{"id":6836,"date":"2014-07-24T06:55:39","date_gmt":"2014-07-24T10:55:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=6836"},"modified":"2014-07-24T06:55:39","modified_gmt":"2014-07-24T10:55:39","slug":"dukes-picked-to-finish-8th-in-caa-preseason-poll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=6836","title":{"rendered":"Dukes Picked to Finish 8th in CAA Preseason Poll"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Dean<\/a>It’s a year of change for the JMU football program. A new coaching staff, new starting QB, multiple new skill players, and revamped philosophies on both sides of the ball. Apparently\u00a0that all adds up to low expectations for the voters in the CAA Preseason Poll, who picked the Dukes to finish eight in the league. The results of the poll and the All CAA teams were revealed at CAA Media Day yesterday<\/a>. Only Rhode Island, Albany, Stony Brook, and the league’s newest entrant, Elon, were picked to finish below the Dukes. New Hampshire was the runaway favorite and preseason pick to win the league with 15 first place votes. Villanova, Richmond, and William & Mary also received first place votes. Senior Safety Dean Marlowe was selected to the CAA Preseason All Conference Team. He was the only Duke honored.<\/p>\n

Just two quick comments about this. First of all, we’ve made it pretty clear in the past that this preseason polls and honors are virtually worthless. They’re a total crapshoot and for evidence all you need to do is look back at a number of very mediocre JMU teams that were picked to contend for the conference title. Second of all, it’s the oldest cliche in the book, but the “nobody believes in us” strategy still seems to be pretty effective.\u00a0Playing with a bit of a chip on your shoulder is never a bad thing. The Dukes will have the opportunity to do just that in 2014.<\/p>\n

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