{"id":11647,"date":"2021-04-25T20:36:38","date_gmt":"2021-04-26T00:36:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=11647"},"modified":"2021-05-01T07:33:01","modified_gmt":"2021-05-01T11:33:01","slug":"dukes-beat-vmi-to-survive-and-advance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=11647","title":{"rendered":"Dukes Beat VMI to Survive and Advance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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JMU opened up the 2021 FCS Playoffs (Spring Edition) with a 31-24 win over VMI. Let’s repeat the last part. JMU picked up a win. And now the Dukes are moving on to the quarterfinals to face North Dakota. VMI proved to be a very tough out. The Keydets were well coached and they came ready to play. JMU showed flashes of greatness, but also had more than a few warts on display. Jawon Hamilton and Percy O Agyei-Obese went for 171 and 110 yard respectively to pace JMU. But truth be told it was far from an overall “A” effort from the coaches and players. Again though, they won the dang game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While we’ve been accustomed to watching the Dukes on cruise control for the first few rounds of the playoffs, this was something different. This Spring season has been challenging for a whole litany of reasons. JMU has played well at times, but due to the stops and starts, the Dukes never got on an extended roll. They just keep winning anyway. We can pick things apart as much as we want, but doing so seems a little misguided given the circumstances. In this weird Spring format, perhaps it’s more important for teams to simply find a way to grind out wins and not worry about how they look doing so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let’s face it, there are no style points in football. We would have loved it if JMU won by 4 or 5 touchdowns and turned it into a laugher. But they didn’t. They beat a well prepared team, despite turning the ball over multiple times and making some questionable decisions. There are at most 3 more games left this season. Personally, we think it’s time we accept that this team has flaws. It has flaws and no losses though. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fact of the matter is this 2021 JMU Spring Football squad is never going to beat the 2016 team. Or the 2019 team. They’re also not going to lose to them, because the teams will never play. It’s fun to debate how different JMU teams stack up against each other. It’s also ultimately kind of pointless. This year’s team is not as good as a number of JMU teams from the past. We get it and we won’t argue otherwise. It doesn’t need to be though. On Saturday, it just had to be better than VMI and it was. And this Sunday it just needs to be better than North Dakota. And we’ll take things from there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Dukes under Cignetti are nothing like the Mike Houston JMU teams. They’re not even that similar to the 2019 Cignetti team. It’s a totally different approach. Everyone likes to say that JMU doesn’t rebuild, it reloads, but the fact is that the Dukes had to replace a ton of great players. And they had to do it on the fly during the weirdest football season of our lifetimes. And they just keep winning, despite looking more than shaky at times. At a certain point, it’s probably best if we focus and appreciate that, instead of fooling ourselves into thinking they’re going to evolve into something they’re not. This JMU isn’t likely to blow teams out and win going away from here on. But they’re still playing and they definitely have a chance to keep winning. Style points or now style points. <\/p>\n