{"id":4367,"date":"2012-09-17T08:04:24","date_gmt":"2012-09-17T12:04:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=4367"},"modified":"2012-09-17T08:04:24","modified_gmt":"2012-09-17T12:04:24","slug":"wvu-wrapup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=4367","title":{"rendered":"WVU Wrapup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, the epic tailgate has come and gone, the coolers are stowed away for a few weeks, and the Dukes are off to Rhode Island next week before their bye. \u00a0So what did we learn in a lopsided, but by no means embarrassing, loss to 8th ranked West Virginia?<\/p>\n

The Good<\/strong><\/p>\n

Resiliency –\u00a0The Dukes struggled throughout the first half, mainly because three future NFL studs in QB Geno Smith, and WR’s Austin and Bailey, were simply flawless. \u00a0But I was very impressed with the Dukes effort after halftime. \u00a0They clearly decided at halftime they were through being pushed around and the coaches seemed to make adjustments in order to be productive. \u00a0The Dukes made a huge play on defense with the safety and the offense managed a number of sustained drives (though more to come on the end of these drives later). \u00a0The 2nd half effort made me feel a lot better about the mental makeup of this team going forward. \u00a0Time of possession advantage and 300 total yards against a National Title contender are nothing to be ashamed of.<\/p>\n

Defense – Again, they got blitzed a bit early on and could easily have packed it in at 21-0, but they competed hard. \u00a0Jakarie Jackson back from injury with 14 tackles and Stephon Robertson was everywhere. \u00a0The line got decent pressure on Geno Smith (although he was just too good and often found a way out). \u00a0Lot of open guys before and after catches, but that’s where the real talent gap was and our guys did a decent job making tackles when they were there to be made.<\/p>\n

WVU – They’re really, really good. \u00a0So long as their big three stay healthy and their O-Line continues to improve, they are a legit threat in the Big 12 and the national picture this year. \u00a0I wish JMU had played a bit better too, but let’s not get carried away with the negative. \u00a0Remember that the Dukes were blown out worse against WVU in ’04.<\/p>\n

The Bad<\/strong><\/p>\n

Red-zone offense – This was actually horrid, but not worthy of “ugly” today. \u00a0The Dukes were inside the five twice in the third quarter and turned it over both times. \u00a0 It may only have been cosmetic, but we’d all feel better about 42-24, than 42-12, wouldn’t we? \u00a0Just hope the players and coaches know that would’ve been more reflective of their play than the actual score and don’t get down.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Injuries – Daniel Brown and Titus Till both suffered what appeared to be serious injuries. \u00a0Brown’s looked season-ending, Till’s looked like it’ll be a while. \u00a0Jordan Stanton also left with a concussion we think. \u00a0All that said, if Till and Stanton make it back in a few weeks, I don’t think you could say the injuries suffered today were really the result of playing a bigger, stronger FBS team and not just the breaks of the season. \u00a0Not losing anyone on the O-Line is great too.<\/p>\n

The Ugly<\/strong><\/p>\n

WR’s jumping offsides. \u00a0Just inexcusable. \u00a0Watch the ball, you can’t hear the count anyhow. \u00a0I guess some of this can be chalked up to nerves in that type of game and environment, but our other position groups didn’t seem to have these issues.<\/p>\n

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