In the latest episode of the JMUSB Podcast, we discussed how we recently realized that our constant worrying about the Dukes’ chances in the postseason, that we’re kind of missing the regular season. And it’s been a great season. Then we discuss the playoff picture overall and how many CAA teams are poised to keep playing after Saturday. We finally close things out by talking about our favorite condiments (hint: we’re a very pro-mayo podcast).
Thanks again to our podcast sponsor Pale Fire Brewing. Drop in for a beer next time you’re in the ‘burg.
The Good
Defense – What else is their to say at this point in the season? This week the defense faced BY FAR the best QB and group of wideouts they have all year (Wilkins ate us up) and somehow still managed to maintain their streak of a season’s worth of not allowing a team more than two TD’s worth of scoring. Incredible. No matter the record RU was good, maybe really good. We have no idea how they lost four games before this and the play Lauletta made on a swing pass to the left where he ended up having to pump twice to avoid defenders and then throw a perfect ball to a streaking RB for a huge gain was all the evidence needed to realize the Spiders were the biggest threat the Dukes faced all year. But the defense, top to bottom, was amazing. Fans need to stop freaking out when an opponent makes a great play. Sometimes it happens. And when you play press-man single coverage all the time and the other team has the talent to execute 19 yard back shoulder throws, you tip your cap and line up again. We won’t see another team capable of an aerial attack like this till mid-December (SDSU?) if at all, but that’s no reason to think the Dukes weren’t badass on Saturday. Hawkins and Hereford deserve special mention for generally being all-around insane football players. And one other guy that flashed Saturday whose number we haven’t called a ton this year was Ron’Dell Carter – looking forward to having him marauding around backfields next month!
The Drive – 55 minutes of disappointment. 55 minutes of all of us gnashing our teeth and sweating bullets. And then that! It was magnificent and it shut up the Spiders and about 20k nervous, whining Dukes fans. The offensive line, in particular the left side of Stinnie and Bolden, along with Trai Sharp, who appeared to take out all of his frustration at not starting on about three plays, simply took that game over and ended it. One of the best underrated moments from this game is also the fact that we know nothing. Despite fan angst, the team was loose, laughing, and clearly still believing they had it all along before that last drive. Way to go fellas.
The Crowd – Yes students left early (though I gotta admit I used to never bring my winter clothes till Thanksgiving Break and since they’re perennially underdressed it does make more sense than usual). But the fans that were there throughout were the best they’ve been all season and you could sense everyone rounding into cold-weather, bourbon-induced playoff form. Well done (mostly and more to come on this) Dukes fans. And a quick shout-out to the fans on the Godwin side in the middle two sections below the old press box. That section used to be all students but has morphed into quite a few STH’s, particularly young alums like our buddy Evangelista, over the last couple of years. They were fantastic throughout the game!
Elon for the title! – This is a bit of a personal one, but needless to say I’m thrilled the Dukes will be down here in my backyard playing for a title on real grass this weekend! If you can make the trip, it should be a great one JMU Nation.
Seniors – Winningest class in JMU History. Nothing else to say. Except THANK YOU of course!
The Bad
CAA gonna CAA – Let’s see, a bunch of unsportsmanlike penalties against the Dukes, including one on Jimmy for simply celebrating a pick with Jordan with the traditional hip bump, and then you’re gonna let a Spider flap his wings and dance on top of a JMU player for five whole seconds with no call?! And don’t get me started on spotting the ball and not reviewing spots. It won’t do any good to go through the list, but for the millionth time, it’s just such a kick in the nads reminder that for all of our incredible growth and atmosphere and stadium and big time feel and over-the-FBS discussion for now, the Crummy Athletic Association remains a low major on so many structural levels.
The Ugly
Rivalries are a tricky thing. They bring out both the best and the worst in participants and fans. This week I saw plenty of both. First, the Richmond cheerleading coach tried to get a family kicked out because a streamer fell on her, crushing her beneath whole ounces of tissue paper. And yes, a certain Spider threw up the alt-1 at fans. But it wasn’t one-sided. I witnessed a near-fight because of a mere bump between TWO DUKES FANS in the men’s room at halftime. The younger guy was so bombed he fell down in the concourse trying to extricate himself and thankfully found himself face-to-face with a Virginia State Trooper. But some of that stuff is peripheral. In other words, it’s not related to the game. What really drove me nuts was Dukes fans loudly, crudely, and ridiculously criticizing the coaching staff, play-calling, and performance of our beloved squad. Really people? Really?! Have we gotten so full of ourselves and so spoiled that we can’t take a deep breath and enjoy the majesty of trying to beat an archival fighting for its playoff life for a 22nd straight victory? If you think you’ve got a better idea than the group that hasn’t lost since the last presidential administration and won the Natty, kindly send your C.V. to bournejeff@goeffyourself.com. And despite my own crudeness there (sorry, I’m pissed on this one), a good buzz is not license to curse constantly. It’s cold, it’s nearly playoff-time, and in this case it’s RU. A little nip or two and a few wobbles is nothing the two of us can look down upon. And when a CAA ref does a CAA ref thing, if a heat-of-the-moment expletive slips out, we get it. But consistently showering the fans around you with your own four-word blackout vocabulary is just not a good look. Tailgate, tie one on, root like crazy, but do better.
It’s finally here guys. Dukes vs. Ticks in Bridgeforth Stadium. There’s nothing like a JMU gameday, but when Richmond comes to town things rise up to a different level. Today we’ll have the pleasure of watching JMU’s outstanding defense face its toughest test of the season. Kyle Lauletta has been slinging the ball all over the field this season. He hasn’t faced a unit anywhere near as effective as Andrew Ankrah and the boys. If you’re headed to the game, stay warm and be loud. If you’re watching at home, you can be loud there too. Now it’s time to Lock the Damn Gates!
Go Dukes!
Keep Rootin!
It’s almost here. The game most of us had circled all the calendars back in August. It might not be to decide the CAA crown like many of assumed it would be, but it’s still a huge game. Because Richmond. And as Dukes fans, we love seeing our team stomp Spiders. In 2015 JMU was 7-0 when RU came to town and ruined the Dukes chances for an undefeated season. Last year, Bryan Schor and the good guys had the upper hand.
Saturday’s affair should be a quite a test for the dominant JMU defense. Richmond QB Kyle Lauletta has been slinging it all season. He and his teammates lead the CAA in passing and in total offense. Rhode Island they ain’t. But Richmond hasn’t seen anything like this Dukes D.
The Basics
Match-up: #1 JMU Dukes 9-0 (6-0) vs. Richmond Spiders 5-4 (3-3)
Kick-off: 3:30 PM on Saturday, in Bridgeforth Stadium
Weather: High of 40. Bundle up.
Broadcast: MASN 2 or streaming via Madizone
How We Got Here
The Dukes beat Rhode Island last week, because of course they did. That’s what this Dukes team does. It wins. The victory was a program record 21st straight. In the win over Rhody, the defense was its normal dominant self. And the offense ran all over the Rams in the second half. It was fun.
Richmond enters the game coming off a road victory at Villanova. It was perhaps RU’s best game of the season. The defense, which has struggled, shut out the Wildcats and allowed only 163 yards. And the rushing attack had a terrific day against a tough Nova defense, eclipsing the 100 yard mark for the first time since week 3 agains Howard and only the 3rd time all season. It’s been an up and down season for the Ticks. They started out with championship dreams, and now must win to even keep their playoff hopes alive. read more…
The following is a guest post from Colleen, a current senior at JMU.
The fans of the James Madison University Dukes know better than anyone what it means to be a part of a winning program. After the JMU football team plowed through nearly every opponent they faced in the 2016 season, eventually clenching the title of national champions on Jan. 7, 2017, JMU fans have been given plenty of reason to sing their fight song proudly. Clearly establishing themselves as the brightest team in all of the CAA, don’t they deserve to perform in front of a crowd as large as the Bridgeforth stands will hold?
Yes, JMU students have some of the greatest school spirit of all FBS schools, but winning does get tiring, even for a bunch as rowdy and spirited as the dukes. Sometimes it takes a little reminder to get them back on their feet, howling “Madison, James Madison” so here it is!
Bridgeforth Stadium pictured with the third highest attendance in its history.
JMUSportsblog challenges JMU nation to show up and show out for JMU’s last home game on Saturday, Nov. 11 at 3:30 p.m. Beating records and exemplifying greatness is what JMU does best. After all, the football team has shown us with their 21-game winning streak, which is in fact the longest winning streak left in the country, that JMU is simply meant to break records. 25,330 is the number to beat for this year, for fans in attendance; are you up for the challenge, JMU Nation?
The 2017 FCS National Champion JMU Dukes.
Better your college experience by being a part of something bigger than yourself. The JMU football dukes have earned their credibility through countless successful performances and deserve the fan base that JMU nation has to offer. Make memories that are sure to be unforgettable, while watching the only undefeated team in the country continue its streak. Dress in all black; throw gold and purple streamers; and be a part of the largest crowd in JMU history. An experience to see this undefeated Dukes team go into battle doesn’t come around every day. This is a special time for JMU Football; who wouldn’t want to be a part of that? Get your tickets as soon as possible and be a part of the legacy that is JMU football.
Jason Kennedy won our prediction contest for the 3rd time last week. Here’s his piece on what makes a Mike Houston football team, the disappointing F lot situation, and the importance of family.
As a third time winner of the prediction contest it was harder to come up with a topic for my guest post this time around. As you can see my post is more a stream of consciousness/randomness piece more than anything specific so hopefully its worth the read.
As Dukes football is the primary focus of the fanbase at this time of year I definitely wanted to write at least a portion of the post about it even if many of the previous guest posters and of course Rob and Todd have already covered it. But I do agree with many of the salient points that have been made about the current team’s style / personality as it relates to both previous teams and how it impacts this years playoffs. Let’s all just take a big collective breath and embrace the 2017 team for what it is. Coach Houston has done such an amazing job in less than 2 seasons and has done it with many players he didn’t recruit. The talent of course is there as it has been for many years, but lets not forget the effort it takes to establish chemistry and an identity and that usually occurs over many consecutive years with the same coaching staff, i.e. Mickey’s way for so many years. Right or wrong, you can’t argue with the fact that with as many years Mickey was at JMU he had established a culture or style that we all for the most part grew accustomed to. Then you get a complete change with Withers and then another one with Houston. My overall assessment based on less than two full seasons is that this team is shaping into somewhat of a hybrid between the two previous coaching tenures. read more…
The Ticks might not have the record we expected them to at this point, but make no mistake, this is a big game folks. JMU faced a Richmond team on Saturday that would like nothing more than to spoil the Dukes undefeated season and stop the winning streak. They’ll bring the most potent offense that JMU has seen all year. It’s a big test, but one the Dukes are ready for.
But we’re really more interested in your thoughts on the game. Leave a comment below with your prediction for Saturday. The person who comes closest to nailing it (winner & score) will get to write a guest post. It’s that easy. Now let us know who you think is going to win and Go Dukes!
This week’s podcast ran a little long, but we think you’ll find it worth it. We kicked things off by going behind enemy lines to talk Spider football with the man behind our favorite previews on the internet, Satchmo. Then we were incredibly grateful to have Sean O’Regan, Head Coach of JMU Women’s Basketball, join us to discuss the season that tips of Friday. Finally we welcomed our friend Zac Price on to talk about why JMU fans love this rivalry with RU so much.
Thanks again to our podcast sponsor Pale Fire Brewing. Drop in for a beer next time you’re in the ‘burg.
JMU won its program record, 21st straight football game on Saturday by defeating Rhode Island 38-3. It was a tale of two halves as they say. The Rams are much improved compared to the team that lost to JMU by 77 points last year. They’re still markedly less talented than the Dukes. Rhode Island made up for the talent deficit with effort and determination in the opening 30 minutes. In the end though, the Rams’ efforts seemed to do nothing other than wake a sleeping giant, as the JMU offense came to life. Schor and the boys scored 31 points to propel the team to an easy win. Here’s the story of the game in four tweets.
This start is underwhelming to the point of being unsettling.
— JMU Sports Blog (@JMUsportsblog) November 4, 2017
We tweeted this midway through the first quarter. The wheels were far from coming off, but JMU looked uncharacteristically flat coming out of the locker room. Rhode Island on the other hand, was pumped up and playing with a ton of intensity. We’ve talked for weeks about how this is a defensive team. How the Dukes aren’t scoring TDs in bunches like last year, but instead shutting down teams and eventually pulling away. That made perfect sense against teams with strong defenses of their own, like Villanova and Delaware. We expected something different and the offense to take charge against a relatively weak Rhody D though.
The first two drives (and again, it was only two drives) JMU managed just one first down. They went 6 plays for 22 yards in their opening drive and 3 plays for 1 yard in their second. Rhode Island on the other hand, was able to get a little momentum. They ran 8 plays for only 32 yards to start, but then had consecutive drives in which they were able to move the ball a bit, marching all the way down to attempt a FG. They missed thankfully. Again, the game wasn’t hanging in the balance, but it was certainly a bit of a wake up call.
Anyone else feel like Schor is about to put this team on his back?
— JMU Sports Blog (@JMUsportsblog) November 4, 2017
This was sent just as JMU got the ball after Rhode Island’s missed field goal attempt. The offense had done nothing to that point and needed a big spark. It wasn’t really a make or break moment, but it was potentially a turning point. The point in a game where a top team digs deep and just imposes its will on its opponent. OK, we realize that sounds dramatic, but trust us. The Dukes really needed someone to make a play or rally the troops. Schor did both. He got the unit moving then rushed for a key first down on his own, just before hitting David Eldridge in the endzone for 6. It gave JMU the lead it never relinquished. And it was a sneak peak of what was to come.
It’s either 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th down, with some number of yards to go, with more than 0 seconds left. Great broadcast.
— JMU Sports Blog (@JMUsportsblog) November 4, 2017
It’s a bad look to take cheap shots at a broadcast. This wasn’t a cheap shot though. The game broadcast was complete amateur hour. The sound was terrible, muffled most of the time, and completely absent at others. Oddly enough, the only time it was easy to hear the announcers was when they left their microphones on and spoke through entire commercial breaks. And there were no graphics showing the time, down/distance, etc. To top it all off, fans had to pay $9.95 for it. Don’t ever complain about Madizone again. Just don’t.
Only good tweet we had all day. ? https://t.co/LM1LMUzRnU
— JMU Sports Blog (@JMUsportsblog) November 4, 2017
Is this cheating since we’re technically including two tweets in one? We don’t care. The point is that many fans (like yours truly) get overly emotional and make things seem worse than they are in the heat of the moment. That was certainly the case with us Saturday. Despite our concerns and frustrations though, we still thought that the Dukes early struggles would end up being nothing more than a wake up call. That’s exactly what they turned out to be.
JMU looked like, well JMU, after the break. The defense made the plays it had to in the first half, but absolutely terrorized the Rams in the final 30 minutes. Rhode Island was held to 29 yards rushing. They completed only 10 of 22 passes for 114 yards. Basically, the Dukes just dominated them. It’s a frighteningly good squad.
On offense, Bryan Schor had one of the most efficient performances of his career. He completed 14 of 17 passes for 4 TDs. After David Eldridge caught a TD in the second quarter, Ish Hyman, Terrane Alls, and Jonathan Kloosterman hit paydirt in the second half. Not to be outdone, Taylor Woods and Percy Agyei-Obese gave the Rams nightmares. The duo ran for 170 yards, highlighted by Percy’s 40 yard scamper. Basically, the Dukes did exactly what we all wanted them to do against the Rams. They beat them up and finally lit up the scoreboard again.
Early (relatively) kick-off today, so get up and Start Wearing Purple Dukes fans. JMU faces a much improved Rhode Island squad at 12 noon up in New England. The Dukes are heavily favored, but rest assured this one will be much, much closer than last year’s brutal beatdown. You can stream the audio over on Madizone or shell out a few bucks to watch it on College Sports Live. And now it’s time to Lock the Damn Gates!
Go Dukes!
Keep rootin!
