JMU @ William & Mary Preview

NEEERRRRDDDDS!

It’s one of our favorite games of the year this week as the Dukes travel to the land of butter churns and chastity belts to take on the Tribe in what always seems to be a very tight matchup.

The Basics

William & Mary is a really stout defensive team that has struggled on the other side of the ball this season.  They’re probably better than their record (three losses were all close and came against @ WVU, @ Villanova, and @ Maine) and always well-coached by Jimmye (the e is silent and ridiculous) Laycock and company.  Defensively, the Pantless Griffins lead the conference in Points Per Game [allowed] and have been solid all around.  If JMU can continue developing O’Cain’s offense into scoring big points again this week, it will make a huge statement.  But on offense, they’ve had all kinds of trouble at QB (though as usual, Jimmye is doing the W&M thing and sticking with his injured, inconsistent senior no matter what) and really haven’t been able to do anything consistent in the passing game. That “should” be a favorable setup given the Dukes’ D’s relative strengths and weaknesses!

Seriously, where are my pants?

Hopefully we’ll continue learning good things about the Dukes again this week and they don’t overlook this with Homecoming on the horizon.

Coverage

Strangely, this in-state rivalry game is the last of JMU’s games that won’t have broadcast tv this year and the only one not available on MadiZone (audio is available through Madizone).  But it is available through W&M’s version of Madizone which can be accessed here.  It’s $10.95 for a monthly subscription which you can cancel after the game.  Grab a few buds, split the small fee and don’t miss this big one.  Or better yet, if you’re in the DMV, join the MetroDukes at Penn Social to watch the game. Or even better yet, do your rootin’ at the game in Williamsburg.

The other good news is that beginning next week, the Dukes last four games all are available through NBC (National twice and Comcast regional twice)!

Beer of the Week

Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company’s Stringduster. Made specially for the incomparable Infamous Stringduster’s great festival, The Festy Experience, two weeks ago at the DB Basecamp near Wintergreen, you can still get this malty bit of fall goodness on tap in growlers down there thanks to the rains that kept the crowd down this year.  DB is rapidly becoming one of the lead dogs in Virginia’s beer renaissance and took home a slew of medals at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver last week.  Their signature beer that’s widely available is probably the crisp Vienna Lager, but the harder to find Stringduster and the Blue Ridge Hop Revival (wet-hopped) are worth the trip!

JMUSB Prediction

This game has all the makings of one that should be scary.  The Vegas line actually has the Dukes as four-point underdogs.  It’s a rivalry against another team like JMU that’s probably played better than their record and it’s tough to tell exactly how good they are based on either who they’ve beaten or who they’ve lost to.  But we’re still big believers in the Dukes talent level and development and we think they’ll continue to grow off the bye week into the squad we all think they can be.

Dukes 27, Tribe 23, Rootin’