{"id":7255,"date":"2014-11-06T22:29:20","date_gmt":"2014-11-07T03:29:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7255"},"modified":"2014-11-07T08:42:03","modified_gmt":"2014-11-07T13:42:03","slug":"game-preview-10-jmu-vs-stony-brook","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7255","title":{"rendered":"Game Preview 10: JMU vs. Stony Brook"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Stony<\/a>The Basics<\/strong><\/p>\n

Match-up: JMU Dukes (6-3, 3-2 CAA) vs. Stony Brook Seawolves (4-5, 3-2 CAA)<\/p>\n

The Line (for recreational purposes only): JMU -2<\/p>\n

Location: Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium on the campus of Stony Brook University on Strong Island<\/p>\n

Kick-off: 1:00 on Saturday, November 8<\/p>\n

Broadcast Options: Watch via Stony Brook’s stream here<\/a>\u00a0or tune into the JMU audio broadcast on\u00a0Madizone<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0How They Got Here<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stony Brook is coming off a bye last week, because of course it is. It’s the third CAA game this season for the Dukes in which their opponent had the prior week off. In their last game, the Seawolves dropped a close one to New Hampshire 28-20 on the road. Good job, good effort, but still a loss. Stony Brook has had an up and down season, beating some CAA bottom dwellers and hanging tough in close to losses to William & Mary and UNH. Despite some inconsistent results, one thing has been consistent throughout the season is Stony Brook’s defense. It’s pretty stellar on paper.<\/p>\n

JMU of course comes into this game riding a four game win streak. You know this, or at least you should. Last week Vad Lee and the offense woke up after a slow start to rally for a big win over William & Mary. Sage Harold had another outstanding game for a defense that played one of its better games of the season. The season has been all about adjusting to new schemes and new personnel for the Dukes. The offense has been explosive at times, but has yet to put together a full four quarter performance. The team seems to be gaining confidence each week though.<\/p>\n

Irresistible Force vs. Immovable Object<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Seawolves aren’t going to beat anyone in a track meet. They’re going to try to shut teams down and slog out 10-3 wins. They’ve got the top scoring defense in the CAA, only surrendering 11 touchdowns thus far. They’ve held opponents to 2.5 yards\/carry and 5.8 yards\/reception, both tops in the CAA. They’ve collected 10 interceptions while only giving up 6 passing TDs. They’ve played some suspect teams, but this isn’t a case of them collecting stats against the weak part of their schedule. They’ve got a D that has been consistently stellar all season.<\/p>\n

JMU on the other hand, is built to play fast and outscore opponents. The Dukes average 30 points a game. They run the ball to the tune of a CAA best 5.0 yards\/carry. With the exception of Towson, JMU’s defense hasn’t shut any teams down. In some games it’s looked like as long as they get the ball last, the Dukes will win. JMU is not going to try to grind out low scoring wins. It’s going to try to light up the scoreboard and leave teams in the dust.<\/p>\n

Essentially, we’re looking at a match-up of strength versus strength. Vad Lee and the Dukes’ attack against Stony Brook’s dominant defense. Something’s got to give.<\/p>\n

The Seawolves\u00a0Will Win If<\/strong><\/p>\n

They manage to control the pace and turn JMU over. Stony Brook doesn’t want JMU’s offense running 80+ plays. And the Seawolves don’t want JMU breaking off big plays for huge chunks or yardage. They’ll try to shut down the run and keep the Dukes from gaining yards on first down. The more successful they are in forcing the Dukes into third and long situations, the more one dimensional they’ll make JMU. And with an offense that isn’t ultra-explosive, they’d benefit greatly if\u00a0they\u00a0force a few turnovers to create short fields.<\/p>\n

The Dukes Will Win If<\/strong><\/p>\n

They keep Stony Brook guessing, spread the ball around, and keep it up tempo. Essentially they need to do the complete opposite of what Stony Brook wants to do (funny how that works, huh?). JMU’s offense has come alive late in games several times this year. Some of that is due to solid adjustments. Some of it is simply due to the offense wearing teams out with its pace and dynamic attack. If Vad Lee is doing Vad Lee things, the running backs are finding holes, and multiple receivers are catching passes, it’s a lot for a defense to worry about. If JMU does those things Saturday, it should be able to break through and score. And if Sage Harold continues to go beast mode and the D plays like it did for must of last week’s game, they’ll keep points off the board.<\/p>\n

JMUSB Beer of the Week<\/strong><\/p>\n

Schlafly Tasmanian IPA. There are no shortage of IPAs out there and we all have our favorites. Tasmanian might be my newest favorite. It’s so damn good. It’s a single hop\/single malt ale. That’s exactly what it sounds like, a beer brewed with only one type of malt and one variety of hops. The result is a super clean IPA that highlights the citrus flavors and aroma of the Galaxy hop. Instead of going on with a bunch of beer geek speak, let me just say this, it’s delicious. It’s really delicious. And it’s only available for a limited time, so grab some. It’s around $12\/six pack, which is a little more expensive than most IPAs, but it’s worth it. If you don’t like it, just give it to me. I’ll drink it.<\/p>\n

JMUSB Prediction<\/strong><\/p>\n

JMU 31 – Stony Brook 17. Sage Harold gets to the QB, Jimmy Moreland makes us scream Jimmy Effin Moreland with delight, Vad Lee sets the pace, and the Dukes win.<\/p>\n