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Just to make sure we don’t forget like the last time College Gameday was in town, there’s an actual football game Saturday afternoon at Bridgeforth. Against a really tough opponent that starts the “real” part of the season for the Dukes.<\/p>\nJust to make sure we don’t forget like the last time College Gameday was in town, there’s an actual football game Saturday afternoon at Bridgeforth. Against a really tough opponent that starts the “real” part of the season for the Dukes.<\/p>\n
The Basics<\/strong><\/p>\n #11 Villanova Wildcats (4-2, 2-1 CAA) at #1 James Madison Dukes (5-0, 2-0 CAA), 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Bridgeforth<\/p>\n Weather: Sunny 77 degrees, 80% humidity<\/p>\n Coverage\u00a0: CBS Sports Digital Game of the Week, this is JMU’s only appearance this season on the CAA’s new “flagship” broadcast. The JMU Sports site links to a “404 error” message.\u00a0Thankfully, it looks like this may be on MASN2 in most places.<\/p>\n How Villanova Can Win<\/strong><\/p>\n Shut down the Dukes running game and force turnovers. Villanova has given up basically zippy running yards on the year so you know their odd 3-3-5 stack defense will be geared up to attack the Dukes bread and butter. If they can do that and force the types of mistakes in the passing game that JMU has been prone to so far this year, they are probably better equipped to contain the Dukes than most teams. If you need proof, watch last year’s 20-7 slugfest again. On the other side, they have a gazillion injuries on offense so they’ll need to chip away and control the ball, which also would keep JMU off the field. The Wildcats will be starting\u00a0Redshirt freshman Jack Schetelich, who will get his second career start at quarterback. Three-year starter Zach Bednarczyk was injured on the opening series two weeks, underwent knee surgery this week.<\/p>\n How JMU Can Win<\/strong><\/p>\n Exceed Villanova’s intensity and play mistake-free ball. One of the toughest things this year for the Dukes has been matching the intensity of teams taking their shot at the champs. Hopefully with the big stage this week, JMU won’t have the problem and can start like they did in their FBS win over ECU. If the Dukes play their game, they’re simply better than the current Villanova team but this is still a squad that has beaten Maine and Towson the last two weeks by a combined 55-9 and is incredibly stingy defensively. The Wildcats lost two defensive players to the NFL last year and are injury-riddled on offense right now, but they’re more than capable of capitalizing if the Dukes make mistakes. Last week they blocked two punts – exactly the kind of thing the Dukes need to avoid. Week after week, we’ve been harping about JMU’s need to take better care of the football, and this week is no different.<\/p>\n Beer of the Week<\/strong><\/p>\n Pale Fire Brewing Co’s Village Green Double IPA – Not even sponsored, but on Gameday week, it had to be local and really, what are we all doing but meeting on our very own Village Green, the Quad! Honestly, this Double is probably best saved for the post-show\/pre-game tailgate (it’s thick and tasty), but join us after the game in going to see the incredible work Tim and Susan and their whole crew are doing downtown!<\/p>\n Official JMUSB Prediction<\/strong><\/p>\n Dukes 23, Wildcats 13 – Houston and a more mature squad do what the Dukes could not in 2015 – channel the Gameday adrenaline into the actual game – and the Dukes roll!<\/p>\n