{"id":10509,"date":"2018-10-07T19:53:23","date_gmt":"2018-10-07T23:53:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=10509"},"modified":"2018-10-07T19:53:23","modified_gmt":"2018-10-07T23:53:23","slug":"a-few-thoughts-on-elon-27-jmu-24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=10509","title":{"rendered":"A Few Thoughts on Elon 27 – JMU 24"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"The Elon Phoenix marched into Bridgeforth and did what no other team had ever done in the Mike Houston era. They defeated the JMU Dukes. The 27-24 defeat was JMU’s first at home since all the way back in October of 2015. It was the Dukes’ first CAA loss under Coach Houston. And it wasn’t a fluke. Elon simply outplayed, outmuscled, and outcoached JMU. Quibble all you want about officiating, silly mistakes, or what might have been. Credit to Elon though. The Phoenix came into Bridgeforth and won the ballgame. We’re gonna temporarily suspend the Good, Bad, and Ugly format (too much ugly) and just riff on a few thoughts after the loss instead.<\/p>\n

Big Plays<\/strong><\/p>\n

In our eyes, this was the biggest difference in the game. Elon succeeded on a number of big plays throughout the game. The Phoenix had 7 different plays from scrimmage go for 30 yards plus. JMU only had 3 such plays. They also had a few on defense or special teams, but they were called back due to careless penalties. For the second week in a row, JMU’s pass defense let receivers go over the top and nail completions for big yards. It concerned us when it happened against Richmond, despite the fact that the game was so lopsided. Now that we’ve seen Elon do it, we’re officially worried.<\/p>\n

Line Play<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Dukes were flat out beat in the trenches. Elon’s three man front gave the Dukes trouble all day. The Nooch was running for his life most of the afternoon. Yes, at times he holds onto the ball longer than fans would like, but a JMU QB shouldn’t need a Dan Marino-like quick release to succeed. But the pass blocking was better than the run blocking. JMU’s rushing game was mostly a series of backs getting hit at the line of scrimmage or running into a wall. Elon’s run defense is solid, but not that good. Trai Sharp was the most effective back, going for 33 yards on 9 carries. Cardon Johnson nearly equaled him with 32 on 9 carries, while Marcus Marshall managed only 24 on 10 attempts. And JMU’s defensive line got gashed all day giving Marcus Summers huge holes to run through. He averaged over 9 yards a carry. And they were only able to sack Elon’s QB a single time.<\/p>\n

It Wasn’t the Refs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just stop. Yes, the officials were awful. But that’s not why the Dukes lost. It wasn’t a day of highlights for the officials all around. But as bad as the they were, the Dukes still had plenty of chances to win. Instead they committed costly mistakes, repeatedly settled for field goals instead of touchdowns in the red zone, fumbled the ball on a potentially game clinching drive, and then let Elon run right by them for the winning score. That’s why they lost. Not because the refs made a number of questionable calls.<\/p>\n

QB Play<\/strong><\/p>\n

They say that the most popular guy in any football town is the backup QB. We believe it after hearing so many people call for Cole Johnson in the past 24 hours. We respectfully disagree. The Nooch isn’t perfect, but people need to stop comparing him to Bryan Schor, Vad Lee, Rodney Landeers, and the other all time JMU greats. There are things he can do to improve for sure. But we’re absolutely baffled how anyone could watch that game, and come away thinking QB play was the glaring problem. Nooch extended plays, made throws, and was on his way to leading a third (and game clinching) scoring drive of the fourth quarter. He threw for over 300 yards on a day when JMU could not getting anything going running the ball. By my count his receivers dropped 5 balls. Neither he nor Cole Johnson was going to stop Marcus Summers, prevent Elon’s receivers from going over the top, or fix the running game. He can, and probably will, get better. He ain’t the problem though.<\/p>\n

Moving On<\/strong><\/p>\n

Safe to say, we as Dukes fans need to recalibrate things a bit after this one. A week ago, fans were anticipating a rematch in Frisco with NDSU to decide the National Championship. That seems silly now. Perhaps it always was. The Dukes have plenty of talent. There’s no reason to panic. But adjustments need to be made and they need to made in a hurry. The playoffs are no lock. That’s not to say we’re throwing in the towel on the season. We’re not. We think the Dukes have plenty of talent and coaches that can make the proper adjustments to right the ship. But if the Dukes played like they did yesterday, every team left on the schedule can beat them. The CAA is too good, for JMU to roll it’s B or C game out there from now on. Not playing a full 60 minutes against the Ticks or Tribe was one thing. It’s an entirely different thing against the top teams in the league.<\/p>\n