JMU @ NOVA

[VUCats02]

Interesting Matchup here. What are your thoughts of the game? Both teams are 4-2, and both teams have had similar OOC FCS games. Who has a better resume right now at 4-2? JMU with their win at Va tech, but two out of three CAA games resulting in a loss, or Nova will their loss to Temple, and 2-1 CAA record? I have to think that Nova needs this game more than JMU does even though a loss would make JMU 1-3 in the CAA. It's a home game (homecoming) for Nova, and Nova still has to play the two CAA teams that JMU has already lost to. Neither team has a win over a top 25 CAA team yet. Nonetheless, it should be a lot closer than Nova's domination of JMU last year. Hope it's a good game and hope the cats can pull it out. I'm going to assume that Szczur won't play, and that if he does, it will just be an added bonus.

[R3TRO]

I'm very interested in this game. Will JMU's defense be able to slow down the Nova O? Going to be a good one!

[SkinsWizDukes]

If we play like we have the past four weeks then VU wins by 17+.

Mickey is closing practice this week so I'm hoping that means changes are coming. If we actually try to run a competent offense and Dudzik stops being atrocious then hopefully it will be a close one. Still debating on whether or not I will be making the trip.

[SideLine Shooter]

Talley and his boys will smoke'm.

[jmufan999]

we're still undefeated on the road this year, so we do play with confidence away from home. if we don't turn the ball over and have fewer penalties than VU, we will be in the game at the end.

[YoUDeeMan]

we're still undefeated on the road this year, so we do play with confidence away from home. if we don't turn the ball over and have fewer penalties than VU, we will be in the game at the end.

Nova should roll by 2-3 TDs in this one.

[heath]

JMU is struggling on offense PERIOD! Question is........Looking at the remaining schedule,and assuming the Dukes can't find the endzone,will a 7-4 record get them in? NOVA, UMass, UR ,W&M and Maine left and they still have to win 3 of those. Still a team nobody wants to play in the playoffs........if they make it.

[BlueHenSinfonian]

I'm rooting for JMU on this one, but given Nova's performance against Maine, I'm not predicting a guaranteed win by any stretch.

[UNH Fanboi]

In the CAA everyone is dangerous and capable of beating anyone on AGS, but Delaware and Nova are, in my opinion, the only two teams that have demonstrated that they have the complete package. I think Nova's win over Maine may end up marking the turning point of their season and the beginning of another run at the title. JMU, on the on the other hand, is mostly a paper tiger that is still riding the hype from their win over VT. Immediately after that game I questioned how good they really were given the one-dimensionality of their offense, but very few people listened. Sorry, but it's not 2008 and Drew Dudzik is not Rodney Landers. JMU has a great defense that will keep this game close, but Nova has more talent at nearly every position. I think they'll will run away with this game at some time in the 3rd quarter.

[JMU2004]

Defense wins championships....but they can't play both ways.

JMU will be missing 9-10 starters this week. Yes, you read that number correctly...40-45% are out.

Nova in a laugher I'm afraid to say.

[NovaWildcat]

Defense wins championships....but they can't play both ways.

JMU will be missing 9-10 starters this week. Yes, you read that number correctly...40-45% are out.

Nova in a laugher I'm afraid to say.

Jeez, I thought we had the injury bug pretty bad. About 5 starters out.

Our offense has finally learned how to play without Szczur. Norman White has become a legitimate WR and our backfield options are looking good with Ball, Wells and Babbaro. If Whitney starts to air it out I don't know how this group can be stopped...and if Szczur comes back I think we're golden.

How are JMU's WRs? Seems as if our biggest weakness on D is our DBs and the deep ball. From the sounds of it, JMUs offense has been a major issue...

Neither team is OUT with a loss, so its not like this is do or die. But 3 losses for either team gives very little leeway for slip ups later considering each has a tough road ahead.

Nova plays very well at home (despite normally poor attendance) and this week should be close to a sellout because it's Homecoming. Tough to see the Cats dropping this one after the display last week against Maine.

[heath]

Defense wins championships....but they can't play both ways.

JMU will be missing 9-10 starters this week. Yes, you read that number correctly...40-45% are out.

Nova in a laugher I'm afraid to say.

Glad Butch Davis at UNC doesn't feel the same as you, they are kickn butt with backups that were waiting for their opportunity

[Ud1Hens]

Any word if sczurzceuzczer is playing?

[NovaWildcat]

Pure speculation, but it seems like he wasn't even considered for last week, so I doubt we'll see him against JMU.

[BlueHenSinfonian]

Any word if sczurzceuzczer is playing?

I had to look up the proper spelling of his name... Szczur, how is that pronounced? (honestly, I'm curious)

[soccerguy315]

I had to look up the proper spelling of his name... Szczur, how is that pronounced? (honestly, I'm curious)

caesar, like the Roman emperors (I think)

[VUCats02]

correct soccerguy. "All Hail Szczur"

Like I said before, I'm assuming he will not be playing this week. And even when Szczur starts to come back, he will probably be in a limited number of plays and won't be returning kicks until much later in the season.

[JMUNJ08]

Our problem against UNH was we left our D out to dry in the second half. Our offense became bland and had a couple 3 and out type drives while UNH put together some long possessions winding our D who lost a DL starter in the 2ndQ. We had chances in the first half to break the game open but never did and it cost us.

Dudzik likes to throw the deep ball but who knows if its close enough for the DB let alone the WR to catch it. If he's dialed in, I like our chances. If not, our OL isn't as big/deep/dominating as year's past to have our bread and butter running game on all cylinders.

I give us a chance to win maybe 45% because we def aren't last year's team and AGS we can pull this out.

[VUCats02]

I think it's pretty safe to say that Nova's corners and safeties will be playing deep coverage and not let anything get over them. If JMU can execute on short, 5-7 yard pass plays, and continue to do that the whole game, they should be able to move the ball. Nova's secondary typically doesn't play very tight defense, and they'll make you drive the ball down the field and hopefully eventually make a mistake - rather than give up a big pass play.

[alexale23]

GAME STREAM

http://ohlulz.com/ncaaf/flash.php?lulz=rtmp://cp98724.live.edgefcs.net:1935/live&id=nova_m-footbl@31942

[R3TRO]

Can anyone give a brief recap of this game? Looking at the box score, it appears to have been a close game?

[lsu2469]

R3TRO- It was a very close game. Nova missed two field goals and fumbled the ball on the JMU 2 yard line with a minute 1:30 to go in the game. It was fourth and 1 and they went for it, possibly because the kicker was already 0 for 2. JMU missed a field goal of their own. Their touchdown was a result of a nice catch and run that went for about 50 yards or so. Right after the second half started. I think most people would agree that the referees were awful. It didn't seem like they knew what they were doing half the time along with the clock guy. He didn't seem to know when to start the clock or stop the clock. JMU had a chance to tie the game with .1 sec on the clock (a ref decision) from 40 yards out but ball was picked off in the endzone.

[VUCats02]

It was a very close game and a defensive struggle for the most part. Nova had a very nice drive for their first TD, and scored on a long TD pass for the 2nd one - both which came in the first half. JMU answered in the 2nd half with a nice drive for a TD on their first possession. In the first half, both kickers missed less than 35 yard field goals, and in the 2nd half, nova missed a twenty-something yard field goal. JMU had a drive start at their own one yard line in the 2nd half, and had about a 10 play, 7 minute drive, but only got 30 yards on the whole drive, partly due to penalties. For the last 2 minutes or so, the officiating was chaotic. The ref's microphone wasn't working, so if he needed the game clock to be changed, he had to leave the field and use a telephone to get the message through. They didn't seem to know what was going on on JMU's last drive. Like LSU said, nova had the ball on JMU's 2 yard line, with a 4th and 1, and went for it, due to the lack of field goal production earlier in the game, and on the play they fumbled it and JMU recovered at their own 6 yard line with about 1:45 to go. They drove the ball to Nova's 35 yard line, and somehow they had 1 second left to run another play.

It was a pretty ugly game but I'll take the win. Szczur did not play again.

[mcveyrl]

R3TRO- It was a very close game. Nova missed two field goals and fumbled the ball on the JMU 2 yard line with a minute 1:30 to go in the game. It was fourth and 1 and they went for it, possibly because the kicker was already 0 for 2. JMU missed a field goal of their own. Their touchdown was a result of a nice catch and run that went for about 50 yards or so. Right after the second half started. I think most people would agree that the referees were awful. It didn't seem like they knew what they were doing half the time along with the clock guy. He didn't seem to know when to start the clock or stop the clock. JMU had a chance to tie the game with .1 sec on the clock (a ref decision) from 40 yards out but ball was picked off in the endzone.

On the clock issue, what happened was that JMU completed a pass for a first down, but the clock continued to tick down to 0. So, the refs put 2 seconds back on the clock and JMU lined up to spike the ball, which they did in less than two seconds, but the clock kept running after they spiked it, so the refs had to make a decision to put a second back on the clock. I couldn't tell whether to blame the refs or the clock guy, but as others have said, it was a mess.