Big game on Saturday. Pretty, pretty big. It’s the Dukes vs. the Ticks. It’s Homecoming. And College Gameday will be broadcasting from the Quad. It’s probably the most anticipated JMU home game since the 2008 clash against App State. It might be the most anticipated JMU home game ever. So let’s dive in.
The Basics
Match-up: #4 JMU Dukes (7-0, 4-0 CAA) vs. #11 RU Spiders (5-1, 3-0 CAA)
Kick-off: 3:30 PM on Saturday, October 24 in Bridgeforth Stadium
Weather: A perfect 65 degrees with no rain
Broadcast: Comcast Sportsnet or streaming via Madizone
How We Got Here
The Dukes picked up their seventh straight win with a dominating 51-0 shellacking of Elon on the road. It was JMU’s first shutout since way back in 2008. Cardon Johnson starred in the win, rushing for 165 yards and 2 TDs. As a team, JMU ran for over 400 yards on the ground and managed 604 yards of total offense. It was an easy win and a fine example of what the entire team is capable of. We’ve been spoiled week in and week out by Vad Lee and the offense. Last week we had a chance to see the defense exert its will on an opponent.
The Ticks also picked up a CAA road win, defeating Rhode Island 37-12. While the margin wasn’t as large as the Dukes, it was still a pretty dominating performance. QB Kyle Lauletta threw for 312 yards, a career best. They accumulated 462 yards of offense, which is a pretty impressive number. Provided you’re not comparing it to your standard JMU offensive outburst.
The win was Richmond’s fifth in a row after a season opening loss to Maryland. During the winning streak, the Ticks have been riding a balanced offense, demonstrating tremendous efficiency in the red zone, and capitalizing on turnovers. They’ve managed to score 34.2 points per game, including topping 40 in wins over VMI and Maine.
Here’s an Exhaustive List Every Single Thing We Like About Richmond
1.)
Ticks to Keep Your Eye On
Kyle Lauletta has been one of the more solid QBs in the CAA thus far this season. He’s completed 66% of his passes and tossed 10 TDs and only 2 interceptions. The Ticks also feature a running back by committee approach, with both Seth Fisher and Jacobi Green rushing for over 5 yards a carry. Like the Dukes, the Ticks have a number of weapons in the passing game. Brian Brown is a big play threat averaging over 18 yards a catch.
On defense, the Richmond defensive backs are known to make plays on the ball. The unit has picked up 10 interceptions already. Omar Howard anchors the linebackers and is the Ticks leading tackler. Winston Craig is a solid defensive lineman, who has a team high 3.5 tackles for loss.
Long Island of the South
The school might be located in Richmond, but it’s essentially just an extension of Long Island or New Jersey. And before anyone jumps down my throat, let me state that I legitimately like both Long Island and New Jersey. They’re both generally nice places filled with great folks. But there is no denying that both places have some truly terrible spots. For instance all the neighborhoods where the Richmond student body comes from are awful. And they’re awful purely because they contain Richmond folks.
The Ticks’ Likely Strategy
It’s a safe bet the Tick coaches and players will attempt to control the tempo. Because that’s what every team thinks it needs to do in order to defeat the Dukes. In this case the “what” isn’t the problem, but the “how” might be. The Ticks’ best bet will be to pound the ball and keep Vad Lee and the offense on the sidelines. Of course, much of Richmond’s success running the ball depends on stretching the D with the pass. Which means that the Ticks’ chances might depend on how effectively their offensive line can elevate its play and push the Dukes off the line.
How the Dukes Can Win
As Coach Withers would say, by playing with “no seatbelts.” The Dukes are built to play one way, fast. As long as they can do that and gain positive yardage, the Richmond D will eventually crack. And when it does crack, touchdowns. Lots of touchdowns. The Ticks have a relatively pedestrian pass rush that has only 10 sacks 2015. If JMU’s offensive line can keep the Ticks away from Vad, he should be able to utilize his weapons and move the ball.
On defense, JMU needs to force short drives and keep Richmond out of the red zone. With the pace of JMU’s offense, the D is almost guaranteed to be on the field a lot. That can skew both the statistics and the way the defense is viewed. All told though, the Dukes have done a pretty good job keeping opponents out of the red zone. Through 7 games JMU opponents have had 21 drives in the red zone. That’s one more than Richmond has given up this year. However, since the Dukes force the tempo and turn games into track meets, their D has been on the field for 113 more plays than Richmond’s. In that context, the D looks pretty good at keeping teams outside the 20. Which is going to be key, because the Ticks have scored 19 of the 20 times they’ve gotten in the red zone this year.
JMUSB Beer of the Week
It was brought to our attention, that our BOTW selections have been a little (OK, a lot) heavy on the IPA side of things. Makes sense because IPAs are great. But we should mix it up a bit. With an extended homecoming tailgate, it makes sense to suggest something a little more balanced and sessionable. For that, we’ll turn to the best small brewery in America (which happens to be founded by a JMU alum) Port City Brewing.
These guys consistently turn out some of the most balanced and drinkable beers you’ll find. This week’s beer of the week is Derecho Common. It’s a California Common ale, or steam beer, which is basically a lager fermented at a higher temperature. They made it when the brewery lost power due to the derecho of 2012, and the temperature of the fermentation tank climbed. It was a happy accident. And it’s a really good beer. It’s got a nice clean hop finish, without the bitterness you’ll find in an IPA. Plus, it’s only 4.8% ABV, so you can have a few before kickoff and still enjoy the game.
Official JMUSB Prediction
Homecoming. College Gameday. Dukes vs. Ticks. Thousands of Dukes fans serving as the backdrop for televisions from coast to coast. Lee Corso putting on the Duke Dog head. A sold out Bridgeforth. A day for the ages. Vad Lee. Onside kicks for Days. No seatbelts. Dukes roll. Spiders stomped.
Dukes 42 – Ticks 21
The JMU Dukes are 7-0, Saturday is Homecoming, and oh yeah, ESPN’s College Gameday will be setting up shop on the Quad. This all adds up to thousands of people headed back to the ‘burg to watch the Dukes take on the Ticks. Plenty of folks are jumping on the Dukes bandwagon.
People have pointed out that referring to new fans and those returning after a “hiatus” as bandwagoners might sound pejorative. Trust me, that is not our intent. We’re thrilled to see so many people excited about the Dukes. The offense is red hot and the beer is cold. Please jump on the bandwagon. We couldn’t be happier to have you on board. We’re so happy in fact, that we’ve put together this little guide to bring you up to speed on JMU football and get you ready for Saturday.
What to Wear
This one is easy. Remember that classic grey crew neck sweat shirt you had that said “James Madison University” on the front? Yeah, don’t wear that. That great yellow “JMU” t-shirt that fits you just right? Leave that home as well. Dukes fans wear purple on gamedays. Obviously, it should be some sort of JMU themed piece of purple clothing, but really the purple is the important part. Hit the bookstore up (conveniently located by Godwin in case you really old folks haven’t been back in a while) and get something purple before kickoff.
Dukes Fans Don’t Cheer
You read that right. We don’t “cheer.” We don’t “support our team” either. Those things are both great, but we don’t do them. We root. To be precise, we “Root fer Dukes.” That’s not a typo either. It’s fer, not for. And don’t ask me why. It’s just one of those things. If you really want to sound like a diehard, the proper response to 99% of the questions you’re asked on Saturday should be “I’m just rootin.”
Start Wearing Purple
Not to be confused with our sartorial commentary above, this one is both an anthem and an attitude. The fanbase has adopted this Gogol Bordello song as a bit of a rally song for both football and hoops. Listen to it. Learn it. Love it. The pep band does a great rendition in the Convo and it’s also become a pregame tradition for the MRDs. Really though, it’s the state of mind that takes hold of Dukes fans on gamedays. We don’t “get ready for the game,” we Start Wearing Purple. And then we root.
Streamers
Oh, this one is important. Get your hands on some purple and gold streamers before heading back to campus. You’ll find them at your standard dollar stores or party supply type shops. Grab a bag of purple and bag of gold and carry them into the stadium with you. Then when the Dukes score a touchdown (and we mean precisely when the ball crosses the goal line, we don’t need premature streamer tossers) you’ll launch the streamers into the air in unison with your fellow fans creating what just might be the best visual in all of college football.
The Dukes Aren’t Playing the Spiders
They’re playing the Ticks. Or the Spatters. Or RU (not UR). Drop any of those into your tailgate conversation and you’ll sound like a regular who’s been at Bridgeforth week in and week out. And while we’re at it, you can refer to Delaware as the Blue Chickens and our more studious friends from Williamsburg as the Pantsless Griffins.
Tailgating
If you haven’t been back in a really long time, you’ll be blown away by the tailgating scene. Football games are no longer just something you duck into on you way back to Eagle from D-Hall. They’re now a full day event. And there’s something for everyone. Want to get a little rowdy and shotgun a few beers? P Lot is calling your name. Want to hang out with big donors and eat finger foods? Godwin is the spot. Bringing the kids and want to show them around? Snag a spot on East Campus, have a picnic, and then fill up a solo cup, wander through Hanson and the old baseball lot before strolling down to the kids zone on Godwin so the little ones can hit the moon bounce before kickoff. You’ll find most everyone is friendly and willing to chat about the Dukes and even share a drink or two. And as long as you’re drinking from a cup and not making an ass of yourself, feel free to take that adult beverage with you.
There you go. Take these things to heart and you’ll fit right in. See you Saturday.
Last week the Dukes destroyed Elon and 06 grad youtastelikeaburger came closest to predicting the final score. As a result, he’s gets to guest post. Here’s his take on things JMU and some sign ideas for Saturday.
I picked the DUUUUUKES to win 42-0, mostly as a joke and yet it somehow ended up being fairly accurate. Admittedly I didn’t watch any of the game so I won’t even attempt to break down the win but I will say the Dukes “looked” impressive from my smartphone scoreboard watching.
It was ironic on a day we were rooting for big programs to lose to give JMU a chance to host College GameDay (built by Home Depot, Harrisonburg’s biggest supplier of beer pong tables) that the Dukes were playing Elon, a school most people outside of NC didn’t even know existed. While they have developed into a rather good school over the past decade, it’s still difficult for me to imagine JMU and Elon being in the same conference but alas that is todays CAA. Thankfully the Dukes took care of business and all the other stars aligned putting JMU in the national spotlight. read more…
It’s Homecoming week and Richmond is coming to town to play the Dukes. The Ticks, Spatters, RU, it really doesn’t matter what you call them. The important thing is that Vad Lee and the Dukes stomp them. Plus there’s that Gameday thing, so there’s a fair bit of excitement surrounding this one. So we want to know how you think things will play out.
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. It’s just that simple. Keep rootin!
So we’re a) old and b) certainly not the experts on what others should be doing, but as huge dork fans that want this weekend to live up to everything we all hope for JMU, we thought we should emphasize a few things that we’ve learned from visiting FBS games ourselves over the years (in Rob’s case mainly LSU and in mine WVU). Hopefully a few of these will truly help. Here’s the official info from JMU, who is doing an amazing job communicating with fans. And here’s our very unofficial advice.
- Gameday takes place from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, but JMU needs as many purple-clad lunatics like ourselves present and insane on the Quad from no later than 6:45 a.m. The first live shots on Saturday come on Sportscenter at 7. ESPN often hides weak crowds by not emphasizing them in the early broadcast, but when a school shows out like we all hope we can, they will shower them with camera time on the intros and outros to commercial throughout that broadcast which also helps them hype the big show. JMU has outdone themselves and should absolutely be applauded for opening the parking lots at 6 a.m. so we can all park (with all our tailgate gear in tow) and then get up to the Quad. We know arriving that early seems insane, but we don’t have to tell you this is potentially a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be a part of college football’s biggest stage and to showcase the place we all love. Get on it and no excuses.
- ESPN will also air other programming from the Quad on Friday, beginning with live spots with Sam Ponder as early as 9 a.m. on Friday. Other set features will be filmed later Friday morning. Friday’s 30-minute College Football Live program will air at 2 p.m. from the Quad with a gathering of fans welcome in the Pit area. There will be additional SportsCenter live shots Friday evening. Everything we said about Saturday goes equally for Friday, though we’ve gotta admit we pretty much have to rely on students and locals for filling that set and setting the tone for what should be an incredible 36 hours.
- Up to you, and we know the tailgating time will be a little compressed if you stay throughout the show, but if you’re anything like us, the hope of seeing Corso throw on that Duke Dog head right before noon will make it all worthwhile. Remember, most of us non-students (i.e. those of us not on set or in the pit), will simply be providing an incredible purple backdrop and hopefully entirely filling the quad. There will be downtime, quite a bit of it in a 3-hour show that will largely focus on the national FBS picture for the viewing public, but every single one of us is a little part of what will make this special and it’s entirely worth it. ESPN will also have big screens set up for all of us to pay attention. It will be hard to hear what’s going on at times, but again, how many times are you going to be on the Quad for something like this?! When in doubt, just root!
- One really cool thing we’ve heard from NDSU fans is that the Producer, Lee Fitting, is actually the guy in charge of the whole thing and will be the one talking to, directing, and generally hyping the crowd during commercials. Needless to say, for a ’96 JMU alum, we’re guessing this will mean something special to him and as a group we ought to return that love.
- Have fun. Remember there’s still 3 hours to catch up on tailgating.
- If you can, bring a bag of streamers with you pretty much everywhere you go. As our buddy @Dukie95 said today, if there’s a single purple or gold streamer left on the shelf of a party store or a Dollar General anywhere in the Commonwealth on Friday night, we’ve all failed.
- Remember, Gameday itself is a three-hour party and generally just a celebration of everything that makes college football the best, most ridiculous good time around. It is NOT the game itself. There will be hundreds of fans from other schools on hand if our version is anything like the others. The famous Washington State flag, and it’s supporters, will certainly find their way to South Main St. Same goes for Lehigh, UVa, VT, and darn near every school within an 8-hour drive, including our opponents the hated Ticks and even that “school” in Norfolk. Making fun of them on signs is completely cool, but no need to be an ass in person. Save that part for the game at least.
- Yes, it’s a long day, but find the right combination of pacing yourself, Red Bull, and preferably a flask of some type and save your biggest effort for the 4th quarter of the Spatter Stompin’!
Guessing the Dukes will be swapping out the gold lids for the purple with this all purple set for the purple out and it will be BEAUTIFUL!
All we really want to do is watch that “Comin’ to your City” clip Gameday put out as the announcement (and Vad Lee’s imitation on balcony of the APC) over and over and read Matt Jones’ incredible behind the scenes story forever. I also have no idea how I’m going to sleep or do any work this week. But Madison did play a game this past weekend and we feel it’s only right to say something about that. Well, it was really more of a scrimmage than a game. Believe it or not, in person I didn’t actually think it was the Dukes best work this season, but I’m not gonna argue with 51-0.
The Good
The Crowd – Dukes rolled deep in Carolina! And great job by the Triangle Chapter of the Alumni Association.
Kloosterman and Trai Sharp scoring their first career TD’s. – It was also great to see that Abdullah and Johnson were the first ones out to celebrate with him afterwards. The chemistry on this team right now is fantastic.
Elon’s stadium. I’ve given Elon as much crap as anyone and I will never not hate that this is what the CAA has become, but that’s a sweet little stadium. Looks great, so easy for fans, and soooo much fun to see a rare game played on beautiful natural grass these days.
Pretty much everything else the Dukes did.
The Bad
The stress parents of kickers go through. I had the great pleasure to meet Ryan Maglio’s mom yesterday and it was a thrill to hear his story of perseverance throughout his career to even be in the position he is, but after speaking with her and then watching that nightmare ending for the Michigan punter later, I have to admit that I’ve seriously underrated the sheer panic and terror that parents of kickers go through every single game. Also really cool to hear what a great friend and mentor former Kicker Cameron Starke is for Ryan. Also great to meet Jordan Brown’s folks – couple of good yinzers that LOVE them some JMU!
The Ugly
Who are we kidding, there’s no ugly when you hang half a hundred on ’em and pitch your first shutout since ’08.
Send us sign ideas the comments!
Boom! It’s happening folks. College Gameday will be broadcasting from the lovely campus of James Madison University. We’ll see you there.
There’s a whole lot of excitement (distractions?) surrounding the JMU football the past few days. But now it’s time to play some football. The Dukes face an Elon team that will be primed and ready to pull off an upset in front of a raucous homecoming crowd Todd. Kickoff is set for 3:00 and you can watch it over on CAA.tv. JMU needs this one to get to 7-0 and carry some momentum into next week’s big home game. Consider this your official open thread for all pre-game, in-game, and post-game chatter. Go Dukes! Keep Rootin’!
Shadow won last week’s prediction contest for the JMU vs. Towson game. Here’s his guest post.
Hello to all fellow JMU Football fans!
I go by “Shadow” in the blog comments – it kinda plays into my name and what I do for work.
It’s an honor to post here on the JMU Sports Blog page. Rob & Todd do a great job of consistently putting out great posts & keeping us fans in the loop!
I hope my post will be in line with the the great post tradition. Thanks for the opportunity guys!
I’ve been an active supporter of Dukes football as far back as the early days of Mickey ball. 2004 was the first year I had season tickets – and boy did that pay off! This was THE TEAM that after losing to WVU early in the season decided “NO MORE” and went on to beat every team they faced thereafter. read more…
So this is the standard weekly preview with one additional shoutout to an awesome Dukes golfer. Anything and everything about #GAMEDAYTOJMU is in the post below this one, but the most important thing in both the short and long term is that the Dukes stay focused on Elon this weekend and we’re going to try to join them in this preview.
The Basics
#5 James Madison Dukes (6-0, 3-0 CAA) at Elon Fightin’ Christians Phoenix (2-4, 1-2 in CAA), 3:00 p.m. at beautiful Rhodes Stadium in Burlington, North Carolina. And if you thought Towson fans were sensitive about “State,” wait till you see Elon administrators about Fightin’ Christians, which we know is their former name and they’re now called the Phoenix. Unsurprisingly, the alumni are mostly cool with the old name.
Coverage: Unfortunately, this is JMU’s only untelevised game remaining. But it is streaming over on CAA.tv (beware of Stretch Internet) and of course you can catch the smooth stylings of Curt Dudley on the radio broadcast. We shouldn’t have to tell you by now that a stream can be fed to your tv via HDMI cable or Apple TV.
Weather: Absolutely perfect fall day in The Old Line State. Sunny, but a chilly 63 with lows in the 30’s after dark.
Why Elon Could Scare Us
The Phoenix Defense has been reasonably strong all year, but especially at home where they picked up their one CAA win in a 17-13 decision over Towson, who obviously the Dukes struggled to put away last week. It’s also Homecoming so they should be amped and you know their kids are reading all this #GAMEDAYTOJMU stuff too and should be extra motivated. Finally, the thing that worries us most is how much our own players are reading all that crap and the very real potential that a bunch of 18-22 year olds might overlook their own business getting all fired up with their classmates today.
But honestly, who are we kidding? Elon is averaging 12.7 points per game. 12.7. And that’s against Wake Forest, Gardner Webb (who they only scored 21 against by going to triple OT and winning after being tied at 3 in regulation), Towson, NC A&T, UNH, and UR. That’s actually a sneaky tough schedule (and way harder than what JMU has faced thus far and man did Elon get screwed by missing both URI and Albany), but 12.7 is 12.7.
What We’re Looking for from the Dukes
Focus. With all the Gameday nonsense (which may very well turn out to be just that) and the big Homecoming matchup with the Spatters coming up next week, this would be an easy one to overlook. The Dukes need to handle they bidness this week to set up what I’m sure they join us in hoping will be an epic Homecoming of our own next week. We’d also like to repeat again that wrapping up on Defense and kick coverage improvements would really give us a lot better feeling heading into the UR/W&M season-defining gauntlet of the next two weeks.
We’d also be really happy for Vad Lee if he could have his usual stellar performance in what amounts to a homecoming game for the Durham native.
Tailgating Notes
If nothing else, Elon is downright southern in their pro-tailgating stance. Grills are even allowed! Most parking will be in McMichael lot, but the Triangle Chapter of the Duke Club is also hosting a cool pre-game event at West End Terrace, which is an easy half-mile walk down the street from 12:30-2:30. Incredibly, this is Elon Homecoming (not sure they’ve figured out the CAA schedule just yet) so this should be a great atmosphere, especially given the pristine weather and of course, the Dukes!
Lastly, no need to hurry in early because during the final minutes before kickoff, when we’re fortunate enough to get hype videos, smoke machines, and Start Wearin’ Purple, Elon shows a PSA about recycling. Seriously.
Beer of The Week
Natty Greene’s Thicket Autumn IPA. Full disclosure, I’m fully in the tank for these guys. Since moving to Greensboro last year, I’ve gotten to know them and they’re just good guys. Doesn’t hurt they make this area’s signature beers of course! And in the case of Thicket, they’ve nailed a perfect fall seasonal without even needing to resort to that hideous gourd-that-shall-not-be-named that ruins the fall beer lineup. You can find Natty Greene’s everywhere down here so pick some up for the tailgate and visit the outstanding brewpub and restaurant in downtown Greensboro (about 20 minutes from Elon) after the game if you’re sticking around.
Other Cool Stuff
There’s a cool interview with Carolina Panthers (#KeepPounding) rookie Dean Marlowe on Wither’s Coach’s Show with the incomparable Curt Dudley this week. Plus the radio broadcast will feature a halftime interview with Daniel Brown, who re-signed to the Ravens practice squad this week!
Also, we really encourage you to check out this Breeze Meet the Dukes Q&A with sophomore sensation golfer Gabrielle Weiss. We had a chance encounter with her and her very kind parents after her CAA POTW performance in Round 1 of the Forest Oaks Invitational a couple of weeks back and we’re happy to report they all bleed purple! Also, as a golfer, must’ve been nice to go to high school at Pinehurst.
The Station is now fully operational, no doubt about it.
Prediction
Elon averages 12.7 points and Death Star gonna Death Star.
Dukes 51, Phoenix 13
