HARRISONBURG – As he entered the post-game interview area, James Madison football coach Mickey Matthews looked forlorn.
“I think somebody said we won,” Matthews said after his Dukes opened the newly-renovated Bridgeforth Stadium with a lackluster 14-9 win over Central Connecticut State. “You’d probably have a hard time convincing our staff and our players of that right now.”
JMU is 1-1 and – at times in its first two games – has shown all the necessary ability to return to the playoffs. Unfortunately, it hasn’t put it all together yet, leaving many to wonder just what kind of team the Dukes will be in 2011.
Here’s a look back at Saturday’s win that lacked that winning feeling.
First down: What’s wrong with the offense?
JMU’s offense put up just two scores against an overmatched CCSU defense. And while the performance may have had Dukes’ fans ready to jump off that flashy new upper deck at Bridgeforth Stadium, the offense really deserves a mixed review.
A week after being completely unable to move the ball against North Carolina’s hulking defensive front, the Dukes mauled Central Connecticut’s defensive line and piled up 342 rushing yards. New running back Dae’Quan Scott looked lost a week ago, literally running into quarterback Justin Thorpe on his first play. Saturday, Scott churned out 138 yards, averaged 6.9 yards per carry and scored the game-clinching touchdown out of the Wildcat package.
But if all that meant JMU’s glass of purple kool-aid was half full, the ineptitude of the passing game smashed that glass on the kitchen floor.
Thorpe, who looked sharp throwing the ball against UNC, was just 5-for-11 with two interceptions, one an underthrown deep post that could have gone for a touchdown and the other a forced throw over the middle into double coverage.
“He made a lot of rookie mistakes tonight,” Matthews said. “Justin made a lot of rookie mistakes. He hadn’t played in a year, two years. And I think he’s going to make some mistakes.”
The Dukes also didn’t get tight end Brian Barlow involved as much as last week, when he caught five passes.
The running game made progress, while the passing attack regressed. JMU has one more non-conference to put it all together. That comes Saturday at Liberty.
Second down: A week after getting slapped by UNC, did the Dukes’ show they will be a top-of-the-line defense?
Well, that question hasn’t been totally answered. JMU was playing an opponent with just 36 scholarships (fully-funded I-AA teams like the Dukes use 63) and they gave up a late touchdown drive.
Through two games, JMU hasn’t come up with one quarterback sack.
But the Dukes were miles better against the Blue Devils than they were against the Tar Heels. Sophomore middle linebacker Stephon Robertson continues to be a tackling machine and cornerback Leavander Jones not only played well in coverage, he also dropped some big-time hits Saturday.
Jones insisted the defense wasn’t out to prove anything by drilling CCSU ball carriers.
“We just go out and play. If big hits come, they come,” Jones said. “We just go out and try to be the best defense in the country. We have the ability to be and we’re just trying to work towards that every day.”
Third down: What happened to the ball security?
Against UNC, JMU didn’t commit a turnover. But Saturday against Central Connecticut, the Dukes turned the ball over every way they could. Seriously. In 13 years of covering college football I’d never seen a team cough up the ball on offense, defense and special teams in the same game.
But the Dukes did just that Saturday. Thorpe threw the two interceptions. Running back Jordan Anderson had a costly fumble near the goal line in the third quarter.
Return man Lee Reynolds fumbled while running back a kickoff and cornerback Taveion Cuffee – after intercepting a pass – gave it right back fumbling on the return.
The turnovers basically negated all the yards JMU was pounding out on the ground. Better ball security – like it had against UNC – will be a must as the Dukes address their offensive issues.
Punts: Junior defensive tackle Sean O’Neill injured his knee and will likely miss the rest of the season, Matthews said. … The announced crowd of 25,102 was (obviously) a stadium record. … This week’s opponent, Liberty, routed Robert Morris 38-7 in the Flames’ home opener. They drew 15,805 in Lynchburg.
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