{"id":9060,"date":"2016-11-11T08:54:50","date_gmt":"2016-11-11T13:54:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=9060"},"modified":"2016-11-11T08:54:50","modified_gmt":"2016-11-11T13:54:50","slug":"jmusb-game-preview-10-jmu-at-villanova","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=9060","title":{"rendered":"JMUSB Game Preview #10: JMU at Villanova"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Dukes have a shot at something real. A legit, outright CAA title, a chance to run the table in the conference if they can clean up next week at home vs. Elon, and absolutely great shot at a top 4 seed at the least are all on the line during this trip to Philly. A loss drops them into a split championship situation with at least Nova and maybe UNH and likely out of the top 4 seeds, a place they moved into with yesterday’s second release of the Selection Committee’s rankings<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Basics<\/strong>: #4 JMU (8-1, 6-0 CAA) at #11 Villanova (7-2, 5-1 CAA) 1:00 p.m. Saturday, Villanova Stadium, Radnor, PA<\/p>\n

Weather: Sunny, 49 degrees<\/p>\n

Coverage: Nearly None. You can pay $9.99 for a monthly subscription to the Villanova stream here<\/a> but don’t forget to call and cancel right after the game. We’ve done it before and will this time and it’s usually pretty easy. CAA Action – It’s Fantastic! (sorry, couldn’t resist)<\/p>\n

\"Wait,

Wait, we have football?!<\/p><\/div>\n

A Special Ending for a Villanova Legend and a CAA All-Timer<\/strong>: Please allow us to put all snark aside for a moment and discuss Villanova Head Coach Andy Talley. Villanova’s revered leader will be coaching his last regular-season home game Saturday and there is simply no way to understate what he has meant to their program. He brought them back from not having a program, dealth with a \u00a0complete lack of student and fan support throughout this tenure, and yet somehow has recruited and produced tons of truly great players (Brian Westbrook, Brian Finneran, Matt Szcur all come to mind in just the recent past), consistently had ‘Nova in contention both in the CAA and nationally, brought them a national championship ’09, and seemingly been a good guy doing it throughout his time on the Main Line. In fact, his efforts (with a big assist from Szcur when he was on campus) with his Bone Marrow Foundation<\/a> have expanded throughout the CAA and turned into a real force for good in ways that go so far beyond the field. We encourage you to click that link, check it out, and see if there is something you can do to help. While we hope your team doesn’t go full Win One for the Gipper this week, and we won’t miss your crabby competitiveness on the field or the recruiting trail (all said with love), we sincerely congratulate you and Villanova and wish you the best in whatever comes next.<\/p>\n

How Villanova Can Win<\/strong>:By doing their thing on defense and never missing opportunities on offense. There’s almost no doubt that the Wildcats will be the best defensive unit the Dukes have faced all year. Their tricky 3-3-5 scheme has given the Dukes fits for years and this year it’s stocked with talented, smart, and as always, well-coached players. It would not be surprising to see the Dukes have one of the their lowest outputs on offense this season. But the Dukes are getting to the 20’s no matter what and somehow Villanova’s got to find a way to scrape together enough points to keep up. That means never missing a chance to score or turning the ball over. The ‘Cats playaction game is strong and set up the type of short-pass, catch-and-run chances that have hurt the Dukes, but QB Bednarczyk and his receivers better not miss when it’s there.<\/p>\n

How JMU Can Win:\u00a0<\/strong>By not getting frustrated on offense, continuing to improve on defense, and being sound in the kicking game. The Dukes are simply too good on offense to be held down for 60 minutes, but they may experience some frustration they haven’t faced since at least the second half against UNC-CH earlier this year and they need to hand tough mentally and avoid turnovers. On defense, they’ve got to stay home and not overcommit, which has been an issue this year. Villanova is not going to out-athlete them, but they’re so well coached that they will find your weak spots and you’ve got to limit the damage. First downs will be found, but the Dukes can’t get out of position and allow those to be 30 yard chunks. And make some kicks wind or no wind.<\/p>\n

JMUSB Beer of the Week<\/strong>: Can never go wrong in PA with a Victory Prima Pils. An old standby we’ve featured here before, but truly an exceptional version of the style. Great daydrinker too!<\/p>\n

Official JMUSB Prediction<\/strong>: Dukes 27, Cats 23 in a wild one.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n