Dukes Fall to Towson in Season Finale
JMU lost to Towson 28-17 yesterday. It was the final game of a disappointing 2013 season for JMU. The Dukes finished 6-6 overall and 3-5 in the CAA. If you’re a glass half-full sort of person, you could rationalize the loss by saying that it came down to just a few plays. That’s pretty much true of every football game ever (except UNC-ODU, because ouch). The Tigers made the plays when they had to. The Dukes did not. And that’s your season in a nutshell. Over and over again, JMU made mistakes instead of big plays. Thus, they’ll be sitting at home watching the playoffs instead of playing in them. Again.
We’re not going to pick this one apart too much. As stated above, JMU had some costly mistakes that prevented them from being victorious. They committed penalties on defense that extended Towson drives and penalties on offense that took points off the board. Not good. Sure, there will be plenty of fans questioning the play calling, because that’s what fans do. To me at least, that wasn’t the story though. Yes, there were times I wished the coaches would have done things differently. And I doubt anyone will ever be able to convince me that there was a good reason we didn’t see Khalid Abdullah featured as a ball carrier more all season. But the in game play calling bothered me far less than Dukes overall approach to games this year. Far too often they played down to the level of competition, played without discipline, or quite frankly looked unprepared. Theoretically, all the symptoms point to the same root cause. In game play calling seems fixable with relatively minor changes. The broader based problems probably take major changes to fix though. And we’ll leave it at that for now.
Regarding this particular game, the upset was there for the taking. At the risk of sounding like sour grapes, if Towson truly was the 5th best team in the country as their ranking indicated, then JMU picked a bad year to miss the playoffs. Towson’s Terrence West is a stud carrying the ball. And the Tigers defense was impressive at times. But they were far from dominant and let a JMU team with nothing to play for hang around all day. They simply sat back in the second half and waited for the Dukes to shoot themselves in the foot. Which they did. Repeatedly. On second thought, maybe that was the secret to Towson’s success and what separates good teams from bad teams. A team need not be flashy or dominant to do big things. Sometimes they simply need to limit the mistakes and let their opponents beat themselves. Towson did that a lot this season. They certainly did yesterday. Good for them and good luck to them in the playoffs.
We’re going to let things simmer for a few days and then try to put a bow on the 2013 season. There are plenty of questions for the Dukes this offseason. And since they’re not going to be playing another game until next September, we’ve got plenty of time to discuss them. The season was definitely a disappointment on many levels. It would have been great for Stephon Robertson, Jordan Stanton, Dae’Quan Scott, and all of the other seniors go out on a better note. They didn’t and that’s life. We still enjoyed watching them play for four years and appreciate all the hard work they put in for JMU. Now it’s time to move on though. None of us know what the future holds in store for JMU football. It’s simply not acceptable however, for a program with resources like JMU’s, to miss the playoffs consistently.
Check out this link of a high school sophomore that is interested in becoming a James Madison Duke. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sLdjtOt8Tk
Hope you enjoy!
Last sentence. Bingo!
You think we could get Lane Kiffin?
I might call Jeff and jock Steve Logan as our next coach.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Logan_(football)
Not only does he have a proven record and lots of experience, but:
1) he took a no-name, independent conference East Carolina program to national prominence during the 90’s, and that parallels JMU’s potential move to FBS.
2) his name isn’t being tossed around on ESPN, so JMU could actually get him.
3) Based on his history, he would not be likely to leave JMU to go to a bigger program.
4) He is a likeable guy, and has a very relatable personality.
5) He takes personal responsibility. At ECU, he actually fired himself because he had his first losing season in 8 years.
6) He has coached with Mike O’Cain in the past, so they know each other and there can be some continuity for the team.
Ding – dong…
Now how’s next?
Somone break it easy to the kool-aiders that MM just got canned.
Not that it matters to any of us, but…..
The championship field consists of 11 automatic qualifiers and 13 at-large qualifiers.
Automatic Qualifiers
Big Sky Conference – Eastern Washington (10-2)
Big South Conference – Coastal Carolina (10-2)
Colonial Athletic Association – Maine (10-2)
Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference – Bethune-Cookman (10-2)
Missouri Valley Football Conference – North Dakota State (11-0)
Northeast Conference – Sacred Heart (10-2)
Ohio Valley Conference – Eastern Illinois (11-1)
Patriot League – Lafayette (5-6)
Pioneer Football League – Butler (9-3)
Southern Conference – Furman (7-5)
Southland Conference – Southeastern Louisiana (10-2)
At-Large
Big Sky Conference – Montana (10-2)
Big Sky Conference – Northern Arizona (9-2)
Big Sky Conference – Southern Utah (8-4)
Colonial Athletic Association – New Hampshire (7-4)
Colonial Athletic Association – Towson (10-2)
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference – South Carolina State (9-3)
Missouri Valley Football Conference – South Dakota State (8-4)
Ohio Valley Conference – Jacksonville State (9-3)
Ohio Valley Conference – Tennessee State (9-3)
Patriot League – Fordham (11-1)
Southern Conference – Samford (8-4)
Southland Conference – McNeese State (10-2)
Southland Conference – Sam Houston State (8-4)
2004 beat me to the punch. Someone just sent me Bourne’s announcement that MM will not be retained.
wow; jmu eats a contract. let the speculation begin — coach and conference.
go dukes!
The blog should run a 2014 overall record prediction contest. A lot of it will depend on the possible move to FBS but I’m starting with 4-7 and reserve the right to lower that number.
You ok Cory? I know this has been a difficult morning.
I know it’s a business but this sucks. MM deserves more respect than this. My Duke money is gone.
@Loyal Alumni, have you not been paying attention the last five years? JMU has made the playoffs once in the last five years and missed this year after they expanded the field. This move was long over due and my “Duke Money” was drying up if they had not fired Mickey. It’s time to start a new era of Dukes Football!!
2004 Duke – I’m fine but would be better if you stopped posting on this blog. Can you make that happen too since I know you take credit for the 2004 National Championship and Mickey’s firing.
Where’s Rip Scherer!
I just hope this doesn’t become another jump back onto the coaching carousel.
I bet a lot of coaches with some less than mediocre records are dusting off their promises and resumes for this job. It doesn’t seem to have resonated through men’s basketball experience following the firing of Lefty, that this school isn’t at the top of anybody’s list for a job. It just isn’t. Anyone who thinks it is is the one drinking to kool aid.
Cory, i don’t take “credit” for anything. I’m just a JMU fan who is overly-opinionated and provides realistic commentary.
I would have preferred for MM to surpass the expectations of his job and be the coach at JMU for 30 years, but that didn’t happen. I just called out what I observed without donning the purple-colored glasses or gulping the kool-aid.
And i’m not even going to comment on your 2004 N/C remark.
Regardless, I promise to bury the hatchet with you now and move on. No more bullying from me.
Lively 98, you wouldn’t even be posting here or sitting in our fancy stadium if it wasn’t for MM. I get your opinion but just don’t agree. So have fun in the stadium. I’m sure your friends will still be sitting around you. And just check stats of other long standing coaches in VA & see where we stand. Might surprise you.
@Loyal Alumni, does your loyalty lie with JMU or with MM? While I appreciate everything MM did for JMU Football and JMU in general, he has not been getting it done in the last 5+ years. I want to see JMU Football as a whole do well and MM couldn’t produce that, it was time to move on. 2004 was a long time ago and as each year passed, MM’s ability to live off that memory faded and it finally came to an end. I think most would agree that JMU has had talented teams in the past few years and the results have been mediocre at best. I think after last season he knew he had one more chance to produce and could not do it, which meant it was time to move and find new blood for future.
2004 Duke not sure who took over your body and made you type that but it is appreciated. We are both overly opinionated and are perhaps too passionate about a team that hasn’t been giving back enough to us lately (I’m a Skins fan too so I can definitely speak to being underwhelmed).
Not a lot of UVA fans on here but I’m guessing London is fired after the VT game.
Lively98, my apologies. You are right. I am of fan of MM & do not belong on this blog anymore. Take care.
I might shoot myself if we hire London.
for your reference the AD at UVa more than once has stated that London will be retained. He’s even promising recruits that London’s job is safe so they won’t back out on signing day.
It’s been on 247sports in a story about Andrew Brown and his commitment.
Well let’s hope UVA keeps ’em so we don’t have to worry about JMU becoming enamored with him (or Ron Prince, a former JMU oline coach that is the OC at Rutgers right now and has the I-A experience)