{"id":7321,"date":"2014-11-16T12:44:42","date_gmt":"2014-11-16T17:44:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7321"},"modified":"2014-11-16T19:17:34","modified_gmt":"2014-11-17T00:17:34","slug":"dukes-destroy-richmond-55-20-warning-playoff-talk-ahead-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7321","title":{"rendered":"Dukes Destroy Richmond 55-20 (Warning: Playoff Talk Ahead)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Wjd-EpBiYGo\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Well now wasn&#8217;t that just about a perfect afternoon? Ok, maybe that end of the second quarter was like a tracker-jacker hallucination, but JMU beat the Ticks by FIVE touchdowns in a must-win situation for both teams. FIVE. Anyone still not feeling this squad?!<\/p>\n<p>Yes, you can now officially begin using the P word at your convenience. Yes, the Dukes can&#8217;t afford another bad loss next week, but is there a team in the CAA you&#8217;d rather be playing, at home, to get a ninth win than Elon? We&#8217;re planning a huge tailgate next week and more to come about Celebration Saturday and playoff implications and expectations later this week. But for now, let&#8217;s enjoy reviewing yesterday&#8217;s pure ownership of the Ticks.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Good<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Taylor &#8216;effin Reynolds! &#8211; There is no way to overstate Reynold&#8217;s impact on this game. Basically, as a DB, he single-handedly accounted for 28 points. That&#8217;s Deion-esque. He scored two TD&#8217;s on pick-sixes and prevented not one, but two TD&#8217;s with incredibly smart hustle plays when he twice punched the ball out from moronic Spider ball-carriers. The first was great, but the second punchout was THE play of the season. As many of you felt (more to come later on this of course), the combination of the Ticks and the referees had completely stolen JMU&#8217;s momentum on either side of halftime and with the Ticks cruising in for a TD that would have pulled them within three points, Reynolds miraculously punched the ball out right before the goal line through the back of the end zone for a touchback. Put simply, from that moment on the Dukes were playoff bound! It&#8217;s just wonderful to see a kid that&#8217;s really had a rough road after being such a highly touted recruit tap his considerable talent and potential at the moment it was most needed. Way to go Taylor!<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7331\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Reynolds.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7331\" data-attachment-id=\"7331\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?attachment_id=7331\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Reynolds.jpg?fit=305%2C269&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"305,269\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Reynolds\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Last shot to show-out for T. Reynolds!&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Reynolds.jpg?fit=300%2C264&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Reynolds.jpg?fit=305%2C269&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-7331\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Reynolds.jpg?resize=300%2C264\" alt=\"In case you were wondering what  National Defensive Player of the Week looks like in action.\" width=\"300\" height=\"264\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Reynolds.jpg?resize=300%2C264&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/Reynolds.jpg?w=305&amp;ssl=1 305w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-7331\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">In case you were wondering what National Defensive Player of the Week looks like in action.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Second-Half Shutouts -Two weeks in a row the Dukes have struggled to keep an opponent off the board in the first half. And now two weeks in a row they have flat-out slammed the door shut in the second half. This team can go a looooong way if they can limit an opponent&#8217;s scoring to one half because this team will keep scoring in all quarters!<\/p>\n<p>The O-Line &#8211; \u00a0Despite the final score Richmond did one of the better jobs all year of keeping Vad Lee contained to the pocket. But thanks to the O-Line, he was given time to throw for a school-record 433 yards. He had time to let plays develop which led to huge gainers for Dukes receivers. It&#8217;s just wonderful to see the line coming together this way as line play has always been the main hallmark of JMU&#8217;s best seasons and is really the difference between good and great.<\/p>\n<p>Backup Tight Ends &#8211; When Deane Cheatum went down last week, we were nervous given that he&#8217;s been a huge contributor and the team leader in catches. But development appears to be a strength of this staff and team, and Jonathan Kloosterman and Brandon Brown who chipped in with five important grabs and didn&#8217;t let the offensive juggernaut miss a beat.<\/p>\n<p>This Machine &#8211; Vad Lee is breaking all kinds of records you can read about here, but we don&#8217;t want to focus on him this week because this winning streak is an all-around team effort. Clutch kicking from Maglio, less mistakes in all three phases, improved play on both lines, great play-calling and adjustments from the staff, and seemingly an inexhaustible ability to keep progressing as a team each week. This team has become a machine, capable of scoring points by the truckload and equally capable of settling in and shutting people down when necessary. It&#8217;s been exhilarating to watch and we&#8217;re starting to pick up a real us-against-the-world-we-don&#8217;t-care-what-is-thrown-at-us vibe from this group. Actually feels more &#8217;04ish than &#8217;08ish. We can&#8217;t even tell you how impressive it was to recover from that end \u00a0to the first half and come back even stronger in the second half. That was a level of mental toughness from the staff and players that was, needless to say, considerably greater than our own ability to not lose our cool.<\/p>\n<p>NBCSN &#8211; As a fan, it really is fantastic when we get the high-quality production of the national game on NBCSN after weeks of Stretch Internet&#8217;s bullshit on JMU&#8217;s side and last week&#8217;s elementary school level production from Stony Brook. That said, NBCSN signed up for a CAA that doesn&#8217;t exist anymore and it&#8217;ll be a miracle if they extend the deal with a conference that looks more small-time with each passing year thanks to insane officiating (more on that below) and \u00a0a slew of high-school style stadiums and less-than-high-school crowds.<\/p>\n<p>Purple Helmets &#8211; Those things are just perfect.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Bad<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Really, there&#8217;s almost nothing bad about not only beating up the Ticks, but doing so in a way that was absolutely soul-crushing. Just a beautiful thing. Oh yeah, I guess one bad thing was the giant red condom look RU&#8217;s Coach Rocco had going yesterday.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7307\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/B2V5DaeIUAAk8x8.jpg-large.jpeg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7307\" data-attachment-id=\"7307\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?attachment_id=7307\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/B2V5DaeIUAAk8x8.jpg-large.jpeg?fit=490%2C208&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"490,208\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"B2V5DaeIUAAk8x8.jpg-large\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Thanks to Varina HS for the halftime entertainment!&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/B2V5DaeIUAAk8x8.jpg-large.jpeg?fit=300%2C127&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/B2V5DaeIUAAk8x8.jpg-large.jpeg?fit=490%2C208&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-7307\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/B2V5DaeIUAAk8x8.jpg-large.jpeg?resize=300%2C127\" alt=\"Thanks to Varina HS for the halftime entertainment!\" width=\"300\" height=\"127\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/B2V5DaeIUAAk8x8.jpg-large.jpeg?resize=300%2C127&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/B2V5DaeIUAAk8x8.jpg-large.jpeg?w=490&amp;ssl=1 490w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-7307\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Thanks to Varina HS for the halftime entertainment!<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>The Ugly<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>There is no possible way for us to even write about the back-to-back targeting penalties called on the Dukes at the end of the half yesterday without risking cardiac arrest. We do sort of apologize for losing our damned minds on Twitter and feeding every conspiracy-theory beast that the most crazed of our own fans were pondering at the time. The truth is the first flag on Peak was probably warranted, and at least understandable as there seemed to be clear helmet-to-helmet contact even if Peak didn&#8217;t seem to have any intent or even necessarily be aware of exactly where he was in relation to the receiver before the hit. But the second one, oh the second one. On Marlowe, which amounted to his third ejection of the season for a horsesh*t call. We can&#8217;t even possibly deal with this properly, but just know that the Targeting rule is ruining the game. When an offensive player has the ball and turns to charge forward with his head down, what in the world is a defender supposed to do? Stop himself in mid-air? It&#8217;s just ridiculous. And the fact there was replay yesterday and it wasn&#8217;t overturned is just further evidence of the amateur-hour status of CAA officiating and the conference as a whole. And the craziest part is we wouldn&#8217;t be surprised if ole Tommy Yeags turns around and suspends Marlowe beyond the half he&#8217;s already sat out by the rule for &#8220;multiple infractions.&#8221; Well fine then. Just like the team did yesterday, they&#8217;ll just say screw it and proceed to throw another half-a-hundred on another opponent!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Last Word<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Finally, just feels worth mentioning, we&#8217;ll both be in The &#8216;Burg for next week&#8217;s game and you&#8217;re all welcome to come tailgate with us! Purple Kool-Aid all around!<\/p>\n<iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fjmusportsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D7321&amp;layout=standard&amp;show_faces=true&amp;width=450&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;height=80\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none; overflow:hidden; width:450px; height:80px;\" allowTransparency=\"true\"><\/iframe>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Well now wasn&#8217;t that just about a perfect afternoon? Ok, maybe that end of the second quarter was like a tracker-jacker hallucination, but JMU beat the Ticks by FIVE touchdowns in a must-win situation for both teams. FIVE. Anyone still not feeling this squad?! Yes, you can now officially begin using the P word at [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1629,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=1629","url_meta":{"origin":7321,"position":0},"title":"Last-chance Saloon!  Dukes v. Ticks","date":"November 4, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Well it's come down to this.\u00a0 The Dukes are set to take on the hated Richmond Ticks this Saturday and despite the pathetic lack of offense, lots of hate for the coaching staff, and the fact that most fans have abandoned the Dukes already, JMU will play it's first game\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/11\/220px-Tick_engorged_with_thumb.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7281,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7281","url_meta":{"origin":7321,"position":1},"title":"Fan Confidence Poll: Richmond Week","date":"November 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"[polldaddy poll=8441859]Vad Lee and the Dukes have now won five straight games. That's JMU's longest winning streak since all the way back in 2008 when a guy by the name of Rodney Landers was lining up behind center. JMU has a huge game against the hated Ticks this Saturday with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Football&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7318,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7318","url_meta":{"origin":7321,"position":2},"title":"Gameday Open Thread: Dukes vs. Ticks","date":"November 15, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Big game today folks. Big, big game. The Dukes face their old pals the Ticks. The game will be nationally broadcast on NBC Sports Network. Check your local listings or tune into the free stream here. The Dukes are riding a 5 game winning streak. RU is coming off a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Football&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7284,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7284","url_meta":{"origin":7321,"position":3},"title":"Prediction Contest: Dukes vs. Ticks","date":"November 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"It's Richmond Week. Now any game against the Ticks is one JMU fans want to win. This Saturday's contest might mean even a little more than usual though, with JMU still fighting for a playoff bid. Richmond is a solid team that should not be taken lightly. And despite the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Football&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Vad Lee Practice","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/534c955129e79.image_.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8165,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=8165","url_meta":{"origin":7321,"position":4},"title":"Everything That Happened While JMU Football Had a Bye","date":"November 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Everett Withers and the Dukes didn't play on Saturday, but the weekend was far from uneventful. In fact, it was a pretty big weekend for some of the ladies of JMU. The Field Hockey team capped a 6-0 regular season record in CAA play, by advancing to the conference finals.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"passthru_imagecredit_2015JMUWSoccerCAAChamps","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/passthru_imagecredit_2015JMUWSoccerCAAChamps-1024x542.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9520,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=9520","url_meta":{"origin":7321,"position":5},"title":"Do Dukes Fans Need To Check Our Expectations?","date":"July 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Five short weeks from Saturday the Dukes will take the field in Greenville, NC to begin what is far and away the most anticipated season in the football program's history. There have been years, especially in decade plus since the '04 title, where us fans had sky-high expectations ('08, '15\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7321"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7321"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7335,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7321\/revisions\/7335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}