#17 Maine @ #6 JMU

[jmufan999]

Should be a great game in beautiful 75 degree weather.

CAA O-Player of the Week RB Pushaun Brown of Maine matched up against D-POW LB Pat Williams of JMU.

Thoughts?

[JmuSkinsfan]

Tough game. I see JMU pulling this one out at home. Still not sure on the read on our team ... we appear to be near dominant now on defense ... and we have shut down everyone's running game, so I don't see why that would be different against Maine. I like our odds, though, and think we should win by 10-21 points.

JMU: 27
Maine: 10

[jmufan999]

I have a lot of respect for Maine, as do many JMU fans. I'm just not sure that they've faced O and D lines as athletic as JMU's. It's one thing for them to put 8-9 in the box, but if they don't have sustained drives of their own, their D will be worn out by the end of the game anyway. 7 step drops will be difficult for them because of the speed we have at DE. The short passing game would probably be their best bet, maybe mix in a few screens and draws here and there to slow down our pass rush.

Jordan Anderson (dare I say it?) might (MIGHT) just be the best RB on the team. Jace is definitely not Justin, though. Talented, just very green. Our running game will be just fine. Jace just needs to be smart with the ball and convert a few third downs. As good as Maine is at running the ball, I'd still rather not see them drop back 40 times in this game. I think we can stop any non-triple option team from running the ball (I'd have to see us play a wishbone team before I made that statement). Take away the UNC blowout, and the fact we finally have DT Emmons back, and this defense looks just like the 2010 defense, if not better.

JMU 24
Maine 14

[ccd494]

I have a lot of respect for Maine, as do many JMU fans. I'm just not sure that they've faced O and D lines as athletic as JMU's.

Pittsburgh?

[JMUNJ08]

In Orono, I got Maine. JMU never can outclass them up there. In the new Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg? I think JMU should be able to pull it out. By alot? convincingly? I don't think so as we have been pretty methodical ourselves on Offense. Not going to give a score yet, but I like us to take this one but people will see Maine as a top tier CAA team in a tough road test.

[JMUNJ08]

Pittsburgh?

I wouldn't call Pitt 'athletic' xlolx The Big East only has one 'athletic' team, WVU...

Bigger? definitely...

[ngineer]

Huge chance for Maine to really make a statement. Beating the Dukes "down there" would be saying something. I think Maine will keep this within one score so that a turnover could be the difference.

[MR. CHICKEN]

Pittsburgh?

16159...AH'M HIP...BLACK BEAR........PITT....BEAT BCS #16...SOUFF FLORIDAH...PANTHER O & D LINES....LESS AFFLETIC DAN...JMU'S...xlolxxlolxxlolx.........AWQ!

[lydiabixby]

I'm a New Hampshire fan but pay a lot of attention to our neighbor team, The Black Bears. I think the thread here has it about right. Now if they could get Ya'll up there to Orono on a cold and snowy day might even the chances some.

That cold and snow plus the remoteness makes it hard to recruit and is a very real limiting factor to the Maine Program. Unless you are a Canadian or Minnesotan Hockey Player.

[jmufan999]

Not going to give a score yet

Is there something you're expecting to change in the next 4 days?

[Dane96]

I wouldn't call Pitt 'athletic' xlolx The Big East only has one 'athletic' team, WVU...

Bigger? definitely...

You clearly haven't watched Pitt this season. They are athletic on the line. They absolutely handled a really athletic front line of USF, a team that plays with a dual option QB so there is a ton of zone blocking (USF plays very similar to FSU). On offense, they have a wide-open scheme, with Todd Dodge running the QB's. One thing about Todd Dodge...his teams (and offensive schemes) are wide-open and full of athletes. Forgetting him, Coach Graham has ridiculously athletic offensive sets that are built to run scores up. You do that with athletes, and while many of the stable are Dave W.'s leftovers...the cupboard was not bare athletically.

[danefan]

I wouldn't call Pitt 'athletic' xlolx The Big East only has one 'athletic' team, WVU...

Bigger? definitely...

I guess you didn't watch the USF game last weekend?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgPhbaWr2YA&feature=player_embedded#at=69

[jmufan999]

You guys are really focusing on Pitt. I was comparing us to other FCS teams. Obviously, I wasn't clear enough. I'm sure Pitt is more athletic at the line of scrimmage, and they should be. My point was that JMU has the most athletic lines (combined) I've seen in over a decade. Let's just go with that statement. Forget who Maine has played.

Can we go back to talking about JMU/Maine now? Please?

[danefan]

You guys are really focusing on Pitt. I was comparing us to other FCS teams. Obviously, I wasn't clear enough. I'm sure Pitt is more athletic at the line of scrimmage, and they should be. My point was that JMU has the most athletic lines (combined) I've seen in over a decade. Let's just go with that statement. Forget who Maine has played.

Can we go back to talking about JMU/Maine now? Please?

Yes, JMU will be the best FCS team that Maine has faced this year. Agreed.

[Spiderbone]

I think it will be a great game and would like to see Maine win ( in my selfish interest of helping out the spiders down the stretch) HOWEVER, that stadium is tough to play in and if the line play for JMU is as good as it was last week Maine is in for a long beautiful sunny 75 degree day in Harrisonburg.

[JmuSkinsfan]

I think it will be a great game and would like to see Maine win ( in my selfish interest of helping out the spiders down the stretch) HOWEVER, that stadium is tough to play in and if the line play for JMU is as good as it was last week Maine is in for a long beautiful sunny 75 degree day in Harrisonburg.

I actually think JMU beating Maine may help Richmond more than the other way around. Right now JMU is 2-0 ... and should be favored in most games here on out. The season is early, so I can see why you'd still root for a slip up for the Dukes, but I'd think at this point, Maine losing and dropping to 1-1 in conference helps you out more in the long-run. Plus, if JMU goes 7-1 or 8-0 in conference, your loss to us doesn't look bad ... but if we were to falter and go 4-4/5-3 then it would look like a bad loss.

[mainejeff]

If Maine has 1 turnover or less and it is 72 degrees or cooler........

JMU 23 Maine 16

If Maine has 2 turnovers or more and it is 73 degrees or hotter.........

JMU 37 Maine 16

[JmuSkinsfan]

If Maine has 1 turnover or less and it is 72 degrees or cooler........

JMU 23 Maine 16

If Maine has 2 turnovers or more and it is 73 degrees or hotter.........

JMU 37 Maine 16

Mainejeff ... any way you can give us JMU fans a little insight on what to expect offensively? I know your RB has had a good season, but are you run heavy? Pass heavy? solid mix? How is your quarterback?

Also, are you planning on making the trip down?

[jmufan999]

If Maine has 1 turnover or less and it is 72 degrees or cooler........

JMU 23 Maine 16

If Maine has 2 turnovers or more and it is 73 degrees or hotter.........

JMU 37 Maine 16

If I remember right, Maine has done a really good job in the turnover margin department. I'm in a break from a meeting so I don't have time to look it up. But historically, JMU has struggled with penalties/turnovers. Both have been improved since the CCSU game, but those things can happen and would really hurt our chances.

[SpeedkingATL]

With the Apps not playing this weekend I hope I can pick this game up online. Haven't seen either of these teams play and both certainly have strong playoff potential.

[JmuSkinsfan]

TV Highlights from JMU/UR

http://www.youtube.com/user/CAAFootball#p/c/0/Z7PWcl0xo2k

[jmufan999]

With the Apps not playing this weekend I hope I can pick this game up online. Haven't seen either of these teams play and both certainly have strong playoff potential.

If you have DirecTV, I believe it's on channel 630 which is CSNE.

[Ivytalk]

I think Maine will lose, but by a single-digit margin regardless of the weather.

[JMU2004]

If Maine has 1 turnover or less and it is 72 degrees or cooler........

JMU 23 Maine 16

If Maine has 2 turnovers or more and it is 73 degrees or hotter.........

JMU 37 Maine 16

Jeff...can you link me to the Maine message board?

[Dignan]

With the Apps not playing this weekend I hope I can pick this game up online. Haven't seen either of these teams play and both certainly have strong playoff potential.

If you can't get it on TV JMU's Madizone is hugely improved this year. It's finally in HD and they've stopped showing students texting in the stands constantly.

[jmufan999]

If you can't get it on TV JMU's Madizone is hugely improved this year. It's finally in HD and they've stopped showing students texting in the stands constantly.

I watched Mickey's postgame presser after the UR game and I am with you on this one. I hooked up my laptop to my HDTV and the picture was awesome. Definite improvement.

[jmufan999]

Shameless bump. You didn't think I was going to let such a big game be relegated to page 2, did you?

[mainejeff]

Jeff...can you link me to the Maine message board?

http://www.mbr.org/phpBB3/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=77&t=28356

[UNHFan]

Wow! I am so paying for the feed to this game! Ill root for the Black Bears this weekend and then after that??? YOUR FREDO TO ME!!! (Godfather humor)

[owascoag]

Maine's secondary was impressive last week against Delaware. Sounds like they'll face a true test against JMU. A tough road stadium offered by them Dukes. Hope they can avoid turnovers. Maine has a good RB this year, that should help. This also seems like an experienced Maine team. Best start they've had in a while. Still think JMU will edge them out. I think it will be close.

[JMUNJ08]

Did anyone else catch that the game was in a Grantland article?

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7064098/oklahoma-vs-texas-letter-les-miles-hard-get-hunk

Couple cool facts too about Maine!

[jmufan999]

Maine's secondary was impressive last week against Delaware. Sounds like they'll face a true test against JMU. A tough road stadium offered by them Dukes. Hope they can avoid turnovers. Maine has a good RB this year, that should help. This also seems like an experienced Maine team. Best start they've had in a while. Still think JMU will edge them out. I think it will be close.

Shouldn't be an issue for the Black Bears. They're 4th in the nation at +6 in turnover differential; JMU is 52nd at only +1. That's the #1 way we could lose. Penalties would be another big one, but we seem to be slightly improved in that area (fingers crossed).

[JMU2004]

Gonna be a good game. Maine and JMU play a similar type of ball.

[henfan]

Has JMU discovered the forward pass yet? No? I like UMaine in this one.

[JMU2004]

The forward pass certainly helped UD against Maine....oh wait

[JMad03]

Has JMU discovered the forward pass yet? No? I like UMaine in this one.
Wofford passing game makes ours look like the NFL, and they're still winning games. If that's the only thing you're basing your decision on, you're in for a disappointment.

[whitey]

Has JMU discovered the forward pass yet? No? I like UMaine in this one.


JMU has over 1000 rushing yards in it's last four games. During that same span JMU has given up 245 yards on the ground. If it works, it works.

[henfan]

The forward pass certainly helped UD against Maine....oh wait

That's just it. UD had to pass because they couldn't run against UMaine's D-front. Everything I've seen from both teams this year leads me to believe that JMU won't run on them either.

[JMU2004]

That's just it. UD had to pass because they couldn't run against UMaine's D-front. Everything I've seen from both teams this year leads me to believe that JMU won't run on them either.

We'll see...it is def. strength vs. strength

[jmufan999]

That's just it. UD had to pass because they couldn't run against UMaine's D-front. Everything I've seen from both teams this year leads me to believe that JMU won't run on them either.

Can you define this? How many rushing yards will we get? Just curious since you've seen Maine play. Guessing I won't get a specific response on this but hope I'm wrong.

[bleedblue]

Is #11, for JMU, out for this weeks game?

[StrikeJMU]

80 yard TD run! 7-0 Dukes!

[rcny46]

Can any UMaine fan tell me the name of the fullback you guys had recently (Maine native).I thought he was impressive.I know he had some injury issues,and I didn't think he had graduated.Thanks.

[ccd494]

Can any UMaine fan tell me the name of the fullback you guys had recently (Maine native).I thought he was impressive.I know he had some injury issues,and I didn't think he had graduated.Thanks.

Turcotte. Retired, he still had eligibility, but had graduated and wanted to go to med school. Got married, moving on with his life.

[R3TRO]

Is there a free feed for this one?

[R3TRO]

Or would anyone care to share their login so I can watch? lol

[Gordon Shumway]

Is there a free feed for this one?

It's on CSNE in HD here in FL. Channel 630 on DirecTV.

[ccd494]

That is a horrible, horrible block in the back call.

[Gordon Shumway]

That is a horrible, horrible block in the back call.

You got that right. Maine just got screwed out of a TD.

[Terrierforlife]

I like the way JMU runs that rock. First time seeing them this year.

[unknown-swac]

Im watching this on CSS and there have been quite a few "questionable" calls.

[Terrierforlife]

To the wire!!

[unknown-swac]

Maine with the most guts of the season

[UMass922]

Holy crap, what a finish! Nice call Maine!

[paward]

Great Game, Good Football Day

[soccerguy315]

Maine went for 2 in OT

gutsy run by that guy for the conversion.

Final:
Maine - 25
JMU - 24

[Jackman]

Maine has balls. Big, furry black bear balls.

[wmmii]

Maine is for real, should move up to near Top 10 with wins here and Deleware

[Wildcat80]

Gutsy call.....reckless abandon on the score!!

[HensRock]

Not "NEAR" top 10.
IN top 10, in my opinion.

[UNH Fanboi]

Looks like Lehigh moves up at least one notch in the top ten standings

Why? Maine deserves to be ranked higher than Lehigh. No FCS losses and two big wins.

[Madisonian]

Great game. Hate to lose one like that, but Maine is clearly legit. Deserve a top 10 rank for sure.

[WrenFGun]

Maine deserves this. They've been near making a mark for a while. Good for them.

[jmufan]

They reminded a little bit of the 2008 JMU team. They're going to win the CAA. They're that good and they do deserve a top 10 rank.

[WrenFGun]

UNH Fanboi, then in that case Maine should also be ranked higher than UNH since the UNH win against Lehigh was due to a completely frivolous ref call in overtime.....

Yes..not like Lehigh had the ball in OT and didn't convert or anything.

[jmufan999]

Congrats to Maine, they played a great game and had a fantastic gameplan. Once again, our star DT gets hurt. He just can't stay healthy, ever. Not taking anything away from the Black Bears, though. They are extremely talented and executed their offense to perfection.

[Maine91]

I'm stunned, good job Maine. I'm glad to see Maine doing well again.

I'm 78 miles from JMU, what a great place to watch a game. Nice people, nice stadium.

[JmuSkinsfan]

Well I will eat crow. Maine is a very well rounded team and passed all over the JMU defense. Not at all a one dimensional team ... And gutsy call in OT.

[JMUNJ08]

I'm stunned, good job Maine. I'm glad to see Maine doing well again.

I'm 78 miles from JMU, what a great place to watch a game. Nice people, nice stadium.

Nice to see some more Black Bear fans join the board!

[Tribal]

Maine could very well be in the top 10 as 5 teams in front of them lost (#7, #9, #14, #15, and #17). All but one of those teams lost to ranked opponents.

[Wildcat80]

Congrats Bears!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bogus Megapardus]

Well done, Black Bears!

[Srdnaty]

Maine played well. I'm glad we won considering that block in the back call. Ref's totally missed that one. I will admit, it's a fast game and the ref may not have had the best angle. Other than that I think flags were fair. Maine did get called on offensive pi to kill a drive, but that was a good call. Radio announcers were pissed, but the refs got it right. JMU played well, especially with their backup qb. Anderson is nasty and seems like a really good sport, which is nice to see now a days. I saw him on several occasions credit a Maine defensive player for making a nice tackle on him. Good luck to JMU, and go Black Bears!

[Twentysix]

JMU dropped from #11 to #13 for me and Maine moved to #9.

one of the JMU fan's didnt like my ranking last week. I feel JMU justified it this week.

[th0m]

I think JMU's ranking last week was fine, just that Maine's was too low. But #9 and #13 seems a good slot for both teams I agree.

[JmuSkinsfan]

JMU's wins against Richmond and WM are looking less glamorous at this point ... but I think Maine is a legit top 10 team this year ... and losing in OT on a gutsy call that was probably a 50/50 play is not that bad. Both teams fought hard, and I actually think Jace Edwards stepped up as the team leader yesterday ... he played VERY well ... and Jordan Anderson shredded their defense with over 200 yards rushing. I think JMU has found its future star RB and he's only a sophmore ... 370+ yards the past 2 weeks ... which has essentially been 3 halves (did not play first half last week before reeling off 156 2nd half yards).

I think JMU is still good to go 8-3 ... 7-4 still expected ... Dukes should find themselves in the playoffs ... although their friends from the CAA joining them might not be the most familiar faces (Maine, Towson, ODU) + UNH

[mcveyrl]

Maine played well. I'm glad we won considering that block in the back call. Ref's totally missed that one. I will admit, it's a fast game and the ref may not have had the best angle. Other than that I think flags were fair. Maine did get called on offensive pi to kill a drive, but that was a good call. Radio announcers were pissed, but the refs got it right. JMU played well, especially with their backup qb. Anderson is nasty and seems like a really good sport, which is nice to see now a days. I saw him on several occasions credit a Maine defensive player for making a nice tackle on him. Good luck to JMU, and go Black Bears!

Did anybody see that call on TV? In real time it looked questionable, but I didn't see a replay on the big screen. At any rate, I think the better team won. Maine was wearing us out in the second half.

In a way, Maine reminds me of JMU in 2004, but with a better passing attack. Both lines are solid, good running back and a QB that just gets it done. We focused on the run and gave up too much of the pass, but you could tell they are flexible enough to change run-pass ratios at will.

[Srdnaty]

Did anybody see that call on TV? In real time it looked questionable, but I didn't see a replay on the big screen. At any rate, I think the better team won. Maine was wearing us out in the second half.

In a way, Maine reminds me of JMU in 2004, but with a better passing attack. Both lines are solid, good running back and a QB that just gets it done. We focused on the run and gave up too much of the pass, but you could tell they are flexible enough to change run-pass ratios at will.

Yes, I watch on tv and they got it wrong. I can see how the official got it wrong given his angle and the speed of the play. That call could have cost us the game, so I was upset. The comcast guys thought it was a bad call aswell.