{"id":7945,"date":"2015-09-07T09:57:39","date_gmt":"2015-09-07T13:57:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7945"},"modified":"2015-09-07T09:57:39","modified_gmt":"2015-09-07T13:57:39","slug":"madison-56-morehead-st-7-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7945","title":{"rendered":"Madison 56, Morehead St. 7 &#8211; The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_7855\" style=\"width: 179px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/15Uni.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7855\" data-attachment-id=\"7855\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?attachment_id=7855\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/15Uni.jpg?fit=576%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"576,1024\" 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;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"15Uni\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;New Purples looked great with the old gold helmet!&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/15Uni.jpg?fit=169%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/15Uni.jpg?fit=576%2C1024&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-7855\" src=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/15Uni.jpg?resize=169%2C300\" alt=\"New Purples looked great with the old gold helmet!\" width=\"169\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/15Uni.jpg?resize=169%2C300&amp;ssl=1 169w, https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/15Uni.jpg?w=576&amp;ssl=1 576w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 169px) 100vw, 169px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-7855\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">New Purples looked great with the old gold helmet!<\/p><\/div>\n<p>So the Dukes beat a non-scholarship team by 49 points as expected to lift the curtain on the 2015 season in style. There&#8217;s really not all that much to be certain about coming off in a game like this, but it sure was fun to see the boys back in action and of course we&#8217;ve got some observations from what really amounted to a preseason game.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Good<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cardon Johnson &#8211; The starter at running back showed exactly the kind of dynamic style we all heard about after he got to JMU but could only dream about as he sat out injured all of last year. Abdullah was solid behind him too and we know there is depth at this spot, but wow, just from the eye test this guy looked like a true talent and difference-maker. Could be wrong, but it sure looked like his combination of size, power, shiftiness, and vision is something that will hold up against anyone.<\/li>\n<li>THE STUDENT SECTION &#8211; Absolutely outstanding! Best opening-day student section in years. Godwin side full BEFORE kickoff, entire section full soon thereafter. And the most surprising, and encouraging thing, about the students this week is they were LOUD and into the game. They even broke out into a very solid, and noticeable, &#8220;We Want Morehead!&#8221; chant after the Vad TD. (Wonder if they&#8217;ll all be banned by the P.C. Police after that?) It made for a fantastic atmosphere and they were certainly treated to plenty of first-half highlights. I know everyone wants them to stay, but you can&#8217;t blame anyone in this blowout. It gives us reason to hope that the seeds Withers and the entire program have been planting the last two years are starting to sprout. An undefeated September with a top 5 national ranking might help a bit when CAA play really gets going too.<\/li>\n<li>The kicking game &#8211; this one is subtle, but it&#8217;s nice to see a basically mistake-free day in the kicking game in Week 1. Ryan Maglio looked comfortable on extra points and it was good to see that the Dukes&#8217; have added depth in the form of \u00a0kickoff specialist and Freshman Tyler Gray. Out of Winchester&#8217;s Millbrook High, he showed the ability to get a touchback and the ability to place it directionally inside the 5 which Madison actually prefers in order to take their chances that the coverage pins opponents inside the 25.<\/li>\n<li>Vad Lee &#8211; What can we really say? The best player on the field and looked like he had very close to complete command. 297 yards and 3 TD&#8217;s passing to go with 105 yards and a highlight-reel 66 yard TD on the ground is a nice little way to kick off your Walter Payton Award candidacy. Though we have to admit, in true old-man fashion, all we could think on the long TD run was &#8220;take it easy on those hammies Superman.&#8221;<\/li>\n<li>Morehead State WR\/RB\/KR Jake Raymond (#4) &#8211; we don&#8217;t usually show love to an opponent, but this kid was a joy to watch compete amongst his overmatched fellows. No idea what his story is, but our secondary seemed to have no idea how to deal with him.<\/li>\n<li>Ryan Schorr seemed to do just fine in his one series with the second-team offense. He led the Dukes on a long, multiple penalty-overcoming scoring drive and gave us some hope that the wheels won&#8217;t come entirely off if Vad misses part of a game or even one whole game at some point.<\/li>\n<li>The uniforms. The new purple set looked outstanding and was a reminder of how great the gold helmet can still look when matched up right.<\/li>\n<li>These shirts, and more importantly the movement they represent, were a real highlight of my gameday. You can find out more and learn how to get involved with this incredible grass-roots effort that is fully alumni-led<a href=\"http:\/\/jmu2fbs.com\"> here<\/a>.\n<p><div id=\"attachment_7946\" style=\"width: 235px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/IMG_1247.jpg\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7946\" data-attachment-id=\"7946\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?attachment_id=7946\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/IMG_1247.jpg?fit=480%2C640&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"480,640\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.4&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;iPhone 5c&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1440453054&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;4.12&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.05&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"IMG_1247\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Want FBS, but tired of the negativity? Join the cause and get involved!&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/IMG_1247.jpg?fit=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/IMG_1247.jpg?fit=480%2C640&amp;ssl=1\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-7946\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/IMG_1247.jpg?resize=225%2C300\" alt=\"Want FBS, but tired of the negativity? Join the cause and get involved!\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/IMG_1247.jpg?resize=225%2C300&amp;ssl=1 225w, https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/IMG_1247.jpg?w=480&amp;ssl=1 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-7946\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Want FBS, but tired of the negativity? Join the cause and get involved!<\/p><\/div><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The Bad<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Blocking, especially in the running game. Pass protection with the 1&#8217;s actually seemed alright, but not sure if that was more a reflection of the lack of any kind of sustained pressure from an overmatched opponent. In the ground game however, after the first series (presumably scripted and well-rehearsed), the O-line allowed a great deal of penetration to screw with the Dukes&#8217; spread attack, so much so that at one point the normally cool and collected Vad Lee seemed to be issuing quite a bit of &#8220;polite encouragement&#8221; for a little something better. This has got to get better.<\/li>\n<li>Defense, particularly against the pass. Morehead only had a little over 200 total yards and it&#8217;s hard to get to upset, but had it not been for a red-zone fumble, the Eagles would have not only moved the ball with ease, primarily through the air, but also would have had two long TD drives in the first half. Receivers were wide open and JMU did not, or worse could not, generate consistent pressure. We&#8217;ve heard from those that know these things, and are willing to rematch the film, that the Dukes&#8217; are using more variety (they&#8217;re being &#8220;multiple&#8221;) in their defensive packages this year and between that and the youth\/inexperience on that side of the ball, we can only hope there is plenty of improvement coming.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The Ugly<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>We&#8217;re not gonna nit-pick with anything in the ugly from a 56-7 win and we&#8217;re thrilled that we don&#8217;t seem to have any major injuries to write about in the section like some season openers. But there is one item for this section that didn&#8217;t even come from our game. Anyone watch the first half of Baylor\/SMU Friday night? The Mustangs were trading punches nose-to-nose with the high-octane and 4th ranked Bears and it sure looks like Chad Morris (ex of Clemson&#8217;s offense) is going to have them pretty close to full throttle by the time the Dukes arrive in a few weeks. This game is still winnable, especially after SMU gets taken to the slaughter-house again by TCU before our matchup, but it&#8217;s certainly not the &#8220;FCS Team should be favored&#8221; type game we were hoping for.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fjmusportsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D7945&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>So the Dukes beat a non-scholarship team by 49 points as expected to lift the curtain on the 2015 season in style. There&#8217;s really not all that much to be certain about coming off in a game like this, but it sure was fun to see the boys back in action and of course we&#8217;ve [&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":2153,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=2153","url_meta":{"origin":7945,"position":0},"title":"Maybe Television Is Not the Problem After All","date":"February 27, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"By now we assume you know that\u00a0JMU finally got the breakthrough win against a top CAA team it needed yesterday. The Dukes closed out\u00a0the\u00a0regular seasson\u00a0with\u00a0a 72-69 win on the road at VCU.\u00a0Now while Todd and I have worked really hard this year to make sure that at least of of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Basketball&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10912,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=10912","url_meta":{"origin":7945,"position":1},"title":"Listen to Coach O Before the Big Game","date":"April 3, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"&amp;lt;span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\"&amp;gt;?&amp;lt;\/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\"&amp;gt;?&amp;lt;\/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\"&amp;gt;?&amp;lt;\/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\"&amp;gt;?&amp;lt;\/span&amp;gt;&amp;lt;span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\"\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;News&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10426,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=10426","url_meta":{"origin":7945,"position":2},"title":"JMU Defeats Norfolk State in Abbreviated Game","date":"September 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"We expected the game between JMU and Norfolk State to be figuratively over after a quarter. Due to weather however, it was literally ended after 15 minutes due to lightning with the Dukes up 17-0. Well, due to lightning and the fact that it was blatantly obvious to everyone on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Football&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/Jimmy-F-Moreland.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1411,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=1411","url_meta":{"origin":7945,"position":3},"title":"The Dukes Host Liberty","date":"September 23, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"The win over the Hokies is history, the bye week has passed, and now it's time for JMU to move on. The Dukes will host the Flames from Liberty University for a Saturday night game in the half-new Bridgeforth Stadium. The Dukes are hoping to notch another win over an\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Football&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4957,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=4957","url_meta":{"origin":7945,"position":4},"title":"A.J. Davis Dunked A Guy Out of the Game You Guys","date":"January 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"A.J. Davis is the kind of player who can literally make a person's jaw drop in disbelief. Yesterday, he did just that when he dunked all over ODU's Nick Wright. And JMUsports.com captured it in what might be the greatest JMU sports related photograph I've ever seen. I mean, if\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Basketball&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/01\/A.J.-Davis-Poster.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6510,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=6510","url_meta":{"origin":7945,"position":5},"title":"Brady Bunch Shirts? Brady Bunch Shirts!","date":"February 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"File this in the \"seemingly obvious and definitely incredible, yet somehow we all missed it\" folder. It's a Brady Bunch style t-shirt featuring the basketball Dukes. Because of course it is. And it is awesome. The first 500 students in the Convo for Monday's game against Hofstra will get one.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Basketball&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"BgFPpe2IcAApDoW","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/BgFPpe2IcAApDoW.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7945"}],"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=7945"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7945\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7947,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7945\/revisions\/7947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}