn’t have been gang tackling throughout the game, wouldn’t have tried like hell to break runs even after the outcome was clear, etc, etc.
There’s the obvious size/skill difference between FBS and FCS, but the other key component is that the FCS teams really have very little incentive to try and win. They get paid either way, and the game plays almost no role in deciding if the FCS team makes the playoffs (as they are expected to lose the game anyway).
I don’t think there was a lack of heart by either team, I saw some of the words the JMU player was mouthing after the kick-return for a TD was wiped, it was clear the JMU players cared. But as the preview-blog-post for this game mentioned, the #1 priority for this game was to avoid injury.
While Thorpe may have looked better, the play-calling was as bland as ever. We only took 2 deep shots down the field, and we completed them both. I thought we should’ve let Thorpe throw the ball more in the second half as an exhibition for a CAA game in which we are behind and need to throw the ball.
I was disappointed we didn’t put up a whiff of stiff competition in the first quarter. Not saying it’s lack of heart necessarily, but the fact we couldn’t keep it close for at least a quarter is disappointing. UNC moved the ball at will and we went three-and-out over and over to start the game. That said, the check cleared and unlike last year we got out of the game relatively unscathed, injury-wise.
A couple thoughts:
1) Anderson looked to be clearly the better tailback, and Mickey shouldn’t be afraid to use him. I’d like to see a lot of Scott in the slot a la Percy Harvin at Florida. Quick hitters to him in space is where I think he’s going to be most effective. I didn’t see much in the way of running back instincts, but again, it’s hard to judge when you’re outgunned.
2) Thorpe’s play was encouraging, and the emergence of a downfield threat would be phenomenal. I almost couldn’t believe my eyes on the TD. I had been a while since I’d seen that. The ability to stretch the field will only help to open things up in the slot, which is why I think Scott would be outstanding there.
3) I’m hoping the vanilla playcalling was the result of Mickey not wanting to tip his hand in a game that was a lost cause from the first drive. No point in showing Liberty or the CAA what we have up our sleeve.
4) While I’m not concerned per se, I was disappointed we didn’t even slow them down in the first quarter/half. I will be very worried if we don’t come out at home this week and absolutely pummel CCSU.
Good observations and analysis Matt. I agree that Anderson was impressive and think Scott looked a little confused at times. Hopefully Scott will improve and give the Dukes a multi-pronged rushing attack.
I think using the “They are FBS” argument is a bunch of crap. If JMU wants to take the program in the same direction as the new stadium, that excuse isn’t going to fly anymore.
I was in the lockerroom when WVU and VT kicked our butts, and the halftime talk was along the lines of “This doesn’t count. Just don’t get injured and lets run the clock out”.
If JMU is going to the the next big program in the Commonwealth, we’d better get over that REAL quick.
I think those of us that are not discouraged by Saturday’s loss and those of you who are, might just need to agree to disagree. It is what it is and I just can’t get worked up about a loss to a team that has more scholarship players, more money, and bigger/stronger athletes across the board. To me the effort was there and the Dukes just got beat by a better team. No shame in that.
If JMU decides to try to become the next big program in the Commonwealth by going FBS, then yes, losses like Saturday’s will bother me. Until then, I’m really more concerned with them being the best FCS program in the Commonwealth and in the country.
And thank you to everyone for commenting and sharing your thoughts as to why you believe I’m wrong. I sincerely appreciate it and don’t mean to come across as if I don’t respect your opinions. I do. The only thing I really took exception to was the “lack heart” argument because I think it’s cliched and I also think it directly questions the integrity and ethic of the athletes, which makes it something not to throw around lightly. I’m disappointed in the loss, but I’m just not discouraged. That’s all.
It makes me laugh that people get down on the team because of on loss to a BCS team. I am all about competing but why risk ruining our season for something that really doesn’t matter Yes its an L but it doesn’t really count against us. It is an exhibition. There are special rules set stating how many games BCS teams can play FBS teams because the level of play is different. I have to be realistic about this and have zero problem getting out of UNC with the team intact and cash in hand. We got a real world scrimmage and they got a W, everybody’s happy… except those who think we should be competing to play in the Sugar Bowl, and those people are never happy.
I think the posting regarding..we’ll agree to disagree is accurate. We can hide behind excuses all day. If these games are viewed as “exhibitions” and our goal is to escape without injury, then we need to rethink our intentions. Those that have competed in college sports may have a greater appreciation of this.
I seriously doubt Richmond or Liberty went into their respective games this past weekend thinking that way. Yes…JMU had some good plays, but we have a lot of work to do. We simply need to recognize that and learn from it, but don’t make excuses; especially since JMU is trying to raise the bar for its program.
Fair enough. Your comment about how those that have competed in college sports may have a greater appreciation for this leads me to assume you’re a former JMU athlete. If that is the case, then you probably do have a much different perspective than I do and I respect that.
I described these types of games as “basically exhibitions” because they are not the same as FCS games. They just aren’t. BCS teams pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to FCS teams because they have a huge advantages which give them almost certain wins in these games. I think FCS teams were 2-35 last weekend against FBS teams. Those FCS teams didn’t just lay down and not play. They simply were outmatched by bigger, stronger, more athletic, and deeper teams. To me that makes them more like exhibitions that level competition. That was my point. It sucks that JMU lost. I just don’t think that we’ve got any reason to think this team is ill prepared to compete in the FCS based on a loss to UNC.
BTW… i still LOVE you blog eventhough I totally disagree with the “we should not expect our Dukes to be competitive” arguement.
They might have more scholarships, but only 11 guys can be on the field at one time.
If its not an exhibition then would JMU take these games if they didn’t make any money on them. I would say no. The football team is probalby forced to take these games inorder to help fund all the other sports at the school. There is more going on than just football and any extra money schools can get they are going to take. Someone has to fund all the sports that have 20 people in the stands. That falls on the football, baseball and basketball teams. So while I think the team goes with hopes of winning I don’t think anybody at the U freaks out over losing. So neither should we. If they lose this weekend then we have a serious problem.
Thanks for the kind words 2004. It does sound pretty bad when you put it like that. It’s not that I don’t expect JMU to be competitive, I’m just not going to lose hope after losses like Saturday.My wish is for the Dukes to win the CAA and FCS championship. Right now, I don’t think Saturday’s loss prevents them from doing that.
We really appreciate you reading the blog and sharing your opinions.