1. Welcome home
As many wanted, Welcome Home has been made into the kickoff song. I supported it, I love it, but I’d make some minor changes. I want to use it as our entrance song. Every great entrance at any school has a great song. At UNC its Jump Around. At Tech it’s Enter Sandman. They go crazy for it. I hate them, but you can’t deny how awesome it is. They think it’s theirs. We need a song that JMU fans can think of as theirs. Welcome Home can be it. But we need to use the part of the song the band uses. Imagine 25k chanting before the team runs out onto the field and tell me that wouldn’t be intimidating. I have compiled what I think it would be an awesome entrance. Tell me what you think. JMU Entrance
2. Smokestack
I have seen and heard many attempts at turning the smokestack by Bridgeforth into something. It really does add some character I think. The setting of Bridgeforth is quite beautiful if you’ve never thought to recognize this with the mountains, Wilson in the distance and the smokestack. An idea I have is after every JMU touchdown, purple smoke could emanate from the stack. I don’t know the functionality of the stack itself but that would be quite a cool sight. If every touchdown is too frequent (not really a problem last year but hopefully Anderson can single-handedly change that) then it might be cooler to do it just after a JMU victory. That way everyone going down 81 and everyone in Harrisonburg would know JMU has just won. It would create something of a reward for players and fans alike after a win and something players strive for after a loss.
3. Fourth Quarter song/Pump up video.
Many schools have a video accompanied with a song at the start of the fourth. At Carolina it’s a Hells Bells remix that sends chills down my spine. JMU needs this. The crowd needs to be revamped at the most critical juncture of the game. Many songs come to mind. This could also be used at the start of the second half to get us students back up on our feet since many (who stay that long) don’t pay attention to kickoff since they are socializing. A song could snap them back to attention and that song would signify the beginning of the second half.
4. Rock the Campus
An idea me and my roommate came up with was to utilize the JMU radio station for game day use. 2 hour or so before every game, the station could play a playlist of “jock jams” and MRD songs. If every person tailgating, every student in the dorm, every apartment building and every car driving to the ‘Burg for the game tuned into that station, that could be seriously awesome for lack of a better term. More realistically if just HALF of every person did that, that would still be pretty impressive sounding. This could also signal when it is time to pack up and head into the stadium, for those tailgaters who never seem to realize.
These are just four of the ideas I have thought about. All four would seriously add to the JMU Game Day experience which would just make it more likely for sellouts. Like it or not we have to compete with the Hokies and Hoos on any given Saturday for attendance, not too mention our other FCS brethren and the likes of WVU, Maryland and the North Carolina schools. To maintain and increase the JMU football atmosphere, the culture needs to change, these four possible traditions could help do just that.
The annual CAA Basketball Media Day took place today at Champps in Arlington, VA. That’s about 5 minutes from my house, but I was unable to make it due to the entire real job thing. The commish announced a new television deal for the league. It’s a pretty impressive deal and another indication of the rise in interest in CAA basketball. The league also unveiled the preseason predictions as voted on by the coaches, media members, and media relations staff. JMU was picked to finish 5th in the conference.
That’s no real surprise for anyone that follows the league. Matt Brady has gotten the Dukes back to respectability, but they still have yet to show that they deserve to be considered among the CAA’s elite. JMU loses Denzel Bowles, a player who was dominant at times…on one end of the court. Coach Brady has repeatedly claimed that this team has a better make up than last year’s and has much stronger leadership. Devon Moore, a preseason All CAA second team selection, is supposedly one of the team’s leaders and he’s apparently academically ineligible this semester though. Drexel returns a tough and experienced team and is the odds on favorite to finish first. The full preseason predicted order of finish is below.
1. Drexel
2. George Mason
3. VCU
4. ODU
5. JMU
6. William & Mary
7. Delaware
8. Hofstra
9. Northeastern
10. UNCW
11. Georgia State
12. Towson
All of the predictions seem pretty reasonable to me. I think William & Mary might surprise some folks though. They had a young squad last year, but played tough all season. Senior guard/forward Quinn McDowell is the conference’s leading returning scorer and freshman Marcus Thornton should be one of the top rookies in the league. The Dukes could also make some noise if improvements are made on the defensive end. If JMU can get off to a decent start without Moore, and get major contributions from AJ Davis and James Millen, a top four finish is within reach.
Well, after all the panic following last week’s tough OT loss to Maine, a 7-6 halftime deficit to severely undermanned Villanova was not sitting well with the patrons yesterday. Thankfully, as they usually do, the offense found its rythm in the second half, the D produced a turnover or two, and the Dukes steamrolled the Wildcats on the strength of 28 unanswered points to close out the game. Full game story from JMU Sports. Here’s a quick rundown of the best and worst from Saturday:
The Good
Parent’s Weekend Crowd – No they weren’t the loudest or most intimidating, but then again, the Dukes offense didn’t give them much reason to get in the game for a long time. And more than that, the stadium was packed and the crowd stuck around throughout the game. For all the whining we all do about Parent’s Weekend, hard to argue with a full stadium midway through the fourth. And even better, for all the bitching I do about folks not standing up or asking for people to sit down, the old folks behind us actually said, “Where were you boys, we needed you,” in reference to the Maine game the minute we walked in. Amazing how much leeway in the rowdy-slightly boozy-fan behavior a little friendly networking can buy you.
C-4 Tailgating. Hillside Lot was a ton of fun. Nice to see at least a dozen RV’s lining up across the way at the old baseball stadium and tailgating on the grass along the railroad tracks is actually a nice setup (plus you have Mr. Chips easy access if you forgot anything – like Solo cups).
Streamers – Ok, they may have contributed to the missed extra point in the first half by Cam Starke by blowing right into him, but they were outstanding for the first time in new BFS. It was a sea of purple and gold and with the wind swirling, they stuck around and added to a festive second half atmosphere.
Brian Barlow – Seriously, how the hell do we not throw to this guy more?!
The Bad
I "think" this passing play actually happened at some point.
First-down play calling. Look, I have a laughing, grudging, Les Miles-esque respect for the fact Mickey Matthews basically gives all the people in the #passmore crowd a big fat middle finger game after game and year after year. I also think this team is the FCS version of Oregon – basically an all running team with better athletes than almost anyone who just takes a while, usually a half, to rev up their game and find their groove both on the field and in the playcalling department. The cumulative effect of wearing down another team is why this team sometimes hits the supercharge button late (see UR, Nova). But it’s just an incredible disservice being done to our QB’s this year, especially the extremely promising Jace Edwards, to never give them a chance to throw in a non-throwing, low-pressure, first down situation. In case you didn’t notice, the only time the Dukes threw on first down in the first two and a half quarters was the long pass interference to Barlow. It’s also killing our own running game in that you never force the defense out of their stack-the-box mentality.
Nova’s indecision on moving up. Their hedging last year on their Big East invite opened the door for Pitt and WVU to bigfoot them and shut it down. Now you have to wonder if they’re screwing Jay Wright and the basketball program by messing around and missing a huge opportunity. Needless to say, I hope and expect better if and when JMU ever gets a similar chance.
The Ugly
It’s now officially ODUh week! All ugliness is now welcome and encouraged. Come on JMU, let it fly and get ready to invade Nawf*ck! Even better, we get to make a full fortnight out of it and mock them if they struggle at Nova next week. They got a gutwrenching reminder from Towson of just how tough life in the CAA can be this weekend, and hopefully the Dukes can hand them the type of soul-crushing defeat from which the playoff committee will never let them recover.
JMU will wrap up the rare three-game homestand by taking on Villanova tomorrow at New Bridgeforth. It’s Parents Weekend in the ‘Burg so it’s likely the Dukes will break the new attendance records again but as usual on this fiasco of a game from a fans’ perspective, the crowd will be quieter and significantly less knowledgable than usual. In other words, if you’re headed to the game like I am, just be thankful the Athletics Department at least moved the game from it’s usual noon start to 1:30 and do your best to get rowdy.
I’m going to take a slightly different tact with this preview, but if you’d like a humorous and insanely detailed preview from another JMU fan, check out the Purple Wave preview at http://www.purplewave.tk/ . We don’t always agree entirely, the grammar would occasionally make Dexter Manley blush, and personally I think the midseason grades are overly harsh, but his previews are the tits and one of the few things I consistently look forward to popping up on the CAA Zone message boards.
As for us, these are the facts, just the facts:
Villanova is starting no less than four true freshman on each side of the ball, possibly including their QB’s first ever start.
Villanova is without their best player in WR Norman White right now, though WR Dorian Wells remains a threat, especially against our “pass defense.”
Villanova is last in the CAA against the rush. The Dukes are first in rushing by a Callao mile (that’s Northern Neck for “country mile”).
At 4-2, the Dukes are right where we thought they’d be at this point before the season both record wise and in the CAA. Just because they’re trailing different teams than we thought they would be is no reason to call for anyone’s firing/benching/stoning/castrating/etc.
No excuses about who's "not" out there, Dukes need more of this!
Turnovers and mental mistakes, not talent or scheme, are the only things that could doom the Dukes this weekend. Hold onto the ball, play angry off the tough loss, and no punches or other shenanigans and we should be able to avoid a Mickey visor-toss this weekend. Really no excuse for not burying this team (except that’s what we said for CCSU too).
Predicition Contest
Read Rob’s post below this one and leave a prediction for the score of this week’s game in the comments section of either post. Closest to the actual gets to hijack the blog for a day next week and write on anything JMU related they damn well feel like.
Beer of the Week
Special thanks to the Bowens of Comus, MD for alerting me to the genius of DuClaw Brewery. Damn right there’s a solid brewerey in PG County! Saw their Mad Bishop Octoberfest at Vienna Whole Foods this week and it will go perfectly with what should be another standout fall weekend. And if you have a problem with gophers, voles, or exploding commodes, but would rather pay in barley and hops than cash, find Mr. Bowen.
Odds and Ends
Televised coverage is only available through MadiZone for this one. Still can’t guarantee the connection, but the production value has seen an enormous upgrade with the opening of New BFS this year and if you can’t make the game, it’s really worth the small pay per view from JMU Sports.
However, in great news for DC/Nova folks, the Duke Club has gotten permission for Bailey’s Ballston to broadcast the MadiZone feed so the usual Saturday DukesFest is on!
Midnight Madness in college hoops starts this week and we really will get off football and cover some of the other great news in Dukesland next week for a little while including but not limited to Arthur Moats destroying QB’s for the Bills, CJ Sapong lighting up MLS and headed for the playoffs with Sporting Kansas City, the JMU men’s soccer team nationally ranked and on fire despite a loss this week, and of course Coach Lucas and Field Hockey hanging tough through adversity. We’re also hoping to get a special update from our on-the-scene correspondents at Hoops Media Day Tuesday.
Our friends over at Mister Irrelevant started a weekly predictions contest with their readers this season. Readers predict the outcome (winner & score) for each week’s Redskins game and whoever comes closest to nailing it, gets a chance to guest post the following week. We think it’s such a great idea that we told them we’re stealing it.
This isn’t going to replace the weekly JMUSB game previews. Those will be posted each Friday with the same mix of semi-serious analysis and snark. Prior to that on Wednesday or Thursday, we’ll start a prediction thread for that week’s game. That will be your cue to predict the winner and final score in the comments. Keep it simple or break the game down in great detail. Whomever comes closest to nailing it will get to write a guest post on the topic of his or her choice the following week. Write about whatever your little heart desires: your favorite JMU sports memory, how to fix the pass defense, why JMUSB is the best blog on the interwebs, etc. Pretty simple, right?
So let’s start things off right now. The 4-2 JMU Dukes host the 1-5 Villanova Wildcats. Who wins and by what score?
JMU suffered its first home loss of the season, falling 25-24 to Maine in overtime. Before anyone accuses me of pulling a Mitch Albom, let me tell you that I recorded this one on the DVR with plans to go into full “cone of silence” mode so that I could watch it without knowing the outcome later. Unfortunately, my curiosity got the best of me about 10 minutes after kick-off and I started following it online and via Twitter. I guess it’s a good thing, because my DVR cut off just before the OT started. Lucky for me (not really) Maine’s nifty (read: crappy) 2 point conversion was unavoidable on the morning highlight shows.
Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let me get something else off my chest. We need to give Maine some credit here. They won the game. I’m sure lots of people are frustrated or think the Dukes gave one away. JMU had chances to take control yes, but Maine got it done and earned the W. Let’s not lose sight of that. Maine is a good team. And truth be told they could have won in regulation if not for a phantom block in the back call that took a go-ahead TD off the board.
With that being said, we all saw some things the Dukes need to work on if they want to go anywhere this season. First and foremost is the pass defense. JMU has relied on a “bend but don’t break” defense in the past, but yesterday there was way too much bending. Maine’s QB, Warren Smith, was picking the Dukes apart with underneath throws. JMU was giving the receivers 5-8 yard cushions all day and failed to adjust at all. And without a pass rush getting to Smith, it was just too easy for him. As a result Maine’s back-up tight-end, Justin Perillo, looked like Mark Bavaro out there.
There were some good things to. Obviously Jordan Anderson is proving to be an absolute beast. There seems to be a constant surge of JMU fans screaming for the Dukes to pass more. Whatever your thoughts are on the ideal rush-pass balance, we all should be screaming for Anderson to run more. Dae’Quan Scott has had some nice games, but I don’t see how Anderson can’t be the #1 running back at this point. He makes one cut and hits the hole quick. And as he showed on the 80 yard TD, if he gets past the linebackers, he’s gone. He rushed for over 200 yards yesterday and is averaging a ridiculous 7.7 yards a carry. Make him the starter already.
Jace Edwards also continues to impress. He showed a lot of poise throughout the game and has a better arm than Thorpe in my opinion. He missed a long toss to Brown that would have been a TD, but I continue to be impressed by his play. He’s got command of the offense and certainly didn’t look like a guy making his second career start. The future is bright with this kid.
So it was a tough loss, but not a terrible loss. Had Edwards connected with Brown or Deandre Smith not bobbled the ball on the end-around, JMU might have won. They didn’t though. And Maine stepped up big with a gutsy 2 point conversion call in OT, and even gutsier execution. The CAA isn’t really down this year folks. It’s just that the toughest teams, like Maine, aren’t the ones we expected. The Dukes are still in a good position. They’ve just got to put this one behind them and close out the homestand with a win over Nova next Saturday.
Photo courtesey of JMUsports.com
When the schedule came out, I can’t say this was exactly one of the big home games I circled. But as the CAA often does, things aren’t shaking out the way they were expected and this is suddenly looking like an enormous game after Maine manhandled Delaware last week. Actually this game scares the crap out of me. JMU nearly maxed out last week in an absolutely dominant performance against Richmond, and while I hope that’s what we can expect the rest of the way, it’s nearly impossible to dream about getting that type of show every week. Plus Maine returned 16 starters from last season’s underachieving team (see Island, Rhode loss), more than anyone in the conference, and seems poised to contend all year.
Interesting Week for New BFS
After all the midweek comments on Rob’s stadium discussion, thought I should mention that I’ll be interested to see how things go for this week. The middle game of a rare three-game homestand sandwiched between Homecoming and Parent’s Weekend. Not to mention it’s a holiday weekend for a lot of folks. But the weather looks amazing and if the Dukes can draw a decent crowd this weekend, it will go a lot further than any other game this season to easing fears about reaching capacity.
The Skinny on Maine
Solid running game led by Pushaun Jones and lots of experienced hard-nosed players all over the field for the 19th ranked Black Bears. Returned their top 4 tacklers from last year. JMU/Maine games have been nip and tuck since ’03 and although JMU has won 5 out of 6, games with Maine are always TIGHT.
Beer Of The Week
This week we’re staying in Virginia and recommending a great postgame excursion after any Dukes game by going with Blue Mountain Brewery’s Full Nelson Pale Ale. The brewery’s in Afton, just down (well actually up in terms of elevation) the road from the ‘Burg on the way to Charlottesville or Richmond and they serve great, and nearly all local, food to go along with a number of solid brews. You can also pick up Full Nelson in cans at the Brewery, which I’m a huge fan of. Maybe see you there Saturday night!
Conclusion
Scared of this game for sure and worried about players looking too far ahead, but JMU is really putting it together and I think they’re starting to realize how good they can be. Dukes win a close one, but don’t be surprised or frustrated with a seriously tough 23-17 affair. Go Dukes!
JMU absolutely crushed one of its biggest rivals on Saturday in front of over 25,000 fans. The 31-7 victory over Richmond moved the Dukes to 4-1 on the season and 2-0 in the CAA. It was one of the most dominating JMU defensive performances in a long time. So I find it sort of odd that there is so much talk about the “problems” with the crowd on Saturday. For some folks it appears that the fact that some of the crowd arrived late and many people left early (when the weather went to hell and the victory was already in hand), is a bigger story than the game itself.
Todd and I made sure we were there from kick-off until the final gun sounded. It wasn’t to prove how hard-core we were. It was because we really enjoy watching the Dukes play. Other people felt differently and either wandered in a bit late or decided to head out early. It would have been great if everyone stayed and cheered the entire game. Shouldn’t we be more excited that the attendance was 25,742 instead of bitching about those who didn’t stay the entire game?
It’s pretty obvious that some folks got so caught up in the tailgate experience that they struggled to get into the stadium on time. That’s understandable considering that for many of us alums, there was no tailgating at all in our days. And it’s even more obvious that plenty of people had no desire to sit in the wind and rain to watch a game that was over early. As the crowd started to leave on Saturday I heard a lot of people say that true die hards wouldn’t be leaving. Well, duh. JMU isn’t selling tickets to 25,000+ die hards though. The tickets are going to thousands of die hards yes, but also to all sorts of students, causal fans, alums curious about the stadium, folks from the Valley, etc. And that all adds up to an awesome gameday experience. At its peak on Saturday, Bridgeforth was pretty fantastic. A giant sea of purple clad fans cheering like mad for the Dukes.
Todd and I brought a bunch of friends back with us for this game. They all were alums and most of them never even went to a single game as students. We didn’t bring them to sell them on JMU football or recruit them in any way, but they all had so much fun that they’d like to go to more games in the future. When the rain started coming down, they were part of the masses headed for the bars though. Should we not let them back in Bridgeforth until they prove that they can stay the whole time? Of course not. That would be stupid. We should encourage them to come back and cheer on the Dukes. That’s how fanbases grow. You can’t just start plucking ready made fanatics off the street.
My point isn’t that as fans we shouldn’t want more for the program. We should. I just think it sometimes by worrying about all the things JMU football isn’t just yet, we miss what it has already become. And in case you haven’t noticed, it is a rather impressive program. The team is starting to cruise and another 25,000 people will be in Bridgeforth this Saturday to watch them. And to me that is pretty awesome, even if some of them do wander in after kick off.
Photo courtesy of JMUsports.com’s awesome gameday gallery
Corp didn't get hit this much in the Pac-10
This picture from the RTD story really is worth a thousand words, or in this case 400 unnecessary words from me that could never explain the beatdown the Dukes put on Richmond as well as this image. I’ll be brief because there were 8 sacks and that is the headline as Richmond couldn’t bust a grape, much less deal with the fired up defense we’ve all been waiting on to arrive this season.
Three Things to Love
The black jerseys, return of Nick Emmons beefing up the D Line, the word that DQ Scott’s shoulder injury may not be that serious even though it was nice to see just how deep JMU’s running back stable is.
Three Things to be Concerned About
Special teams still not special, Maine looks like the real deal after putting a hurt on Delaware yesterday, the shoddy A/V work not living up to the rest of the stadium.
One Last Thing
I didn’t even have to mention the QB.
JMU's breakout star, Dae'Quan Scott.
The JMU Dukes welcome the Richmond Spiders to campus on Saturday. It’s a big weekend in the Burg. Not only is it the first CAA game in the newly expanded Bridgeforth Stadium, but it’s Homecoming and thousands of alums will be back in town for the game. And it also is going to be the first game behind center for JMU’s redshirt freshman QB, Jace Edwards. In any case, the crowd should be good and lubed up by the time the ball is kicked at 3:36 PM.
The Basics
Match-up: #9 JMU (3-1, 1-0 CAA) vs #10 Richmond (3-1, 01 CAA).
Television: The Comcast Network (not Comcast SportsNet) and Comcast New England
Weather: High 49 and slight chance of showers. Football weather.
How We Got Here
Both JMU and Richmond have got to be pleased with their 3-1 records at this point, but the Dukes already has a leg up on the Spiders in the CAA thanks to the win at William & Mary. JMU started slowly, but is coming off 2 road wins over ranked opponents. The Dukes’ offense made huge strides in those games and appeared to find an identity last Saturday. And then just as QB Justin Thorpe was finally starting to win over the fanbase, he was suspended. As a result Dae’Quan Scott has gone from emerging fan favorite to “the guy” in the span of one week.
Richmond opened up the season by defeating Duke in Durham, NC. Not only did it give the Spiders a coveted FCS-FBS upset, but it gave their alumni bragging rights in the douchey New Jersey/Long Island carpet baggers social circle. The Spiders then went through the motions for 2 victories over overmatched teams that taught us nothing. Last weekend they mounted a furious fourth quarter comeback, but still fell short in a 45-43 loss to New Hampshire.
Spider Football, the Fashion Statement
Richmond football is known for many things. The Spiders play their home games in one of the nicest high school stadiums in the entire West End, have won a National Championship, count Todd McShay and Tim Hightower as former players, and they receive disproportionately high web search traffic due to the existence of a certain Australian Football League team. Most of all though Spider football is known for sweater vests. I don’t get it either, but it’s true. Richmond fans love sweater vests. Maybe they were worried that UVA fans had gained an edge in the pretentious gameday attire category. Maybe they just have no fashion sense. In any case, do not be alarmed if you encounter people on Saturday who appear to be dressed more appropriately for a Color Me Badd Fan Club meeting than a football game. They’re just Richmond fans.
How Richmond Can Win
Throw, throw, throw. Aaron Corp might have had a disappointing career at USC, but so far this season he’s showing that he has quite an arm. In last week’s shootout against UNH, he tossed for more than 350 yards. His favorite target, Tre Gray (seriously, that’s his name), could have a field day if the Dukes’ secondary doesn’t step up. He’s averaging over 100 yards receiving a game. Defensively, it’s no mystery. Richmond is going to key in on stopping Scott and forcing Jace to beat them with his arm.
How JMU Can Win
Obviously, with Justin Thorpe suspended JMU is going to pound the ball with Scott and Latney. I also expect them to mix in some easy pass plays to build the QB’s confidence. Don’t be surprised to see Brian Barlow’s number called early to do just that. Richmond had two starters on the d-line, Kerry Wynn and Corey Jackson, go down last weekend. Wynn might play, but Jackson is expected to be out. That should help the Dukes’ rushing attack and ease the pressure on the young QB. The real key to the game will be the JMU defense however. They need to get to QB Aaron Corp early and often. The less time he has to throw, the better JMU’s chances will be. Four games down and we have yet to see the JMU D live up to preseason expectations. If they step it up Saturday and the Dukes can establish the ground game, JMU will win.
Beer of the Week
It’s Homecoming, which means extended tailgating. Todd and I will be dragging a large group of friends back and setting up shop in P Lot (come say hi, we’ll let you know where we are via Facebook and Twitter). It’s a situation that calls for a session beer. Therefore we’re going with one of Todd’s personal favorites for the JMUSB BOTW. Full Sail Session Black. It’s exactly what is sounds like, a dark roasty beer that won’t crush your palate. It’s also a more manageable 5.4% ABV, which means you’ll make it to the game no problem. Unless you’re a total lush.
Prediction
I was jumping on the Justin Thorpe bandwagon last Saturday, but I’m not too worried about Jace taking over. The offense depends on the rushing attack, so if the line does it’s job, Scott and Latney can move the chains. The defense is getting Nick Emmons back, which should help tremendously. And as we learned in the season opener, the Bridgeforth crowd can wreak havoc with an offense. This crowd should be bigger and louder. Advantage Dukes. Last year’s clash in Richmond might have been the ugliest football game ever played. This one might not be much prettier, but the Dukes should come out on top. Good guys win 24-14.
