{"id":8869,"date":"2016-09-18T23:07:34","date_gmt":"2016-09-19T03:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=8869"},"modified":"2016-09-19T16:54:03","modified_gmt":"2016-09-19T20:54:03","slug":"unc-pulls-away-from-jmu-but-all-systems-go-for-a-big-dukes-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=8869","title":{"rendered":"UNC Pulls Away from JMU, but all systems go for a big Dukes’ year!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

That first quarter – Wow! Now THAT was fun. We know the heat, the depth, a few Dukes’ mistakes, the inability to run with UNC-CH’s receiving corps or stop Hood eventually caught up with JMU, but as FBS games against P5 teams go, it’s hard to ask for much more than the excitement of a start like that. The utter shock of the home fans, the frustrated unsportsmanlike conduct fouls, and the chance to stand and cheer and throw streamers and run our mouths a bit made the whole day. Look, we’re not saying we didn’t want the Dukes to keep it up, but having a coach that finally goes for it all-out in these games made the whole endeavor so much fun.<\/p>\n

Wheel route – How does every team not try this once a game every game? Does anyone ever stop this play when its set up right the way the Dukes’ had it on a platter for Schor-to-Johnson?<\/p>\n

JMU’s offense – What can we even say? In the first half the Dukes scored three TD’s, missed a FG, and had some coaching brain farts deep in UNC territory before the half. But that’s basically five successful drives against an ACC team. And we will take that all day.<\/p>\n

The outlook for this season! – Not to excuse the beatdown late but let’s be clear, JMU will not face a single player anything like the Heels’ backs and receivers the rest of the year. The Dukes made their own mistakes that let this get away, and we still have no idea whether the Defense has actually improved after facing three straight teams where there is nothing to trust about what we’re seeing based on the difference in level of competition, but we were pleasantly stunned with how toe-to-toe the Dukes were able to go athletically with UNC and that HAS to bode well for the rest of the season. To put it simply, despite the 56-28 final, we are absolutely more excited and confident about the season after this one than we were going on. JMU can really play this year.<\/p>\n

\"Carson

Carson finally got his yesterday!<\/p><\/div>\n

Dukes Fans – Great turnout! And having the MRD’s at the game made that explosive start so much more fun.<\/p>\n

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

The JMU pass rush – Through three games, there is no such thing. The secondary faced a tough enough task against a whole batch of potential pros yesterday, but when you have to cover for five or six seconds, it’s even more impossible. We’re still hoping the first two weeks were just vanilla from a schematic standpoint and that maybe yesterday the front seven was simply overmatched by a bigger, stronger O-Line, but we’re getting awfully skeptical that the Dukes’ defensive front isn’t the biggest concern on this squad.<\/p>\n

Trip to Maine next week – Never sleep on a trip to Maine for a noon kick. As Rob said Saturday night, it’s not Maine that scares us, it’s the trip to Maine that always scares us. We’ve just seen this movie too many times through the years, but hopefully Coach H and co. will have them ready. And it’s on tv which is great for the rest of us!<\/p>\n

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

The heat on the visitor’s side at Kenan Stadium is something that simply cannot be described. The place is a hole in the ground with zero breeze and it feels like an oven. For fans, and certainly for players, it’s atrocious. For players on teams with 22 less scholarships, it’s gotta be downright brutal. In fact, I’m gonna say the whole place is basically garbage as big stadiums go. Yes, it’s in the trees. Yes, the tailgate lots are tucked away. And yes, that shade of light blue makes for decent uniforms. But the place is a 1970’s leftover with horrendous video boards with substandard information for actually following the game, some its best seating placed – almost as an afterthought – in the end zone like a rich man’s ODU, concession bottlenecks, and worst of all, a bunch of sycophant fans who act like it’s a gift from above when it has to be one of the worst stadiums in all of the P5.<\/p>\n

The Heels running a flea flicker against an FCS foe. The great, old-school UNC fan in front of us actually turned around and said, “we should apologize for that, but it’s pretty clear the coaches thing JMU is a big problem right now.”<\/p>\n