After three weeks of fun, but essentially nonsense, games, CAA play has arrived. Sort of. After a rough couple of weeks for the Dukes on the injury front, we can certainly welcome the near worst (cough, GSU, cough) the conference has to offer before next week’s bye. That said, JMU has historically struggled mightily on long trips north to UNH, Maine, and URI, so let’s hope the players and coaches don’t overlook this game nearly as much as we do.
The Basics
Rhode Island announced a couple of years ago that they were leaving the CAA for the limited-scholarship NEC and they’d been reducing scholarships over the last two seasons in preparation for the move. Oddly, but fortunately for CAA football, URI changed their mind this summer and announced they’re staying after all (and coincidentally after the NBCSN deal came to fruition). But to the dismay of the current team, if the first couple of games forthe Rams are any indication the announcement didn’t come nearly fast enough for reinforcements to arrive this season. They have been absolutely manhandled by Villanova and Monmouth. Yes, Monmouth. URI only has nine starters back from last year, led by the linebackers Dave Zocco and Doug Johnson but they are overall very young, very inexperienced, and basically terrible on offense.
Beer of the Week
The Dukes are heading north and we’re heading even farther north for our very unique BOTW selection. If you ever find yourself within 200 miles of Waterbury, Vermont, make what can only be called a pilgrimage to The Alchemist Cannery for the only beer they make, Heady Topper Double IPA in 16 oz. cans. The myth is real! Really nothing else to say. Just go. Bring coolers and buy as much as you can stuff in them. Throw some old Jerry Reed on the IPod and drive like the Bandit to make it home.
Programming Notes
It’s been listed as a no-tv, no streaming game available only as Audio only on MadiZone at 1 p.m., but late this week it’s been rumored there may be some type of feed available after all and that will be reported on Friday. If we hear anything, we’ll let you know. In either case, you really should be following @CurtDudley for the VERY BEST JMU coverage anywhere.
What to Expect
We hope not, but URI always finds a surprising solid game or two in the CAA, especially at home (last year’s upset of Delaware is a great example and was as responsible for JMU’s playoff bid as any game all season). Combine that with a bit of a FedEx hangover (though hopefully not nearly as bad as mine) and the missing personnel for JMU and this could be a bit of a sloppy game. That said, if there’s a sniff of doubt in the fourth, it will be a disappointment for the Dukes.
We got sort of caught up in the excitement of planning our first JMUSB bus trip and tailgate party last week and forgot to run the prediction contest. We’re back with a vengeance this week though. On Saturday the Dukes will face the Rhode Island Rams on the road in Kingston, RI. The Dukes are looking to bounce back from a tough defeat at the hands of West Virginia. Rhode Island is simply hoping to stop the bleeding after two blowout losses to open the season.
If you need a refresher, here’s how the contest works. Everyone leaves comments with their prediction of who will win and what the final score will be. The person who comes closest to accurately predicting the outcome (winner & score) will get to write a guest post next week. And it’s worth noting that of all the people who were kind enough to introduce themselves to us last Saturday at FedEx, the second most popular thing they wanted to talk about was how great this year’s guest posts have been. The first thing everyone want to talk about was whether or not any WVU fans were going to try to kick my ass because of the preview. So hat’s off to Tedward and Stu for getting the ball rolling with some outstanding guest posts. We’re looking forward to reading some more good ones throughout the season.
Our newest sponsor provided us with the awesome tailgate banner pictured above. And yes, it’s so big I couldn’t even get it to fit into a single picture. Or maybe my phone’s camera sucks and I need a new one. Regardless, we absolutely love the banner and are looking forward to displaying it proudly at our next JMUSB tailgate. So please pay us a visit next time you spot the banner displayed on gameday. And give our sponsor, Banners on the Cheep a visit as well.
Well, the epic tailgate has come and gone, the coolers are stowed away for a few weeks, and the Dukes are off to Rhode Island next week before their bye. So what did we learn in a lopsided, but by no means embarrassing, loss to 8th ranked West Virginia?
The Good
Resiliency – The Dukes struggled throughout the first half, mainly because three future NFL studs in QB Geno Smith, and WR’s Austin and Bailey, were simply flawless. But I was very impressed with the Dukes effort after halftime. They clearly decided at halftime they were through being pushed around and the coaches seemed to make adjustments in order to be productive. The Dukes made a huge play on defense with the safety and the offense managed a number of sustained drives (though more to come on the end of these drives later). The 2nd half effort made me feel a lot better about the mental makeup of this team going forward. Time of possession advantage and 300 total yards against a National Title contender are nothing to be ashamed of.
Defense – Again, they got blitzed a bit early on and could easily have packed it in at 21-0, but they competed hard. Jakarie Jackson back from injury with 14 tackles and Stephon Robertson was everywhere. The line got decent pressure on Geno Smith (although he was just too good and often found a way out). Lot of open guys before and after catches, but that’s where the real talent gap was and our guys did a decent job making tackles when they were there to be made.
WVU – They’re really, really good. So long as their big three stay healthy and their O-Line continues to improve, they are a legit threat in the Big 12 and the national picture this year. I wish JMU had played a bit better too, but let’s not get carried away with the negative. Remember that the Dukes were blown out worse against WVU in ’04.
The Bad
Red-zone offense – This was actually horrid, but not worthy of “ugly” today. The Dukes were inside the five twice in the third quarter and turned it over both times. It may only have been cosmetic, but we’d all feel better about 42-24, than 42-12, wouldn’t we? Just hope the players and coaches know that would’ve been more reflective of their play than the actual score and don’t get down.
Injuries – Daniel Brown and Titus Till both suffered what appeared to be serious injuries. Brown’s looked season-ending, Till’s looked like it’ll be a while. Jordan Stanton also left with a concussion we think. All that said, if Till and Stanton make it back in a few weeks, I don’t think you could say the injuries suffered today were really the result of playing a bigger, stronger FBS team and not just the breaks of the season. Not losing anyone on the O-Line is great too.
The Ugly
WR’s jumping offsides. Just inexcusable. Watch the ball, you can’t hear the count anyhow. I guess some of this can be chalked up to nerves in that type of game and environment, but our other position groups didn’t seem to have these issues.
It’s finally here. The James Madison University Dukes and the West Virginia University Mountaineers go head to head in the friendly confines of FedEx Field this Saturday afternoon. The fact that the game will take place at a neutral site in a NFL stadium gives it a bit more excitement than your typical FCS vs FBS match-up. As does the fact that it features two teams with fanbases that have nationally recognized traditions of excellence.
How Good is WVU?
Really good. The WVU offense can score almost at will when it’s clicking. As Coach Matthews said the Mountaineers “made the scoreboard look like a pinball machine the numbers were turning so fast” in their Orange Bowl victory over Clemson. In that game Geno Smith, their Heisman candidate QB, tossed 6 TDs. And he and the Mountaineer offense picked up where they left off against the Tigers in a dominating win over Marshall two weeks ago. In that game the Mountaineers scored 69 points and Smith threw for 323 yards and 4 TDs. WVU racked up a ridiculous 655 yards of offense. It’s fair to say that the offense is explosive. And they’re still picking up coach Dana Holgorson’s system.
Good Omen #1
In its last 5 games against FBS opponents, JMU is undefeated against schools with “Virginia” in their name.
Would a Win Saturday Be Bigger Than the Win Over VA Tech?
It’s tough to say. The Tech win was extra special in its own way because most JMU fans have close associations with Tech alums through work, friends, and family. Your typical JMU fan has far fewer ties to WVU alums however. I suppose that would be different if we all spent more time at taxidermy conventions or noodling. We don’t though. Such is life. Regardless, VA Tech and WVU are strikingly similar in a lot of ways. They both have managed to earn multiple BCS bowl bids despite the fact that they play in football conferences generally regarded as second tier. Actually, now that WVU has joined the Big 12 that conference thing is sort of moot. And come to think of it, WVU wins its BCS bowl games, so the entire comparison sort of sucks. My bad. Let’s move on.
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As long-time readers know (all three of you), we try to do a Q&A with a blog from upcoming football opponents. But since we couldn’t find blogs devoted to St. Francis or Alcorn St., this is the season debut of this column. And what a bonanza it is. We’re thrilled to have both Eers Authority and The Smoking Musket engage in a little lighthearted prognostication before the big game against WVU at FedEx Field this weekend (by the way, plenty of good seats still available and the weather looks to be amazing for Saturday’s 4:30 kickoff so get on it).
But first two notes on JMU non-football items during this huge week:
1) HUGE congratulations to the JMU Men’s Soccer team for their enormous upset of #1 ranked and defending National Champ UNC on Wednesday at the brand spanking new University Park soccer facility. Seriously, if you haven’t been back to the ‘Burg in a few years, it will blow your mind where this new soccer/track/lacrosse facility is located (think on the way to Lakeview). And it will exponentially blow your mind how close it now feels to campus!
2) A very heartfelt shoutout to one of the all-time best friends of JMUSB Field Hockey Coach Antoinette Lucas on her 100th win as a Head Coach this week! If you’ve followed us for a while, you know Ant (Coach L) is the closest thing we have to an insider and one of the finest coaches in any sport (not to mention the pound-for-pound best athlete in Rockingham County). DC folks – Field Hockey plays in College Park on Sunday if you want to fire up the Bloody Marys and finish a Dukes-filled weekend strong!
Her beard will be full for hoops season!
But without further ado, a huge thanks to Jon Martin, Jerry McGhee, and the staff at Eers Authority and Mr. Country Roads himself from The Smoking Musket for all of your help this week. Great to hear two perspectives on Mountaineer football. We realize you guys are “a little different than us,” ( i.e. serious media outlets covering everything from Tennis to junior high recruiting in Morgantown), but we sincerely hope to meet you and share a few cocktails this Saturday before JMU becomes known as the ultimate giant killer around 7:30 p.m. We sincerely believe WVU is one of the most underrated programs in the country (sort of the anti-VT) and after this matchup with JMU, we’ll be pulling for you the rest of the season.
1) WVU has a Heisman frontrunner in Geno Smith (if he doesn’t lose too many votes to Bailey and Austin of course) and a brilliant mad scientist designing the offense, but how far can the defense take the Mountaineers this year?Eers Authority: Good question. The defense was a big question on the minds of fans heading into the year. The staff made the change from the 3-3-5 to the 3-4, and brought in new coaches of the staff. To answer the question, I’m not sure the defense needs to take them anywhere. The defense is made to bring pressure and create turnovers, but they won’t be called on during every game.Smoking Musket: For WVU to be successful over the course of the year, this defense is going to have to be a lot like Oklahoma State’s defense from last year: i.e. give up a ton of yards and plenty of points, but create enough turnovers and make enough stops in key situations to give the offense a chance to win the game. The good news is that Holgorsen tabbed former OKST defensive coach Joe DeForest to be his defensive coordinator this year, so he is able to implement that style of defense. And I think we have good enough athletes to pull it off. Sure, we aren’t going to shut anyone down completely after losing quality defenders like Bruce Irvin, Julian Miller and Keith Tandy last year. But I think we have the potential to do some good things.
Stu Macaleer won last week’s prediction contest and earned the right to be this week’s guest blogger. Here’s his take on everything he loves about being a season ticket holder. Take it away Stu.
The JMU Dukes cruised to a very easy 42-3 win over the Alcorn State Braves last night. The kick-off was delayed an hour due to some horrific weather, but the fans that persevered were rewarded with a dominant Dukes win. And a double-rainbow. The win moved the Dukes to 2-0 on the season. It’s just the third time the Dukes have started out 2-0 in the past 8 years. And one of those times, in 2004, included 2 season opening wins before JMU fell to WVU. Of course the Dukes bounced back from that loss by winning the National Championship. So yeah, things are setting up nicely here. Here are some quick thoughts on last night’s win.
The Good
There was a whole lot of good to choose from. Justin Thorpe’s escapability and nose for the endzone. Dean Marlowe and Stephon Robertson elevating their games in Jakarie Jackson’s absence. Ryan Smith’s amazing all around effort. The kicking game. The crowd that stuck it out through the storm. But Dae’Quan Scott was a man among boys last night. He looked like a threat to take it to the house every single time he touched the ball. When he wasn’t eluding defenders, he was breaking tackles. And when he wasn’t breaking tackles, it was probably because he was already in the endzone. He had 3 touchdowns (2 rushing, 1 receiving) and 107 yards rushing to go along with another 39 receiving. Unfortunately, he turned an ankle and sat out the second half. He was unstoppable when he was on the field though.
The Bad
And here is our counterpoint to the above. The bad was clearly the fact that Scott turned an ankle. It’s unclear how serious it is, but just seeing Scott holding his ankle in the endzone (after a TD of course) was enough to scare the crap out of every Dukes fan. Yes, the Dukes have tremendous depth at running back. Jordan Anderson is a beast both running and catching the ball. Hykeem Brodie can break one any time he touches it. Dejor Simmons, who didn’t play last night due to a “violation of team rules”, has game changing speed. So the Dukes have plenty of guys who can carry the load. But having Scott on the field elevates each of those guys’ games. Word is that his ankle injury isn’t serious and he’ll be back in a few days. Let’s hope so.
The Ugly
Alcorn State’s defense. Look, I don’t want to bash the Braves. They were simply outmatched. The defense was practically helpless against the Dukes’ attack. And I only point this out as a way to temper our expectations for the rest of the season. Yes, we all expected the JMU offense to be better this year. And it clearly is. Scoring 55 and 42 points in back-to-back weeks is exciting. As is only surrendering 10 total points through 2 games. Last year, JMU’s offense struggled to get into a groove prior to CAA play. This year the Dukes have taken care of business so far and been humming offensively. But St. Francis and Alcorn State are not CAA level competition. They’re both pretty miserable actually. And Alcorn’s defense was especially inept last night. I happen to think this JMU team is for real. But let’s not jump to conclusions before we get into CAA play.
We’re pleased to say that the photo above was provided courtesy of Epic Snap Shots. We’ve entered into a partnership with them and will be running their photos throughout football season. Please give the site a visit and check out their awesome photography.
Week one of the 2012 football season is in the books. On Saturday the Alcorn State Braves make the long trip up from Mississippi to face the Dukes in Bridgeforth Stadium. The Dukes will look to move to 2-0 on the season and carry some momentum into the big clash with West Virginia.
Just the Facts
Match up: #5 JMU (1-0) vs. Alcorn State (1-0) at Bridgeforth Stadium
Kickoff: 6:00 PM
Weather: 80’s with a 50% chance of thunderstorms (rushing the ball weather)
Viewing Options: Stream it for free on Madizone.
The Story
JMU opened the season last Saturday with a cakewalk of a game against St. Francis. In the 55-7 win (which wasn’t even as close as the score indicated), JMU pretty much did whatever it wanted. The Dukes racked up 38 first downs and 602 yards of total offense. Much was made about the aggressive use of the pass (relatively speaking), but JMU ran for nearly 400 yards on the ground. It was about as dominating an offense performance as JMU has had in years. St. Francis isn’t good at football however.
Alcorn State on the other hand, opened the season with a nail-biter against a conference rival. The Braves scored 13 points in the 4th quarter and came from behind to beat Grambling State 22-21 in the Port City Classic. It was a huge win for Alcorn not only because Grambling is the defending SWAC champion, but because it was the first win under first year head coach Jay Hopson. The big win got Alcorn off on the right foot and boosted their confidence heading into this weekend. Of course that confidence might disappear at some point during the marathon 16 hour bus ride the Braves are taking to the ‘burg.
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Reader Tedward was dead perfect with his prediction last weekend. He correctly called both the JMU win and the 55-7 score. He was actually a housemate of ours back at JMU. Thankfully, he’s decided not to use his guest post to reveal embarassing stories about me and Todd. Instead he’s going to offer up a few random thoughts on JMU then and now. Take it away Tedward.
I started to panic a little.
Then I get home from the 2 hour drive, and I have a message telling me I had won.
Crap.
I thought about writing an old-guy, grumpy, it used to better when I was at JMU article. Then I thought… I hate that guy. Then again, I’m not going to talk basketball, and then I’d get really grumpy.
So, I thought I’d just go with random thoughts, make a few comments, and go from there. I majored in CIS, so writing anything other than code is kind of scary.
- Bring back the fraternities on campus. I’d love for them to be back on Newman Lake, but if that doesn’t happen, then give them Hanson Field. Give two fraternities and two sororities that field before games and let the party begin. It’s such a good idea. They could invite back alumni (or not) and then beg for money from them. It would work. It would also inject even more energy into the whole scene. I’m sure once one guy pukes on the street; it would get canceled. In theory, it’s a great idea, though.
- The JMU tailgate scene is awesome. I didn’t visit JMU for a good ten years; and in the last 4 years, I’ve been coming back for 3-4 games a year. Love it, and encourage all the old guys out there who haven’t been back in a while.
- Remember when JMU was a basketball school? Okay, I couldn’t hold back on this one. I love basketball, and to see JMU just suck is sad. If you are a basketball fan, quick, name the style of play we have? Exactly, I have no idea either. When I do guess at it, I call it the “let a guard dribble around for 25 seconds, then call an isolation one on one and jack it up” offense. It’s been that way since Lefty.
- The band should warm up down where the students tailgate. I think it’s the old soccer field. Then about an hour before kickoff, they should march down the street. Have a different drum major each week. Whoever in the community, I don’t care. Then they could march through Godwin lot and over to Godwin field. Play a song there, and then it signals time for everyone to go in. We have a ridiculous band at the 1-AA level. Let’s use them. Anyways, I hear they are doing something now 3 hours before the game. That’s too early. And don’t market it. Just do it.
- Remember the ZooCage. Wow, that sucked.
- Please stay in 1-AA. I go back in forth on this. Right now I want to stay. Obviously, if the SEC called tomorrow and wanted a team in VA, then we go. I get that. I do not want to do the ODU plan. Or, I’m sure what Liberty will try to do. UR, William & Gary, and others will always want to play at the lower level. That’s not a bad group to play football in. Anyways, the day will come, or maybe it did. We will have to make a decision. Just don’t be desperate when the time comes.
- We should put a sign up on campus pointing toward I-81 that has the JMU v. VT score on it. I just want all the NOVA VT fans to see it every time they go up and down 81.
All in all, I’m glad I went to JMU. Let’s go Dukes, bring home another national title, and let’s get the hoops team back.
