{"id":8980,"date":"2016-10-20T06:58:09","date_gmt":"2016-10-20T10:58:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=8980"},"modified":"2016-10-20T22:48:15","modified_gmt":"2016-10-21T02:48:15","slug":"jmu-football-fan-confidence-poll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=8980","title":{"rendered":"JMU Football Fan Confidence Poll"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"schor-vs-tribe\"We’re smack in the middle of the Dukes’ bye week, so we thought it would be a good time to take the pulse of the fanbase. JMU currently sits atop the CAA Football standings with a perfect 4-0 record in league play. The Dukes are 6-1 overall, with a loss on the road to the ACC’s North Carolina Tarheels. The offense, behind QB Bryan Schor, has been very impressive. It’s a balanced attack thanks to some outstanding offensive line play. The run game\u00a0features\u00a0the downright dangerous duo of Khalid Abdullah and Cardon Johnson. And Schor has a number of talented receivers catching the ball including Brandon Ravenel and Terrance Alls. The unit is averaging over 500 yards and 44.2 points per game, both league bests.<\/p>\n

[polldaddy poll=9556732]And then we have the defense. Its per play averages are nearly the same as last year’s disappointing unit. At times, the defense has looked vastly improved. Other times, it looks like a repeat of 2015. One positive sign is that this\u00a0year’s D can get off the field. Under Everett Withers the JMU defense let opponents convert 45.7% of 3rd downs. That was the worst in the league. This year, JMU is only letting opponents convert 37.5% of 3rd downs. As a unit, the D has managed to put the clamps on the opponent for stretches, but not a full 60 minutes most weeks. It really seems to have\u00a0developed the absolutely ugly habit of going to sleep once the offense gets out to a lead. Whether or not its simply a case of losing focus, or a sign of major problems is still to be determined.<\/p>\n

In short, the offense has been better than most fans expected. The defense has show flashes, but its disappearing act has many concerned. 6-1 and 4-0 in CAA play with two very tough games at Richmond and at Nova remaining. Barring some sort of catastrophe against Rhode Island or Elon and it’s safe to say the Dukes are playoff bound. In fact, if they win out, they’ll be in the running for a top 4 seed.<\/p>\n

We think things are looking up. But we’re curious how you feel. Vote in our poll to let us know how confident you are in the Dukes’ chances going forward. It’s a scale from 1 – utter disaster to 10 – championship.<\/p>\n