The Skinny: Richmond’s football program dates all the way back to 1881. For almost that entire history, the Ticks played consistently mediocre football. Dave Clawson got things pointed in the right direction, coaching the team to 3 winning seasons between 2004 and 2007. In 2008 Mike London took over and elevated the program to new heights. Richmond won the National Championship in 2008 and had a team that might have been even better in 2009. They racked up 24 wins (13 in the CAA) in that short 2 year span. Then London got tapped to Coach UVA and Latrell Scott had the unenviable opportunity to try to fill his shoes. Scott’s coaching was often criticized, but he did lead the team to a 6-5 record last year. And he did it while battling injuries and being forced to play 4 QBs. So the question remains. Is Richmond an FCS power that took some lumps last year or were the London years an anomaly?
Sometimes Life Throws You a Curveball: Picture yourself as a hot-shot QB heading into your redshirt sophomore year ready to assume the role of starter for the USC Trojans. After a monster spring, you suffer an injury in the preseason and lose your starting spot to a true freshman. Just as your dreams are slipping away, that same freshman gets hurt, you’re vaulted back into the spotlight and named the starter for the PAC 10 opener against an overmatched Washington Huskies team. 60 minutes of terrible football later, you’ve just thrown the fewest passing yards of any USC QB under Pete Carrol, your team has lost, and you’ve earned yourself a permanent seat on the pine. Bim, bam, boom. Three years later and you’re entering your final season of college eligibility, attempting to come back from a nasty knee injury, and eager to prove yourself by quarterbacking the Richmond Spiders. Ladies and gentleman, the Aaron Corp story.
What They Bring Back: The Spiders bring back 8 offensive starters, highlighted by the QB featured above, Mr. Aaron Corp. The USC transfer came to Richmond with a lot of hype, but suffered a season ending knee injury in a week 4 loss against New Hampshire. He had played decent (not great) football up to that point, but if he lives up to the hype from the past, it will mean good things for the Spiders. His top target should be Tre Gray, a talented WR who made All CAA first team last year, despite only having 2 TDs. Fullback Kendal Gaskins also earned All CAA and will be back. Defensively, the Spiders are only returning 5 players, highlighted by Junior LB Darius McMillan. He lead the Spiders with 89 tackles last year. On special teams, Wil Kamin is back and is expected to be one of the top place kickers in the CAA.
What They Lose: The Spiders have some big holes to fill on the defense, with 5 starters lost from last year’s team. McMillan might have led the team in tackles, but his fellow starting linebacker, Eric McBride, was the heart and soul of last year’s defense. McBride was outstanding all year and shared the CAA Defensive Player of the Year with UMass’s Tyler Holmes. They’ll also be replacing half of the D-line, including All-CAA performer Martin Parker, who had a team high 5.5 sacks. On the offensive side of the ball, the Spiders lose their leading rusher, Tyler Kirchoff. However, the Richmond running game wasn’t that great (it sucked) and Kirchoff averaged fewer than 50 yards a game. The other 2 losses are on the o-line including All-CAA Second Team selection Drew Lachenmayer.
Season Outlook: If Corp can come back from injury and show the form that made him one of the top QB recruits in the country coming out of high school, Richmond could surprise some folks. If he merely returns to the form he displayed before his injury though, the Spiders appear destined to return to their mediocre roots. The rushing attack is suspect and they’ll be introducing 4 new starters in the front 7 on D. And the defense wasn’t even that great to begin with last year. Look for the Spiders to hover around .500 for much of the season and finish in the middle of the CAA pack.
Above is a picture of the JMU scoreboard that was in place last season, featuring the one and only “mini-tron”. Believe it or not, that ridiculous little video monitor was a very big deal when it was installed. The past few years it’s just looked sort of sad though. Well that was then, below is now.
I’d say that’s a bit of an upgrade, huh?
Stephon Robertson was picked for the All CAA Defense
CAA Football Media Day took place today at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. The William & Mary Tribe were picked by CAA coaches and media relations folks to win the conference this year. Our beloved JMU Dukes received 4 first place votes and were picked to finish as runner-up to the Tribe. It’s no surprise that W&M is the odds on favorite to win the CAA. They took home a share of the conference title last season and are a popular pick to win the whole damn thing this year. Count me as a little bit surprised to see the Dukes picked to finish right behind them though. Delaware, New Hampshire, UMass and Rhode Island (don’t believe the hype) also received first place votes.
I guess you could view this as a sign of respect for the outstanding JMU defense. On the other hand, you could take it as a sign of how little respect the CAA coaches and media had for Drew Dudzik’s QB play last year. Last year’s defense gave up only 14.7 points a game and many people, including Coach Matthews, expect this year’s version to be even better. Last year’s offense however, had some weak spots, primarily passing, sustaining drives, and scoring points. (Other than that though they were prolific.) In fact they only scored more than 17 points in one single game after the big Tech win. And in that 30-24 upset win over W&M, they only attempted 1 pass and WR Dae’Quan Scott played QB. Dudzik quarterbacked the team to the biggest win in program history, but the fact is that his play was very disappointing for the remainder of the season. It might sound harsh, but it sure seems like the CAA coaches are just making the assumption that whoever replaces him at QB, will at least make the offense adequate. Or maybe they think the D will pitch a shut-out every week.
The All-CAA preseasons teams were also announced and four Dukes were honored. Senior OL Roane Babington was selected to the First Team offense, while sophomore LB Stephon Robertson and senior safety Vidal Nelson ended up on the First Team defense. Dukes’ junior punter, David Skahn was also selected as an All CAA special teamer. This might be one of the best, if not the best, defense JMU has ever had and only 2 players are expected to be all conference. I think this is a sign of respect for the defense as a collective unit, but I’d be surprised if the final All CAA defense wasn’t loaded up with Dukes. And God help the poor QB’s in the league if DJ Bryant feels slighted and plays like he’s got something to prove this year.
The image to the left is a picture of the George Mason basketball team’s rings to commemorate the 2010-2011 season. It was unearthed by SB Nation DC. Yes, it really does say “Final 32” on it. The Patriots had a hell of a year last year. Only an incredibly bitter and jaded person harboring a senseless anti-Mason bias could even attempt to disparage their program’s accomplishments from last season and belittle them and their fans for such a ring. Luckily, I fit that profile perfectly so I have no problem pointing that the ring is absolutely pathetic.
Final 32? Seriously Mason? You guys made the Final Four just a few years ago. Now you’re celebrating being in the top 50 percent of NCAA tournament participants. I guess this is what we should expect from Mason. After all this is a school that considers it a major selling point to be just a 3 mile ride on the Fairfax CUE Bus, followed by a 15 minute Metro Bus ride, and 10 quick stops on the Orange Line from DC. You set the bar low enough and it’s easy to clear it.
Indications are that Mason had “CAA Champs” on the other side of the ring, so this might have just been filler. Maybe “Briefly Relevant on the National Level” didn’t fit on the ring. I don’t really know what happened and I’m really not concerns with facts anyway. I do know that “Final 32” isn’t even a real term and it’s certainly not ring worthy. JMU hasn’t made the tourney in almost two decades and I’m quite certain the Dukes wouldn’t get rings for winning an opening round game if they did anyway. I may or may not have a “CAA Top 10” t-shirt in honor of the great 2007-2008 JMU Dukes squad that went 13-20, but come on. Final 32? Tighten up your game Mason.
Alas, we’ve arrived at one of the season’s biggest games. I’ll try and work in cracks on the featherless Tribe soon enough, but William & Mary will likely enter the season #1 in at least one poll, a certain top five team everywhere, and the solid favorite in the CAA. Given that this rivalry will be the CAA opener for both teams, this should be one of the season’s most important games.
Really, there is no need for other jokes in this preview.
Why the Tribe deserve the preseason accolades:
Jimmye (yes, that’s spelled correctly incorrectly) Laycock, Jonathan Grimes, B.W. Webb, Alex Gottlieb. Coach Laycock has been with in Williamburg forever and is one of the best at the FCS level in maximizing talent on a team that has often had more brains than brawn. This year he has the talent to match his savvy and W&M should be a major factor all year. Running Back Jonathan Grimes is simply the CAA’s best player, and possibly a beacon of FCS goodness in a Jim Tressel world. Although some of the UD and Villanova apologists might argue otherwise, this kid is poised to break all sorts of W&M and CAA records this year and you’ll get no argument from us. TE Alex Gottlieb is a huge weapon CAA teams have struggled to control in the passing game and DB/KR BW Webb can be electrifying as well.
Questions: Although this team returns 7 starters on each side of the ball, they did lose 4 players off their front seven on defense that has been the core of this team for a few years. How they are replaced and whether they can stop the run as well will be huge. Also, this team has an odd history of strange results the last few years. JMU played their best game of the season in taking down the Tribe last year even though the Dukes only threw a single pass all game with a WR essentially running the option under center. Somehow this baffled the Tribe. They also almost gagged against ODuh. Tribe can play with anyone, but needs to play up to their potential week in and week out.
Why This Game is HUGE: This game will tell us everything we need to know about where the Dukes stand even if the first three have not. UNC is UNC and we’ll take whatever result with a grain of salt (see Tech, Virginia 2010) this year. CCSU is CCSU and we won’t overread into this game either (see State, Morehead 2010). Liberty is a big one and will be the first true test, but win or lose, the way the Dukes show up in Williamsburg in Week 4 following that game will show a ton about whether this team can be mentally tougher than last year’s squad.
2011 Prediction: This is going to be a barnburner and I think the Dukes will be ready this year. The Tribe will almost certainly be 2-1 but completely untested. They start the season at UVa. They upset the Cavs a couple years back but that UVa team had a dead coach. Literally, Al Groh had been dead for at least three months but they kept dressing him up in that orange sweatshirt. Our guess is Mike London’s crew is out for blood. Then the Tribe play not one, but two absolute patsies in VMI and New Haven (D2 game is so stupid). Win or lose at UNC and Liberty, the Dukes will have been seriously tested and should be ready for battle.
As for the season, we think W&M gets to 8 or 9 wins, a playoff berth, and should be in contention for the CAA crown. UVa and JMU should be their toughest games, but they better not be below 8 wins with New Haven “counting” as one of those.
It’s official Dukes fans, JMU will face West Virginia at FedEx Field on September 15 of next year. The news broke that this game was in the works last month, but the announcement that the contract had been finalized was just made today. The original reports in June indicated that JMU would be guaranteed $350,000 for the game and could receive up to $150,000 additional dollars through additional ticket incentives.
Now that the contract has been finalized, we’re breathing a giant sigh of relief. I’d like to say we would have handled it fine if the negotiations collapsed and the game fell through. The truth is though that such an event would have ranked pretty high on the JMU sports misery index. It wouldn’t have been on top of the list, but it would have been right up there along with the fumble against App State, the Landers injury/loss to Montana, and the entire Dean Keener experiment.
This is obviously awesome news for the Dukes. It’s a great deal for the Mountaineers as well. West Virginia is guaranteed $2.3 million dollars for the game, which according to ESPN.com is “at least $500,000 more than they’d get for a home game in Morgantown.” It also gives the Mountaineers a chance to try to expand its fanbase in the DC Metro area, an area which has no overwhelming allegiance to any single college football team. They were going to play an FCS team anyway. Now they get to play one that isn’t viewed as a pushover thanks to its win over VA Tech, generate some buzz by playing in an NFL stadium, and possibly gain a few fans in a large media market. Oh, and get paid millions to do it. It’s a no brainer.
This is an even better deal for our Dukes though. These sorts of opportunities don’t come along very often for FCS teams. Heck, lots of FBS teams never get opportunities to play in NFL stadiums like this. The truth is that despite the fact that lots of the more hard core or geeky JMU sports fans (guilty as charged) can get fired up for games against the likes of Richmond, New Hampshire, or William & Mary, the typical JMU fan doesn’t care much. The news of this game at FedEx has created a ton of buzz in the JMU community. It’s not quite the “We Beat Tech” level of buzz, but it’s up there. Trust us. We’ve had a quite a spike in page views since the rumor broke and we’re pretty sure it’s not due to any strides we’ve made with our writing (although we happen to think our CAA football previews are worth reading). So this game is a very, very big deal. If the Dukes win, it’s going to be legendary. And regardless of what happens on the field, it’s a safe bet that the tailgating will be legendary as well.
Ddddaaaaammmmmmnnnn! Or rather, dadgumit! That mighty roar you hear is Mickey Matthews cursing his luck (or cursing the seven in the godswood – yes, I’m dorking out hardcore on BOTH SyFy channel’s Alphas AND Game of Thrones) that the Towson Tigers aren’t on the schedule this year. (And also spitting on VCU’s recent ESPY though the CAA love is nice – and no, you are NOT forgiven Bilas and DukieV). But somebody has to serve as the CAA’s 
“gimme” and this year it’s going to be the Maine Black Bears, who came out of nowhere to produce a few tough performances last year. Yes, this is unrealistic alumni expectation and it’s perfectly possible to think other teams are thinking the same of the Dukes, but seriously, with no Towson, RhodeI looking tougher than usual, and the two of us saving our most serious venom for that putrid placenta oozing in the Hampton Roads area, somebody has to serve as the afterthought game on the home schedule, and this year it’s Maine.
Why We’re Worried
The Dukes will host Maine on Columbus Day weekend, when lots of students miss out on the opportunity for an extra weekend day in the ‘Burg (trust me, you’ll never remember that random night at Blue Iguana with your high school “friends” but you will remember that trip to the Reddish Knob area where Omar did a backflip off the watertower because his oddly attractive fat townie manager from Food Lion said he couldn’t pull it off after 17 Beast Ices). And even more unfortunately, it’s sandwiched between two larger home dates with the Ticks for Homecoming the week before and Villanova for Parent’s Weekend following.
Oh yeah, also Maine has some decent players and a great coach. Actually, they really don’t. In the section of the CAA Media Guide that highlights each teams’ best returning players, their highlights include just two guys who made 3rd Team All CAA last year and a QB who “started 10 of 11 games” and is ranked roughly 98th in all-time CAA yardage. Their coach, Jack Cosgrove, HAS been solid for years and has consistently found a way to coax 4-7 wins out of 2-win (i.e. Towson) talent, but there’s still absolutley no way we don’t pencil this in as a Dukes W this year.
Why I’m Way Out of Line for Bashing Maine
There’s no funny segue or snarky transition for the fact that Maine had a player killed in an accident this offseason. While we’ll be rooting for the Dukes when the Black Bears visit The Purple Palace this year, there’s no team in the CAA we’ll be pulling for harder the rest of the season than Maine. While JMU, and c ertainly ODU, managed to manufacture “tragedy” through the immature and at times felonious actions of their roster this offseason, Maine is going through something not a single team in the CAA would wish on anyone else and our thoughts are with the Black Bears family.
Secondly, for all of our jokes (and those of Hofstra’s “Defiantly Dutch” blog) about the differences and inequalities between the former CAA North and South, Maine is a seriously underrated University when it comes to how seriously they take athletics. Besides their noted hockey team, they take both men’s and women’s hoops dead seriously and have an undergrad enrollment of 12,000 (nothing to sneer at) in a state with no real competition. I’m just saying in all of our over-the-top, pie in the sky wishing and bullshitting about future FBS possibilities, don’t completely sleep on Maine despite the geographic nightmare they present.
The above picture popped up on Twitter last week when I was on vacation. It supposedly is the Dukes’ newest football alternate road jersey. It’s a little surprising to see black on a JMU jersey, but I really like it. My only real complaint is that if it truly is a road jersey, then we’re not going to get to see it at Bridgeforth. When you consider all of the other recent uniform updates by other teams, it’s actually fairly conservative. And I assume that it’s going to take the place of the gold jerseys, which I’ve never really loved. So while I’m sure some folks will resist this and cling to tradition, I’m fully on board with this. Considering all of the other truly awful designs Nike has at its disposal, I’m honestly more relieved than anything else though.
Full Disclosure: I’m married to a Vanillanova alum and I occassionally, ok most all of the time, cheer for them a in basketball. But my distaste for a good portion of their fans’ distaste for big-time college athletics and hindsighted, myopic visions of the good ole’ days of a Catholic Big East being relevant combined with the monster rising in the Shenandoah Valley are going to make it very easy, very fast, to spit the same venom I muster for all other things Philly sports.
What They Lose? An absolute ton. No other team in the conference will lose the type of leadership, playmaking, and raw talent that the Wildcats will. CAA killer Matt Sczcuzzczuuzur has moved onto the Cubs minor league system. Ben Ijalana was a high NFL Draft pick. Leading tackler Terence Thomas is gone (and hopefully his biased pops can hang up the laptop for the 1-AA coverage). QB and team leader Chris Whitney will need to be replaced and backfield mate Aaron Ball’s hardnosed running will be sorely missed.
What They Have? Arguably the CAA’s best coach, a budding superstar wideout, talent in the front four defensively, and an avalanche of question marks on and off the field. Andy Talley is a fabulous coach who has quietly gone about the business of teaching Rutgers and Temple how to actually recruit their New Jersey backyard despite a dearth of fan support, a prep-school facility, a universe-sized shadow cast by men’s hoops on the Main Line, and a seemingly grossly incompetent administration. But he’s going to need to pull his most incredible trick yet to hold this ship together after losing so many key team leaders and presumably being asked the only question that matters (FBS?!) over and over while knowing he doesn’t actually have the answer (or really have much control of the answer).
WR Norman White really began to blossom in his junior year last year and if the ‘Cats can find someone to throw it his way, he may prove to be the CAA’s best target. Coach Talley has proven he’s not wedded to a system offensively and if White is the best, or only, weapon they have he’ll get a boatload of opportunities.
Prediction Regresssion tempered by exceptional coaching and a manageable schedule. With the CAA’s new unbalanced look, ‘Nova avoids Rhode Island. In years past, this might been something to lament, but the Rams may be the conference’s surprise team this year. After opening in their very winnable FBS rivalry game with Temple, the Wildcats get Monmouth, Towson, and Penn to chalk up easy W’s and have a late-season bye before their tradition-rich game with Delaware to finish the season. While they do have to travel to the ‘Burg, it’s the weakassed parent’s weekend crowd (though that could be the only full house of the year). Probably won’t know where they stand until the last snap of the Delaware game.
The Multi-Million Dollar Question: What the hell are they going to do regarding the Big East? We’ve covered this ad nauseum, but their indecisiveness on the BE’s invitation to join as a football member has now cost them the opportunity, at least for the time being. West Virginia and Pitt basically said “this is bullshit, we’re not letting our athletic programs, with the GDP of a small country, be held hostage by a few cockless administrators, a handful of collars concerned with ‘the integrity of the university’ (i.e. we might have more thugs on campus), and a bunch of wealthy wives from Bryn Marw who don’t want their Saturday croquet matches interrupted by tailgates. My thinking is screw Nova and let their basketball program rot as a result (you think Florida/Arizona/etc. won’t throw silly money Jay Wright’s way when they realize Nova can’t match them without BCS cash?!). Let’s turn out the purple and gold army at FedEx next year (after a deep playoff run helps to fill New Bridgeforth this year) and show West Virginia who they really want to cherry pick from the CAA!
Here’s a brief look at some of the JMU related stories you might have missed, highlighted by some big moments for a couple of former JMU soccer stars, CJ Sapong and Christina Julien.
Blogger Blair Hawkins says CJ Sapong might be the “Sporting Kansas City’s new face” and is a strong contender for MLS rookie of the year.
Sapong’s goal and assist in Kansas City’s 2-1 defeat of Portland earned him Soccer by Ives Rookie of the Week.
CJ’s recent form has helped Kansas City vault into 4th place, leading MLSsoccer.com’s Mike Levitt to place him 2nd in his Rookie of the Year rankings.
Here is the video of Sapong’s finish against Portland.
While her team didn’t have much success, former JMU soccer star Christina Julien started a match for ‘Canada’s Womens National Team and became the first JMU athlete to ever play in the World Cup.
Former Diamond Duke, Dave Herbek is currently riding an 11 game hitting streak for the Chicago White Sox rookie league affiliate, the Great Falls Voyagers.
Herbek blasted 2 homers to help the Voyagers snap a 2 game losing skid.
Herbek’s former teammate Jake Lowery is racking up accolades including the Johnny Bench Award, presented to the best catcher in college baseball.
Lowery has a .923 OPS through 15 games for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, a Class A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox.
And in non-sports news, JMU grad Elizabeth Crot was crowned Miss Virginia.
