{"id":8124,"date":"2015-10-25T22:42:15","date_gmt":"2015-10-26T02:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=8124"},"modified":"2015-10-25T22:42:15","modified_gmt":"2015-10-26T02:42:15","slug":"dukes-have-historically-bad-defensive-day-in-soul-crushing-loss-to-richmond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=8124","title":{"rendered":"Dukes Have Historically Bad Defensive Day in Soul-Crushing Loss to Richmond"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Always<\/a>

Always and forever proud to be a Duke!<\/p><\/div>\n

So today is a true reminder that Rob and I aren’t pros, we’re just Dukes fans. And like Dukes everywhere, those we saw in the ‘Burg and those rooting everywhere, we bled way more than our normal share of purple this weekend and we are absolutely exhausted, cooked, and d-u-n done. In related news, we’re old. For that reason, we apologize in advance that this post won’t be quite as epic as this weekend’s event warrant. But there’s no getting around that yesterday was one of the best, most thrilling experiences we’ve ever had and also one of the most heartbreaking. But I’m pretty sure years from now most of us will remember Gameday and what it meant to show off the place we all love so much to the entire country more than one loss. But this one stings.<\/p>\n

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

James Madison University and Dukes everywhere – Gameday and the game itself are really two different things. And while the dreadful outcomes of the latter may define the rest of this season in potentially painful ways, the former is something that means so much to all Dukes (football fans or not) and will probably have lasting positive impacts we can’t even imagine for years to come. Anyone who watched the coverage from the Quad, from Thursday’s bus arrival through Friday’s College Football Live (which was incredible – way to go students) and right through the Saturday morning sh*tshow (in a great way) had to feel proud that we as a group truly showed the love and spirit that make JMU mean so much to so many. While our hardcore readers may be pissed we’re not more down about the game, and while we have to concede that were it not for Gameday, this post would justifiably be a “sky is falling” one, the fact of the matter is Gameday happened and it will resonate louder and longer than any game, player or season ever could. HUGE thank you to everyone that made it happen including but not limited to Lee Fitting and the entire Gameday crew, Jeff Bourne, Kevin Warner, Everett Withers and the Alpha Dogs, and everyone at JMU and JMU Athletics that had the good sense to turn this week over creatively and operationally to folks like Taylor Dewey who truly got what the event was, what it could be at JMU, what it means long-term, and were plugged into the fanbase enough to add the special touches that made it truly memorable. And most of all, thanks to JMU Nation. You were all kinds of turnt up for this and all of your individual contributions added up to something that collectively was as special as anything us two old guys can ever remember for JMU.<\/p>\n

Bryan Schor – Get to know this name Dukes fans. The backup QB that we all assumed could never replaced our beloved Vad Lee sure did a hell of a job making sure the offense didn’t miss a beat in leading the last two touchdown drives (well really a drive and a half, but that TD run on the first one was impressive). So quit worrying about more transfers for next year and get on board the SchorStar right now. Nothing is over by any stretch this year and with Nova and UD’s continued suckitude and a bye still to come for Schor to get even more work in, the schedule is still pillowy soft enough that solid positioning for the playoffs is still very much in play.<\/p>\n

The crowd! – Bridgeforth was the most electric we’ve ever seen it in the New BFS era. Only the App. St. ’08 game can possibly come close and obviously that couldn’t match a crowd of over 26,000 we had yesterday. Packed from start to finish (great work students on believing, and staying, to the end) and jacked up throughout, it was a fantastic experience despite the fact the Dukes literally never stopped the Ticks from scoring.<\/p>\n

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

Injuries – After making it through the season’s first half with almost no injuries to note, the Dukes incurred a season’s worth in one game. And were it not for an historically awful defensive performance, these would clearly be in the Ugly section. Thrilling young KR\/DB Charles Tutt broke his leg. WR\/KR John Miller sustained what appeared to be a serious neck\/back injury that required him to be sent to UVA hospital, though we’re overjoyed to hear he was moving all his limbs later that night. And of course, Vad Lee, who in just two years had become one of the best loved Dukes ever and someone we were all so happy to have representing JMU. Nothing has been confirmed as of this writing (Sunday 10 p.m.), but word is his college career is likely over after suffering a serious foot\/ankle injury in the second half (though he appeared to be limping even before the play where he really went down. We’ll be thinking of all three of these young men as they look to recover from this horrific night.<\/p>\n

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

The Dukes made literally two \u00a0defensive stops all night which led to the their two very short-lived leads in the opening half. That’s not good. Not good at all. The stats are staggering. 59 points, over 700 yards of offense, and an individual runner and receiver each over 200 yards. Quit blaming any individual players or coaches for this one, because that is a collective failure that MUST be corrected for the Dukes to have any chance of preventing the most promising season ever of turning into a death spiral of pinball game stats. This game was a reminder of how big “big plays” themselves are and it’s clear that last year’s 55-20 was more a reflection of a few game-changing plays than JMU’s actual ability to stop UR.And there’s certainly no rest for the weary as the Dukes travel to face William & Mary’s two-headed rushing attack next week.<\/p>\n

Just to end on a couple positive note though, despite another bad matchup on paper, we’ve got a feeling the Dukes D will be so embarrassed that they’ll rally big-time next week and we’re thinking the offense joins ranks around Schor in a hurry. Given how emotionally exhausted we were by the second half of this one, we can only wonder if quite a few Dukes’ players were completely overwhelmed after all the hype and craziness of last week. And if they can find a way next week, the bye week will be very well-timed afterwards.<\/p>\n

Finally, those of us that have been around a bit remember that the ’04 team, with momentum building for a big season, suffered a crushing loss at home to William & Mary around this point in the season only to get another shot at them all the way down the road in the semi-finals. We can only dream that happens this year even if it requires a late December trip to the high school stadium known as Bridgeforth East.<\/p>\n

Always proud to be a Duke!<\/p>\n