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Game #2- James Madison Dukes @ Akron Zips


LZIp

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James Madison handled a bad Central Connecticut State team, but not as well as they should have if they expect to win against a FBS school, even if it is a questionably talented team like Akron. Birdsong's 10/18 passing performance won't get it done against Akron. The running game won't have as much production against a bigger defensive line.

I think UA will keep the scoring down, but it'll be interesting to see how Pohl and the running backs work against JM compared to UCF.

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Rob Ianello is the reason it happened.

Just stumbled upon this article. Our friend RI expected significant improvement in his second year. The scary thing is we heard the same things about Terry's team heading into this season. Let's hope it works out better for him.

Back to the JMU game. I still don't know what to expect from this team. Nothing from last week gave me confidence we'll win. Last season we had trouble containing running QB's so that aspect of the Dukes game concerns me. Honestly I just hope we win, and that there's more than 15k in the stands...

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Well, last week I correctly predicted UA would hold UCF to 38 points. But I also predicted the Zips would score 27, so I missed that by a tad :lol:

This is a tough game for me to visualize. The JMU board, for the most part, is quite confident (and a lot more active) heading into this one. The one concern some of them have is depth. So I REALLY hope the Zips play up-tempo to take advantage. This puts a fair amount of pressure on the offense, particularly KP16, to get off to a decent start. Nevertheless, I take TB at his word that we will see a more aggressive, looking downfield approach this week. And whoever is toting the rock needs to take advantage of the opportunities that are presented when the Dukes take some chances themselves, which they may do often (since TB is publicly stating his desire to open things up). I wouldn’t be surprised to see a little bit of “running back by committee”.

The Zip defensive game plan will no doubt be to force Birdsong to throw. I suspect Capi/James/Horner/Presley will be instrumental, not only in getting pressure, but in not allowing the Dukes QB to escape containment. I expect to see more zone coverage in the backfield.

I think special teams will be the difference in this game. I expect both Paul and Stein to contribute to a closely fought, much needed victory (in OT):

Zips 37

Dukes 34

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Well, last week I correctly predicted UA would hold UCF to 38 points. But I also predicted the Zips would score 27, so I missed that by a tad. Zips 37 Dukes 34
Nice job picking UCF points, if you don't mind, I'm going to do the same for this game. Dukes 20 points. I have no idea how the offense will show. Too many questions for me. Are we really going to take shots down the field? How many carries do guys who don't run east and west get? How many snaps do the freshman receivers get? Not enough info (no pun intended) for me to make an educated guess. I will give the D a chance to score a TD in this one though.
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An hour later and I can't get one hell yeah? Maybe the JMU board is right. Maybe Zips fans are a bunch of lame asses. I am talking about the Zips opening up a can of whoop ass on the Dukes. Now come on Zips fans! It's only 8 letters and a space. Nine small keystrokes.

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http://www.breezejmu.org/sports/article_6a...1a4bcf6878.html

"They are the best team that you're going to play all year."

This is what head coach Mickey Matthews told his players as they huddled around him at the end of a hot, extended practice on Tuesday afternoon.

"You may face better individual players, but they are the best unit you will face all season," he said.

Matthews is referring to the Dukes' upcoming game against the University of Akron on Saturday.

HECK YEAH !!

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HELL YEAH! I think GT got after the "right" story. I look for a major leap in performance in our running game. Pass protection was good, completions % was good, but YAC was yuck! I think we will not only see some completions down field, but also more YAC. Major difference in the game? We will control the trenches, and that is where one wins football games. One guy that stood out last week, ZP, won't see the field much this week!

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