JMU or Nova?

[Wildcat80]

Of course I like UNH vs Umass....but what about the two programs reeling from losses last week? JMU is home so that might give them the edge. Nova may be down to one QB...and he played poorly against us. Can nova win on the road---you know outside of Philly??xcoffeex

[Dukie95]

Sorry...why might Nova be down to one QB? I must have missed something.

[JMU DUUUKES LAW]

Nova has 1 QB, thats 1 more than we have :(

[Dukie95]

Well, they've been using 3, if you include Szczur in the Wildcat (yeah, I know I butchered his name)

[93henfan]

Nova

[YoUDeeMan]

The PETA game of the week.

Do you want the Kitties to get beat down or the royal JMU Duke Dogs?

JMU, with 2 losses already, has their season on the line. Lose to nova this week and you might as well put this dog out of its mystery. Road trips to W&M, UD, and UMass, will end as most stories do when dogs wander onto roads...at least one loss.

On the other hand, cat lovers everywhere must be having a fit as Talley, without mercy, continues to put one ball in front of a two headed kitty. Who the heck is their go to QB anyway? Lose to JMU and nova’s playoff hopes take a hit. The one dimensional Wildcats still have to face a nasty group of Spiders on the road and then a steel cage match with some Fightin’ Blue Hens.

A betting man such as Vick would pick the dogs. He’s probably right. Moats and his pack are going to attack and the Wildcat’s backfield will get eaten for lunch while nova’s D will allow enough Duke dogs to get loose to win the game.

17-13 JMU.

[UncleSam]

Villanova by two TDs.

[mcveyrl]

Villanova by two TDs.

I'm gonna need some 'splainin' on this one. JMU turned the ball over three times and was still 5 yards from beating UR. How does 'Nova win by two TDs? I'm not saying that JMU will win (Lord knows we've got offensive issues), but I think the defense keeps it closer than this.

[UncleSam]

I'm gonna need some 'splainin' on this one. JMU turned the ball over three times and was still 5 yards from beating UR. How does 'Nova win by two TDs? I'm not saying that JMU will win (Lord knows we've got offensive issues), but I think the defense keeps it closer than this.

I'm not impressed with your QB situation and you will need a good passing game to stay with Nova.

[Dukie95]

I'm gonna need some 'splainin' on this one. JMU turned the ball over three times and was still 5 yards from beating UR. How does 'Nova win by two TDs? I'm not saying that JMU will win (Lord knows we've got offensive issues), but I think the defense keeps it closer than this.

Yeah, we may well lose this game, but we just don't get blown out at home...not sure why. The last time we lost at home by more than 8 was in 2003.

Edit: And even the 8 difference was unusual. All our other home losses since 2003 were by 3 or less.

[mcveyrl]

I'm not impressed with your QB situation and you will need a good passing game to stay with Nova.

Trust me, I'm not too impressed either. I saw it in person and it wasn't great (although I think Thorpe is still a better passer than Landers). I was thinking more from the point of our defense.

Do you think Nova will fair better than UR offensively? Which also brings up an ancillary point: Do you think Nova is better than UR? I'm guessing the answer is yes, which is fine and I think it's a possibility, I was just trying to understand the prediction.

[Ivytalk]

Nova in a close one.xpeacex

[tribefootballfan]

5 yards or 95 yards how do you know that JMU would have scored?? again why is it that the only reason that JMU gets beat is turnovers??? Thats the same for any team, they loss T.O.
stat and you don't win games!!!!

[mcveyrl]

5 yards or 95 yards how do you know that JMU would have scored?? again why is it that the only reason that JMU gets beat is turnovers??? Thats the same for any team, they loss T.O.
stat and you don't win games!!!!

You misread my post. Richmond beat us because they were the better team. Good teams don't make turnovers and we turned it over. My point on the turnovers was that our defense withstood those to have a good game and we were five yards from winning (regardless of whether we would've scored, we were that close). I just wanted to know whether he thought 'Nova would have that much better of a game offensively against our D.

EDIT: I love how some posters on here will try to spin every JMU post into a whiner...anybody that's paid attention to this site knows I'm anything but.

[JMU2004]

5 yards or 95 yards how do you know that JMU would have scored?? again why is it that the only reason that JMU gets beat is turnovers??? Thats the same for any team, they loss T.O.
stat and you don't win games!!!!

I agree...however, JMU has to be leading in the "turnovers inside the 10 yard line while driving in for the winning score against the #1 team with under a minute left" stat.

Most at the game would agree with this....if JMU hands the ball off in that situation, we win. The OL was just killing the UR defense on that final drive.

[jmufan999]

You misread my post. Richmond beat us because they were the better team. Good teams don't make turnovers and we turned it over. My point on the turnovers was that our defense withstood those to have a good game and we were five yards from winning (regardless of whether we would've scored, we were that close). I just wanted to know whether he thought 'Nova would have that much better of a game offensively against our D.

EDIT: I love how some posters on here will try to spin every JMU post into a whiner...anybody that's paid attention to this site knows I'm anything but.

that's the best point i've read all year. literally. except i'd argue it's not just JMU, it's any team that consistently wins. and more specifically, message boards in general. people get very brave with their comments on message boards that they might not say in person.

[jmufan999]

just to clarify, i mean that people are much less agreeable online than they are in person... generally.

[YoUDeeMan]

EDIT: I love how some posters on here will try to spin every JMU post into a whiner...

xrolleyesx

Stop your whining.





















xsmiley_wix :D

[MacThor]

Most at the game would agree with this....if JMU hands the ball off in that situation, we win. The OL was just killing the UR defense on that final drive.

Um, no. Richmond's red zone defense stiffens considerably. That's why they have one of the top scoring D's in the country. Heck, if you take out all the points their punt team gives up (snaps over the P's head for safeties, blocks for TDs, returns) they'd measure up even better. I don't think it's a given JMU scores a TD there if they just hand off the ball against UR's D selling out against the run. At some point the "child" might have been forced to make a play with his arm.

It's all moot anyway. They didn't make plays in the second half.

However, while it's tough to picture Villanova in a walk @ JMU, the fact remains that JMU only scored 3 points last week with Thorpe at the helm, and the 'cats offense may be a bit better than the Spiders'.

[GannonFan]

nova wins this one pretty easily, and this might be the game that JMU finally has a large margin of defeat at home. The only thing stopping that is that nova's offense just isn't very prolific - it's hard for them to score a lot of points. But defensively, JMU's offense isn't going to give them fits as Thorpe just isn't a threat to really throw the ball, and you've got to be able to throw the ball a little to have a chance to beat nova. It may just be the start of a long, tough season for JMU. I think W&M may finally get a win over the Dukes, and winning at UD is a tall order, especially with a surging Pat Devlin. Heck, winning against UMass in Amherst isn't going to be easy either. With 3 losses already, it's hard to see JMU as a legit playoff threat with those games ahead of them. Imagine the odds you could've gotten at the start of the year on JMU ending up with perhaps 7 losses? It's tough living in the CAA. xpeacex

[UncleSam]

Trust me, I'm not too impressed either. I saw it in person and it wasn't great (although I think Thorpe is still a better passer than Landers). I was thinking more from the point of our defense.

Do you think Nova will fair better than UR offensively? Which also brings up an ancillary point: Do you think Nova is better than UR? I'm guessing the answer is yes, which is fine and I think it's a possibility, I was just trying to understand the prediction.

Yes, I do think Nova is better than Richmond.. Nova has a much better running game than UR and Matt Szczur is a real difference maker for them.

[Dukie95]

Does Nova have any good people tweeting in game? If you're interested in JMU updates, follow:

VaSportsPen - Reporter for the local paper
BreezeSports - School paper
JMUSports - SID

[mcveyrl]

Yes, I do think Nova is better than Richmond.. Nova has a much better running game than UR and Matt Szczur is a real difference maker for them.

Fair enough, you might be right. I think our run D is better than our passing D. And Szczur is definitely somebody that could break it open.

[JMU Newbill]

I thought we were in for a long day against Richmond, but let's keep in mind, one TD was due to Dudzik, another TD was on special teams. You can't count on special teams to score every week, and now we can't count on Dudzik at all.

We likely will get a garbage td in the 4th, but I think nova wins fairly handily, maybe like 24-7.

[BigHouseClosedEnd]

Is Chris Whitney injured? I saw it referenced on another thread ... and now on this thread.

What's the deal?

If Whitney's out, I'll go with JMU. If not, I'll go with Nova. How's that?

[NovaWildcat]

Whitney's playing against JMU. He's healthy and starting. Even if he wasn't entirely healthy, he'd still be starting because Young stunk up the place that bad last weekend.

[JMU-MRD-DAD]

This Saturday's game could be a wet one if the forecast holds and on the chilly side. I'm sure Nova will be looking for revenge and JMU will be fighting for their lives. Should be a good one. I'm not counting the Dukes out yet!!

Go Dukes

[BDKJMU]

FWIW CAA stat comparison:

When JMU has the ball:
Rushing offense: 2nd. Nova rush defense: 4th
Passing offense : 12th. Nova pass defense: 11th. (After the 1st 2 games JMU has gone from #1 in the CAA in passing offense to dead last).
Passing efficiency: 3rd. Nova pass defense efficiency: 4th
Total offense: 6th. Nova total defense: 9th
Scoring offense: 7th. Nova scoring defense: 3rd

When Nova has the ball:
Rushing offense: 1st. JMU rush defense: 8th
Passing offense : 10th. JMU pass defense: 2nd
Passing efficiency: 4th. JMU pass defense efficiency: 3rd
Total offense: 4th. JMU total defense: 3rd
Scoring offense: 3rd. JMU scoring defense: 7th

http://www.nmnathletics.com/fls/8500/Stats/FB/2009/confldrs.htm

McGee #1 in the nation in KR avg. Szczur 5th:
http://web1.ncaa.org/mfb/natlRank.jsp?year=2009&rpt=IAA_playerkickret&site=org&div=IAA&dest=O

[SpidersSportsEditor]

After last week, I think both teams will be fired up, but JMU is playing for their lives, and doesn't want to lose at home two weeks in a row. I'll take JMU in a nail-biter. I think the D will step up and the O will want to pick up Thorpe after a tough game last week. I would be surprised if Nova blows out the Dukes, but if even if they do, Nov. 7 at Richmond will be the time to talk about whether they are better than UR.

[SoCalAg]

I also think JMU wins a tight one at home. They are desperate and at home. Gonna come down to the 4th Quarter.

[JMU-MRD-DAD]

I also think JMU wins a tight one at home. They are desperate and at home. Gonna come down to the 4th Quarter.

Mickey will have to pull out all the tricks for this one.

Go Dukes

[LacesOut]

Rooting for 'Nova!