You think the football program is playing well (or was?)? You should see the other fall sports!
So while we’ve all been kvetching about the struggles on the gridiron the last two weeks (which again, should NOT be overdramatized and nothing is effed, Dude), quite a few other Dukes’ squads have been having fantastic, and in some cases (volleyball) even historically great, seasons. Needless to say, pretty much every element of the JMU Athletics program with the glaring exception of men’s hoops is ready for something better than the Crumbling Athletic Association. Alas, that’s out of our control and we should celebrate the current run of success and acknowledge the badass work being done by Men’s Soccer (under new coaching), Women’s Soccer, Field Hockey, and Women’s Golf (Go Gabby!).
Women’s Soccer – The Herndon Express rolls on! After eliminating two-time defending CAA Champ Northeastern in OT this week on the strength of the legendary Ashley Herndon’s clutch PK, the ladies are into the CAA semis where they will face the top seeded Flying Dutchwomen of Hoftstra in the armpit of America that is Hempstead, Long Island this weekend.
Volleyball – These ladies are in the midst of the best season in program history and there’s now way there’s a more exciting team in the ‘Burg right now. They are literally the Kansas City Royals of collegiate volleyball – trailing in what seems like every match before settling down and mounting enormous comebacks in half the games on their way to an incredible 21-5 (11-2 CAA) record. They have three big matches left before hopefully hosting the CAA tourney as the top seed the weekend before T’giving. Seniors Meghan Niski and Sarah Patterson as well as HC Lauren Steinbrecher are hopefully headed for uncharted waters for JMU in the NCAA Volleyball tourney!
JMU Swimming and Diving – These women are absolutely destroying the CAA competition. That said, we would like to know what kind of shady shit went down in the last couple of weeks that has all-world diving phenom Taryn McLaughlin no longer appearing on the 2015-16 roster. This is the kind of crap that faculty and anti-FBSers need to educate themselves on before spouting off bullcrap that football is the root of all evil.
Men’s Soccer – The Dukes clinched their CAA tourney berth with a huge win over nationally ranked Hofstra on Halloween. JMU will travel as the fifth seed to fourth seeded College of Charleston this Saturday for the first round of postseason play. (and yes, we just wrote about Hofstra and CofC as conference mates so just stop with the non-peer, geographically far-flung arguments about any other conferences). Good to see Coach Foley’s program working its way back to relevance!
Women’s Golf – The insanely young golf team had some huge breakthroughs this fall and we’ll be looking for big things from them going forward. Hats off to Coach Sargent and company for injecting huge gobs of talent and enthusiasm into this sleeping giant of a program! And one last shoutout to new JMSUB favorite athlete Gabby Weiss! Now don’t think the whole golf world revolves around Pinehurst and practice your butt off this offseason.
Cross Country – The squad finished a very strong second in the CAA and placed three runners in the top 10 at the championships. We’re also quite certain they are 100% holdin’ it down for JMU’s APR. Good work ladies! Now learn to mountain bike so you can adventure race when your knees bail on you after 35.
Field Hockey – And last, but by no means least, our very favorite JMU program the chicks with sticks! Seriously, we loved the former HC Ant Lucas and we feel fortunate to call her a true friend, but we figured our interest in the program would die with her tenure (and the loss of legendary tailgate captains Mama Smiertka and Papa Bailey). Well we’re glad to say we couldn’t have been more wrong and this team has brought us right back onto the bandwagon, led as always by future JMU HOFer Taylor West (#TeamTaylor4eva). Of course it also didn’t hurt that the National Championship winning coach Christy Morgan from when we were students came back to Harrisonburg and brought former undergrad crush Karen Zarchin with her as an assistant this fall. And the key to it all is that these women are legit! Now ranked 17th in the nation and having wrapped up the CAA title last weekend with a beatdown of Hofstra, these ladies are so good we’re going to have to learn names outside of seniors and Coach L recruits Taylor, Adrienne LeVette, Loes Stijntjes, Danni Wilson, and Kristen Reitano (and Bailee Hubert who seems like a senior to us). In particular, freshmen Miranda Rigg and Emma Drost are names to know moving forward. But again, if you haven’t seen this program it’s a) the MOST underrated tailgate on campus thanks the ISAT location and the parental craziness and b) fifth-year senior Taylor West is one of the true all-timers as a Dukes’ athlete and you should go appreciate her while you can. As the top seed, JMU will host the CAA tourney this weekend beginning with a match on Friday against the four seed. Go Dukes!
The Good
Bryan Schor – The kid is slick. He’s a better athlete than many of us realized, a judicious runner, and for at least his first outing, throws one of the prettiest balls we’ve seen from a JMU QB. The way he puts the ball in exactly the right spot for the receivers to do the best with it after the catch is more reminiscent of Mike Cawley or Greg Maddox than many of our more recent QB’s. Seriously, the kid was almost flawless, and even the one interception he threw was understandable and should NEVER have happened had Ish Hyman simply caught what should have been a beautiful, and game-clinching, TD on the previous play. When the offense scores 35 points against the best defense we’ve faced all year, it’s clearly not on them.
Marcell Johnson – The sophomore safety is seeing more and more action and beginning to flash some real talent. He got caught out of position a few times yesterday, but was in on a ton of plays and it’s nice to see some folks stepping up. We can complain all we want about the defense, but there was some progress yesterday. They got off the field a few times and obviously did the one thing we thought would make the difference by making a huge play with the Raven Greene pick six. You could also see a big difference in the interior line vs. the run up the middle from having Simeyon Robinson back in there.
The Bad
Normally most of these would be worthy of the Ugly section but we’re saving that for a group that’s really earned it the last two weeks.
White Helmets – throw ’em in Newman Lake and never speak of them again.
The high snaps. – The O-Line has been an absolute rock for this team and remains potentially the most important thing for keeping the offense humming, and it stands to reason that R-Sr. Dominick Richards has been an integral part of that success, but damn, this is killing the offense.
Special teams – So let’s see, JMU lost by three. Three point swing on just the first blocked XP alone. Difference in the game. Enough said.
Andy Gresh – This is the assclown who does color commentary for NBCSN’s C-game each Saturday and there are no words, only yelling, to properly describe his mouth vomit.
The CAA – well, specifically the referees. As noted by the special teams comment above, the refs aren’t the only reason JMU lost this game, but that “knee was down” on what should have been a fumble/touchback in the first half was as big of a difference in the game as one referee mistake can possibly be. It was awful, but in no way unexpected. We know all conference complain about officiating in their league, but the stunning consistency of incompetence across every CAA game ever week, has gone so far beyond just officiating that we’re left with no alternative but to turn the blame on the Crumbling Athletic Association itself.
Defensive Scheme – Our problem at this point isn’t with particular players. The kids we have are the kids we have and we’re fairly certain they’re working their tails off and we should shut up and say thank you. Man does this team miss a Sage Harold/D.J. Bryant/Arthur Moats type pass-rushing force off the edge though. But what bugs us is that it seems fairly obvious we can’t just line up, play read and react, and have any hope of even slowing good teams down. We do have some developing athletes in the back of the defense though and at some point, don’t you send more pressure and hope the guys in the back can make a play or two even if they’re more exposed?
The Ugly
The following JMU fans and fan phrases
Withers Sucks Fans – Are you freaking kidding?! Have you already forgotten the three-play attack and 7-5 seasons and seven years of Justin Thorpe? Get a grip people. This program’s been on upward trajectory every single day since Withers was hired. Two close losses to the two other good teams in the conference is no reason to act a fool.
“We’re not ready for FBS because we lose to CAA teams” fans – How many times do smart people need to say this to dumb people? The on-field product you see today will have next to nothing to do with the on-field product you’ll see if (and we realize that’s a huge if) JMU ever announces a move, goes through the transition years where you’re adding schollies and using tons of redshirts while trying to weather a couple lean years, and ultimately makes it out the other side to full membership/bowl-eligible status. Even App. St., who of the recent move ups that has made the fastest jump to top-tier team in their new conference, struggled mightily during the transition years compared with their usual high standards. Also, program and institutional infrastructure are 1o times more important than short-term success. If it was any other way, NDSU would be FBS already. But that’s not the way it works. So just stop it – and you know who you are. If you’re anti-FBS that’s absolutely your right and you can probably come up with at least two good reasons for that position, but the fact JMU lost two games by a combined 13 points to the two best teams in the CAA while also suffering a season-ending loss of an all-time great player is not one of them. Just shut your stupid piehole. And that’s to say nothing of the fact that JMU, UR, and W&M would all be respectable RIGHT NOW in most of the conferences being discussed. You saw SMU (AAC). Have you not seen North Texas (CUSA), Tulsa (AAC), Georgia St. (SB), Idaho (SB), Miami (OH) (MAC), and EMU (MAC)? Consider yourself lucky, but don’t for one second think JMU with 22 additional scholarships of depth wouldn’t immediately be at least respectable.
“Season’s over we’re going 7-4 fans” – Again, in case you didn’t notice, Richmond and William & Mary were good. That’s hard to say, harder to admit, and annoying as hell. But it’s also true. But if you think the bye week isn’t coming at the PERFECT time this week or that Delaware and Villanova are their usual tough selves, you haven’t been paying attention. These two teams are garbage. Delaware has scored a grand total of ZERO points in shutout losses to Rhode Island and Towson. Villanova has a left-handed backup QB that makes Payton look like he’s got a cannon and they’ve lost to Towson and Penn and got blown off the field by Richmond. So just settle the hell down. While JMU has likely blown a first-round bye, the 9-2 record most fans were predicting preseason is very much still on the table as is hopefully another home playoff game. So settle the hell down, go hiking, see your family, enjoy the bye week, and be ready to root on the 14th.
Spring Fest or Special Teams?
The Brian Schor Show takes flight this afternoon in Williamsburg. The JMU Dukes take on the William & Mary Tribe. JMU is looking to bounce back after a tough loss against the Ticks. It’s a big, big game. Can the Dukes offense keep clicking without Vad Lee? Can the defense improve (drastically)? We’ll see. Consider this your official open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game chatter. Go Dukes! Keep rootin!
Don’t worry, a little light reading won’t turn you into one of these guys.
Ah, one of our favorite games of the year as the Dukes travel to the wee lil’ ‘burg to take on the Griffins, er, featherless Tribe. Thankfully, in recent years JMU has owned a substantial advantage in this series and we don’t expect anything different this year no matter who’s in at QB1.
The Basics
#9 James Madison Dukes (7-1, 4-1 CAA) at #16 William & Mary Tribe (5-2, 3-1 in CAA), 4:00 p.m. at Zable Stadium in Williamsburg, Virginia (always makes me laugh to think of lights at Zable and remembering the ’04 temporaries courtesy of ESPN). So if you thought Towson (State), Elon (Fightin’ Christians) and Fuckmond fans were way too touchy and generally douchey, wait till you see Tribe fans…they’re the exact opposite and we’re always happy to interact with the few that leave the library (which, by the way, is not pejorative in any way to a W&M kid). Except for my kid brother, he drinks wine coolers.
Coverage: NBC Sports Network! Thankfully, this one’s on national t.v. so even you folks that are forced to stay near the house for the Super Bowl of Parenting – trick or treating – should be mostly able to tune in and root fer Dukes.
Weather: Warm and wet. Hi, near 70, overcast with rain showers at times. (written Wednesday night so subject to change)
Line: Tribe by 5.5, up from 4.5 at open.
William & Mary Strengths
Strength actually. The Featherless Griffins have been stout on the ground, feature two strong backs much like JMU in stud Mikal Abdul-Saboor and developing beast Kendell Anderson. Cluley has been managing games well around the RB’s, but our guess is Madison will do everything it can to take the game away from the RB’s and put it in his hands. As usual, the Tribe is strong up front on Defense, though All-American LB Luke Rhodes is out injured. Senior Zach Fetters has been filling in admirably, though he’ll really be tested against the Dukes tomorrow.
What We’re Looking for from the Dukes
Big plays on Defense and Special Teams – We seriously cannot stress enough how excited we are for NT Simeyon Robinson to rejoin JMU’s D-Line rotation. If there’s one thing we’ve learned the last two years, it’s that while JMU’s back end on D may not always know what they’re doing, they are absolutely athletic and talented enough to make big plays when the other team makes mistakes. But without consistently stopping the run and forcing other teams into bad down and distance situations, not to mention not being able to pressure opposing QB’s when they do, the Dukes just haven’t had the opportunities to take advantage of many mistakes. Anything at all, but especially getting back the biggest DLineman we have, should help in this regard. It will also be interesting to see who JMU turns to in the absence of Charles Tutt and John Miller in the return game this week. It may be Cardon to be safe, but it also seems likely one of the other burners will get a shot and we’re looking forward to seeing a different look.
We don’t even need to mention the offense, because we’re pretty sure you won’t notice much difference from the group that just put up 49 on the new conference leaders.
Tailgating Notes
“The College” is generally pro-tailgating and it’s Halloween. If you can make it, we highly recommend this one. The ’04 semi is still one of the all-time great tailgates from an energy standpoint.
Beer of The Week
Before last week, it was brought to our attention that our picks had been hop-heavy (or maybe exclusively IPA’s). So we switched it up and went with Port City Derecho Common. Sorry, but we ain’t making that mistake again. This week’s selection is Lonerider Brewing’s Hoppy Ki Yay IPA. It’s a super-tasty, easy-drinking 6.6% and we feel like the legendary John MacLean’s quote, used on the can, is the best way to describe what Bryan Schor is going to be like for the rest of the CAA and FCS fields who at the moment are thinking they’re getting some downgraded version of the Dukes. “Just a fly in the ointment, the monkey in the wrench, the pain in the ass…” Also, remember you get an extra hour of sleep with the time change after the game. I just crossed life’s ultimate threshold when I began to think of that as an extra hour of sleep instead of an extra hour of partying. Now get off my lawn.
Prediction
Dukes 41, Tribe 34 – The offense barely misses a beat and while the defense doesn’t look completely fixed, they produce a few big plays this week to make the difference. And welcome back Simeyon Robinson!
Our friends over at the William & Mary Sports Blog are cranking out great CAA football and CAA hoops coverage. We were able to do answer some questions for them earlier this week and they were kind enough to return the favor. Here is there view of the Tribe team and this weekend’s game.
William & Mary fans seem to regard Coach Laycock as being a bit of QB guru, but the Tribe has lacked consistency from its QBs the past few years. What has finally clicked with Cluley under center this year and what type of QB is he?
First off, Jimmye (please excuse the silent e) Laycock has become known as a quarterback guru for a couple reasons. One, he himself was a quarterback at William & Mary, his alma mater. But moreover, he was coached by two all-time greats while at W&M: head coaches Marv Levy and Lou Holtz. As most of you are aware, Levy would go on to lead the Buffalo Bills to 4 straight Super Bowls, and Lou Holtz would lead Notre Dame as head coach for 10 years before stepping down in ’96. So it’s no surprise to us that Coach Laycock has blossomed under the tutelage of these great coaches, becoming a great quarterbacks coach and offensive mind in the process. However, W&M quarterbacks have had a rough go of it through the past four years. Poor decision making, major injuries, and the lack of a consistent presence out from center has contributed to the Tribe’s current playoff drought. However, there’s hope on the horizon. Enter Steve Cluley.
Steve Cluley took over the reigns last year after a strong offseason that propelled him through the ranks. He was not handed the job by any means, and faced competition from those both younger and older quarterbacks on the roster. Starting for the first time, as only a redshirt sophomore, all we had to look at was his high school stats and game tape. The tape taught us that Cluley had a strong arm and the ability to run. However, last year, we also knew W&M did not need a do-it-all QB, à la Vad Lee. The Tribe had a very strong running game, as well as Tre McBride on the outside. At the time, the team simply needed a QB who could make solid decisions, manage the game, and protect the ball. And that’s exactly what Cluley did. He finished the 2014 campaign completing 57% of his passes for 2048 yards, 11 TD, and just 4 INT in his first full season as starter. He also added 253 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground.
However, he’s even better this year; last season proved to be an incredible learning experience. Whereas last year his knowledge of the offense was good, this year, his grasp on the playbook is excellent. With Cluley at the helm, this year’s offense ranks 3rd in the CAA in total offense, behind only Richmond and JMU. What a difference a season can make. As a result, Cluley has been given a much larger role in this year’s offense. In year’s past, W&M has always run a pro-style, run heavy offense. While the team still runs the ball early and often, the offense has moved to a spread attack, with more balance between the run and the pass–this change is directly attributable to Cluley’s maturation at the quarterback position. He can hit you with a short pass, run if the play breaks down, and connect on a perfectly executed deep pass when the defense is sleeping. And boy, is it pretty. He throws a great deep ball that the coaches have consistently raved about since the beginning. Through the first 7 games of the season, Cluley has completed 61% of his passes for 1504 yards, 10 TD, and just 1 interception. Yes, just one interception. read more…
The loss to Richmond is in the past and it’s time to move forward. Bryan Schor and the Dukes travel to Williamsburg to play the William & Mary Tribe this Saturday. Nobody won last week’s prediction contest (everyone picked the good guys), but we’re running it back again this week. Leave a comment letting us know who you think will win and what the final score will be. The person who comes closest to nailing it (winner & score) will get to write a guest post. That’s it. Keep rootin’.
This week has been the highest of highs and the lowest of lows and everything in between. Today was even CAA Hoops Media Day which would normally be big news for both the men’s and women’s teams, not mention for us, but before last weekend fades from our memories, we wanted to make sure we got up a “feel for the day” post for our own archives if nothing else. We’ll obviously have more on hoops and the unprecedented level of class being shown by Vad Lee this week later, not to mention discussing why our optimism has completely returned for this team in the last twelve hours, but first let’s celebrate Gameday and JMU one last time. This is mostly just pulled from our conversations/breakdowns with friends via text and email after last week, but we’re still pretty fried emotionally and you know, have to do old guy stuff like focus on work (and of course Rob had to endure that Mets loss last night).
First, check out this Campus Rush piece which pretty well captures the incredible atmosphere Saturday.
Quick shot of Reece doing the crowd-walk with Whitfield (and friend of JMUSB baby’s I Drool JMU in the background!
From Rob:
- Gameday was just a fun experience. The noise started building a few blocks from campus and when you finally reached the quad, you were sort of overwhelmed by a wave of crowd noise.
- Having the band perform on the steps of Wilson was a nice touch and added to the excitement.
- It was a pretty wholesome affair. Some of the signs were a little off color, but there was a notable lack of drunkeness for a college event. There were definitely a few over-served folks, but generally speaking, people were just happy to be there and shockingly sober (us included).
- It’s hard to really hear the broadcast or follow the show, but there was so much energy in the crowd that it was fun regardless.
- The tailgate scene was pretty amped up. There seemed to be lots of new faces and alums returning who hadn’t been back in years. To a person, everyone I talked to was blown away by the scene.
- Best crowd I’ve been a part of in new Bridgeforth. And it wasn’t remarkably close. The stadium was packed the entire game and nobody was sitting on their hands. Folks stayed until the end and cheered the whole time.
I’ll cut if off there. Overall though, just a super fun day. The defense sucked though.
From Todd:
Pretty much what Rob said but I’ll add the following early morning update:
Walking past Bridgeforth to go up the steps to the quad, four freshmen girls in tutus came pouring out the back of Eagle with a huge banner and ran over to ask us to take their picture with on the Duke Dog statute.
Well done Ladies! Told you we’d make you famous (or known to our 12 readers at least)
Again, this is all before dawn. Kids were still passed out on the Quad when I got up there at 7:15. Bad photo attached. After that, everything Rob said. So fun because every time I turned around I ran into someone I knew from our day so much that at times you could’ve sworn it was Homecoming ’97, not 2015.
What year is it?!
Obviously we’re biased, but it sure seemed as if all the love from everyone at ESPN was completely legit. They really seemed blown away by the setting (mountains, leaves, Quad, old-school campus, stadium) and the indescribable pride/enthusiasm of everyone in purple. Check out this great piece fromAnd finally:
Best JMU photo ever?
Well said
At his press conference, Withers said Vad Lee is having MRI done on left foot. He’s out indefinitely.
— Matt Jones (@MattJones36) October 26, 2015
Update: Coach Withers announced today that Vad had season ending surgery on his foot. His JMU career is done. Tough way to go out for an all-time JMU great.
Vad Lee, JMU’s star QB, is out. He’s not playing in this weekend’s game at William & Mary. He hurt his foot and is having an MRI done. That’s pretty much all we know. Because that’s all JMU is telling anyone. Which is really fine when you think about it. We know he won’t be in uniform Saturday. It’s fair to leave the details of his medical condition between him, his doctors, his team, and his family.
Obviously, this is a huge blow for the Dukes. More than anything else though, it’s just sad. Lee was in the midst of a truly historic season. He was one of the frontrunners for the Payton Award. And now he’s out for at least this week and maybe longer. There’s just no denying that this is a loss the Dukes will feel. However, it’s not reason enough to count JMU out.
Bryan Schor is the next man up. As the backup QB, he’ll now be thrust into the starting role with Lee out. Obviously, we should expect some degree of a drop off from Vad. That’s not exactly an insult when you remember that Vad was in the midst of one of the greatest, if not the greatest, seasons ever for a JMU QB.
Schor doesn’t need to rewrite the record books for the Dukes to be successful. He just needs to limit mistakes and utilize his many weapons in the JMU system. We think he’s more than capable of doing that. He’s got a strong arm, a quick release, and he’s more athletic than folks give him credit for. He might not put up “Vad vs. SMU” sort of numbers, but if he spreads the ball around and executes the game plane, the Dukes offense will be fine.
As upset as we are about Lee going down, his injury alone isn’t the end of the world. If you saw the game on Saturday, you surely know that the defense was bad. And by bad, we mean historically bad. And by historically bad, we mean it was without a doubt one of the 5 worst defensive performances in the history of JMU football. The defense needs to turn around completely. The offense on the other hand, just needs to operate at 75% of what it had been under Lee and it will still score enough points to win. Provided the defense isn’t historically awful again of course.
Again, Schor probably isn’t Vad Lee. But he’s our guy now and we’re rootin for him. The best thing to do is probably to hope for a speedy recovery for Vad and agree to never subject Schor to being compared to him. Because he’s never going to measure up in some folks’ minds, and he’s got his own set of unique skills to bring to the table. And in this offense, he’ll have a chance to succeed.
Always and forever proud to be a Duke!
So today is a true reminder that Rob and I aren’t pros, we’re just Dukes fans. And like Dukes everywhere, those we saw in the ‘Burg and those rooting everywhere, we bled way more than our normal share of purple this weekend and we are absolutely exhausted, cooked, and d-u-n done. In related news, we’re old. For that reason, we apologize in advance that this post won’t be quite as epic as this weekend’s event warrant. But there’s no getting around that yesterday was one of the best, most thrilling experiences we’ve ever had and also one of the most heartbreaking. But I’m pretty sure years from now most of us will remember Gameday and what it meant to show off the place we all love so much to the entire country more than one loss. But this one stings.
The Good
James Madison University and Dukes everywhere – Gameday and the game itself are really two different things. And while the dreadful outcomes of the latter may define the rest of this season in potentially painful ways, the former is something that means so much to all Dukes (football fans or not) and will probably have lasting positive impacts we can’t even imagine for years to come. Anyone who watched the coverage from the Quad, from Thursday’s bus arrival through Friday’s College Football Live (which was incredible – way to go students) and right through the Saturday morning sh*tshow (in a great way) had to feel proud that we as a group truly showed the love and spirit that make JMU mean so much to so many. While our hardcore readers may be pissed we’re not more down about the game, and while we have to concede that were it not for Gameday, this post would justifiably be a “sky is falling” one, the fact of the matter is Gameday happened and it will resonate louder and longer than any game, player or season ever could. HUGE thank you to everyone that made it happen including but not limited to Lee Fitting and the entire Gameday crew, Jeff Bourne, Kevin Warner, Everett Withers and the Alpha Dogs, and everyone at JMU and JMU Athletics that had the good sense to turn this week over creatively and operationally to folks like Taylor Dewey who truly got what the event was, what it could be at JMU, what it means long-term, and were plugged into the fanbase enough to add the special touches that made it truly memorable. And most of all, thanks to JMU Nation. You were all kinds of turnt up for this and all of your individual contributions added up to something that collectively was as special as anything us two old guys can ever remember for JMU.
Bryan Schor – Get to know this name Dukes fans. The backup QB that we all assumed could never replaced our beloved Vad Lee sure did a hell of a job making sure the offense didn’t miss a beat in leading the last two touchdown drives (well really a drive and a half, but that TD run on the first one was impressive). So quit worrying about more transfers for next year and get on board the SchorStar right now. Nothing is over by any stretch this year and with Nova and UD’s continued suckitude and a bye still to come for Schor to get even more work in, the schedule is still pillowy soft enough that solid positioning for the playoffs is still very much in play.
The crowd! – Bridgeforth was the most electric we’ve ever seen it in the New BFS era. Only the App. St. ’08 game can possibly come close and obviously that couldn’t match a crowd of over 26,000 we had yesterday. Packed from start to finish (great work students on believing, and staying, to the end) and jacked up throughout, it was a fantastic experience despite the fact the Dukes literally never stopped the Ticks from scoring.
The Bad
Injuries – After making it through the season’s first half with almost no injuries to note, the Dukes incurred a season’s worth in one game. And were it not for an historically awful defensive performance, these would clearly be in the Ugly section. Thrilling young KR/DB Charles Tutt broke his leg. WR/KR John Miller sustained what appeared to be a serious neck/back injury that required him to be sent to UVA hospital, though we’re overjoyed to hear he was moving all his limbs later that night. And of course, Vad Lee, who in just two years had become one of the best loved Dukes ever and someone we were all so happy to have representing JMU. Nothing has been confirmed as of this writing (Sunday 10 p.m.), but word is his college career is likely over after suffering a serious foot/ankle injury in the second half (though he appeared to be limping even before the play where he really went down. We’ll be thinking of all three of these young men as they look to recover from this horrific night.
The Ugly
The Dukes made literally two defensive stops all night which led to the their two very short-lived leads in the opening half. That’s not good. Not good at all. The stats are staggering. 59 points, over 700 yards of offense, and an individual runner and receiver each over 200 yards. Quit blaming any individual players or coaches for this one, because that is a collective failure that MUST be corrected for the Dukes to have any chance of preventing the most promising season ever of turning into a death spiral of pinball game stats. This game was a reminder of how big “big plays” themselves are and it’s clear that last year’s 55-20 was more a reflection of a few game-changing plays than JMU’s actual ability to stop UR.And there’s certainly no rest for the weary as the Dukes travel to face William & Mary’s two-headed rushing attack next week.
Just to end on a couple positive note though, despite another bad matchup on paper, we’ve got a feeling the Dukes D will be so embarrassed that they’ll rally big-time next week and we’re thinking the offense joins ranks around Schor in a hurry. Given how emotionally exhausted we were by the second half of this one, we can only wonder if quite a few Dukes’ players were completely overwhelmed after all the hype and craziness of last week. And if they can find a way next week, the bye week will be very well-timed afterwards.
Finally, those of us that have been around a bit remember that the ’04 team, with momentum building for a big season, suffered a crushing loss at home to William & Mary around this point in the season only to get another shot at them all the way down the road in the semi-finals. We can only dream that happens this year even if it requires a late December trip to the high school stadium known as Bridgeforth East.
Always proud to be a Duke!
Get up and Start Wearing Purple Dukes fans. It’s the Gameday with College Gameday. The time is 5:43 AM and I’m on may way out the door to drive to the ‘burg to meet Todd. Hopefully we’ll meet a lot of you there. For those of you sticking around to watch the event on tv, please feel free to share thoughts, pics of signs, etc in the comments. Consider this your official Gameday Gameday open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game chatter. Keep rootin’!
