Reader Mark Steidler came came closest to predicting the final score of last weekend’s game against URI. As a result, he won the right to guest post. Bookmark his personal blog here and check out his thoughts on elevating the JMU football program below.
Every four years, we’re faced with a choice.
The choice is more paramount than spicy or mild, single ply or double, Empire Strikes Back or Raiders of the Lost Ark. It’s a choice which we must be able to defend, which we must see through to the very end, and which we must ultimately bear the burden of responsibility. It’s not as easy as black and white, but rather as bold as purple and gold.
Just four games into the season, preseason expectations backed up by on-field performance have forced our hand into prematurely making this choice: do we once again buy into the four-year cyclical success of Mickey Matthews’ football programs or idly stand by and scoff at their accomplishments because our subdivision prevents us from playing in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas.
Yes, once again, JMU has aligned their “high expectations meets high performance” campaign with the presidential election cycle, challenging the Redskins Rule for the top slot as Nostradamus of November. As a refresher, you may recall 2004 as a time when swift boats dominated the airwaves and Rascati swing passes dominated the A-10. Just four years later, we gushed at the promise of hope and change, only to experience an untimely change in quarterback in our most pressing moment. And, now, in 2012, we’re told that not only are 47% of Americans dependent on the government and believe they are victims but also that our team is capable of having 47% of our first downs come from passing plays (Check the Rhode Island box score. It’s crazy).
For me, the choice of whether or not to embrace this program, to buy into its legitimacy, and to expect, nay, demand success is not a choice at all. I see the great things that the past, present, and future Dukes can do for the world. I see an underrated institution that has yet to maximize its potential. I view our football program as an important extension of our university, an essential component of our marketing mix that can one day capture a share of the national spotlight that so many other schools already bask in. And I wonder why any JMU grad would not invest a few hours of their Saturday into rekindling their relationship with the site of some of the best years of their life.
Perhaps it’s because we haven’t worked out all our issues. We’ve certainly had our moments of success, but too often those are overlooked as minor footnotes due to our division, stadium size, and proximity to bigger, mainstream teams. But that all can change.
In honor of the proven five point post, here’s five simple ways we can re-energize our program and put Harrisonburg on the pigskin map.
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The Dukes went on the road and took care of business against Rhode Island yesterday. JMU won 32-7 to pick up its first conference win of the 2012 season. This was a game that most people expected the Dukes to win in convincing fashion. And the important thing is that they did just that. There’s obviously a lot to like about any 25 point road conference win. And like any early season contest, there are some things to improve upon as well.
Things We Liked
The aggressive playcalling on offense. JMU marched 83 yards in just four plays for a TD the first time Thorpe and the offense got the ball. And 59 of those yards came from 2 big pass plays. Then to top it off they went for, and converted, a 2 point conversion to jump out to an 8-0 lead. That’s not exactly the rush heavy, only throw when they need to, JMU offense we’re used to seeing. And it wasn’t just some sort of “surprise them with the pass early” and then return to rushing it. Thorpe threw the ball a relatively ridiculous (by JMU standards) 42 times, completing 27 for a whopping 347 yards. Not only was that a career best for Thorpe, but it was the most by any JMU QB since Rodney Landers.
After giving up an amazing (or fluky depending on your perspective) TD to the Rams to let them back into the game, the defense was very impressive. The offense might have been the story of the day, but it was another stellar day for the defense. JMU completely shut down the Ram rushing attack, limiting them to 19 yards on the day. And they didn’t do that bad against the pass eitehr, limiting URI to only 164 yards in the air. Rhode Island isn’t known for lighting up the scoreboard, but any time a team holds it opponent below 200 yards on offense it’s doing something right.
The thing we liked best of all about JMU’s win however, was probably the resiliency the team showed. You don’t normally associate a word like resiliency with a 25 point wins, but I thought the Dukes showed a lot of it yesterday. After marching out to an early 15-7 lead, the offense sort of went to sleep. The attack was ineffective and the players were making careless mistakes. Thorpe in particular made a couple of poor plays. They team never seemed rattled though and kept plugging away. And then it just started clicking and they put together a couple really nice long scoring drives.
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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.
