Quick Thoughts on JMU Over Albany
Ryan Maglio picked a hell of a time to make his first collegiate field goal. The redshirt-junior kicker calmly nailed a 34 yard kick with 4 seconds left to secure the Dukes’ 31-28 victory over the Albany Great Danes. Inserted into the lineup after Connor Arnonne was benched, he might not have been given the opportunity to be a hero if not for a heads up play by Blaine Stewart. Everett Withers had the Dukes line up for the kick on second down, giving them a redo in case any thing went wrong. Something did go wrong as the snap was bobbled. Stewart, who was holding for Maglio, wisely spiked the ball to give JMU another chance. After the mulligan, the Dukes lined up again and executed perfectly. The ball split the uprights and JMU won.
I’ve been watching football for a long time, and have seen countless coaches execute the late game field goal attempt in the same manner. They try to kick before fourth down to provide a safety net. Until last night, I don’t recall ever seeing it work. It was pointed out to me that Georgia Tech benefited from the same strategy in the early 90’s, but it was still pretty remarkable to see things play out so well for JMU. And it was exciting.
The Dukes were in position to take the kick, thanks to another clutch late drive from Vad Lee and the offense. Last weekend we saw the Dukes rally for a couple late scoring drives with their backs against the wall against Delaware. JMU fell short against the Blue Hens, but last night’s efforts were enough to get the W over Albany.
Since the game wasn’t televised, I was forced to watch via the stream. To be precise, I watched on my laptop that I dragged over to the home of our friends who invited us over for dinner. As a result, I obviously wasn’t able to pay attention as closely as I normally would. And perhaps more obviously, I’m probably not someone you want to invite over to dinner. Anyway, here are some quick thoughts on the exciting win.
The Run-Pass Mix
Vad Lee only threw the ball 23 times yesterday. He completed 14 of them, which equated to a 61% completion rate. The Dukes rushed the ball 46 times. We’re still early into Withers’ New Era, but that sort of rush-pass mix seems to be closer to optimal. Lee continues to improve, but having him throw it 40+ times a game (as he did against UD), isn’t ideal. The offense still is rounding into form and lacks consistency, but when it clicks, it’s fun to watch. And it’s very effective.
Big Plays and Long Drives
As long as we’re talking about the offense, it’s nice that it could strike quickly and also execute long drives. Lee’s 57 yard scamper for a TD was exciting and it was only one of a number of big plays for JMU. The Dukes also managed to grind out a17 play 99 yard TD drive. It was JMU’s second 99 yard scoring drive of the season. Like we said, the offense is still finding its way in the new system, but there are definitely signs of encouragement.
Some Old, Some New for the Defense
The Defense is also still finding its way in a new system. Yesterday, we saw many of the slip ups and mistakes we’ve been seeing all season. The Dukes still aren’t tackling well and they let Albany march down the field for a touchdown to tie the game in the final minutes. That’s unfortunately, the same old stuff we’ve seen all season. On the bright side however, they got to the QB and recorded 4 sacks. And despite the fact that Albany’s Omar Osborne went over 100 yards rushing, the Danes were limited to 3.2 yards per carry. That’s a good sign for a JMU defense that has really struggled against the run.
Around the CAA
If the loss to Delaware hurt last week, it might have been a little more painful yesterday. The Blue Hens lost 10-7 to Sacred Heart. It appears that Delaware is not a very good football team. That loss was one JMU really couldn’t afford. Because JMU did lose however, the Dukes have a razor thin margin of error if they want to make the playoffs. JMU avoids UNH, a team that should battle with Nova for the CAA title. Richmond and William & Mary look like strong teams as well, and should be tough match-ups for JMU. The rest of the teams on the schedule are very beatable. But then again, if this season has taught us anything, so are the Dukes when they don’t bring their A game.
” the Dukes have a razor thin margin of error if they want to make the playoffs” …a welcome attitude shift by the blogger.
For a team that was ranked 8th in the CAA, this in itself is a huge step forward and a positive for this young team. Progress is expected and mistakes are part of the process. The journey of Coach W’s first season continues.
They need a better early start this coming week avoiding mistakes and making tackles. More fans in the stadium at kickoff would be a good thing. (Get those students through the bottleneck at the gate and in the house faster).
Ranked 8th in the CAA???? Why don’t you go compare the current FBS poll to the preseason “rankings” and tell us how much those are worth.
This is clearly a rebuilding year (the 50% purple Kool-Aid drinkers need to pay attn. here). There are three kinds of coaches in college football-
(A) The kind who come in with a lot of rah-rah and win instantly with someone else’s players …but often suck a few years later (Houston Nutt, Jim Grobe, Les Miles).
(B) Then there are the coaches who suck at first because they fire everyone and start over, and slowly try to build a new program (Frank Beamer, George Welsh, Steve Spurrier).
(C) Last, there are coaches who shoot their mouth off, fire everyone, suck and eventually get fired (Lane Kiffin, Mike Shula).
EW is obviously not A. Fingers are crossed as to how this turns out. I’m hoping he accepts this as a rebuilding year and spends the rest of this season figuring out an offensive identity and teach these children how to tackle.
I would love to see EW coach at JMU for 40 years and make JMU the next VT (except with an actual National Championship…zing.), but I’m not seeing any indication of that yet.
I listened to the audio of the game, but didn’t feel like a game against a Division III team was worth by $4.95. Just watched the highlight video and had two observations for discussion:
1. Where are the defensive highlights? Were there any?
2. I know it is a “highlight” video, but I’ve watched thousands of hours of film as a player and a coach and it is clear that Albany is NOT a very athletic team. The defense looks slow and not very agile, and defense is usually where you put you best athletes (unless you are ODU/TexasTech). I cannot imagine what the offense looked like.
What did you guys think of the Marlowe hit/ejection? From the angle I had it seemed legal. I am overly cautious these days with head injuries and what not but this one looked hard but not ‘dangerous’.
2004- Unrelated and unnecessary side note coming, just to warn you:
Jim Grobe was a combined 26-32 from 2001-2005 at Wake Forest before winning the ACC and going 11-2 in 2006. I wouldn’t say he won early with other peoples players
04 – Agreed on athleticism on Albany’s defense, but the RB was as good as anyone in the league on the other side.
Coach Priz – You saw it live and I agree with you. Didn’t seem ejection-worthy AT ALL, but you know, CAA. And to be fair, after watching the Pac 12 “officials” on a weekly basis, it’s not like the CAA is alone in this.
Sean- fair enough. I didn’t realize he was at Wake prior to the random Orange Bowl appearance.