James Madison Week, Vol. 4: Scouting the Dukes ...

I’ve put together a little primer on James Madison entering Saturday’s game, which many Hokies fans hope/expect will be a blowout. For the record, I think it will, but there is certainly reason for Tech to be on its toes.

Start with last year’s JMU/Maryland game, which was a narrow 38-35 overtime loss for the Dukes. Of course, the Terrapins were terrible in 2009, managing only two wins. But JMU hung tough with an ACC foe.

The fact is, at least in recent history, elite I-AA teams (no, I will NOT refer to it as Football Championship Subdivision) have proven plenty capable of toppling their I-A counterparts. Jacksonville State nearly did it to Florida State last season and DID upset Ole Miss last week.

Appalachian State-Michigan anyone? Or Richmond-Duke? William and Marry-Virginia?

The good news for the Hokies is that this team is better than Florida State was last year, better in general than Ole Miss, Michigan, Duke and Virginia. The bad news is Tech is coming off a bitter loss, playing on a short week.

To quote the funniest movie ever made ... So I’m saying there’s a chance. But not much of one.

(According to the Hokies’ sports information department, there was an error in the research I posted yesterday. The 1997 loss to Virginia was NOT on a short week. So the Hokies are 7-0 in short-week games under Beamer).

What, then, do you need to know about James Madison? Read on ...

* The Dukes are No. 11 in the I-AA coaches’ poll and No. 12 in the media poll after an opening 48-7 win over Morehead State. They had 483 yards of offense (including 294 rushing yards) and allowed just 152 yards (67 rushing).

* JMU has lost its last 10 games to I-A opponents, its last victory coming against Navy in 1990. The Dukes beat the Midshipmen the year before, too. Their only other I-A win was over Virginia in 1982.

* The Hokies are 6-0 in meetings with JMU, winning by a combined 245-44. The last two games (1999 and 2003) were won by a combined 90-0. Under coach Mickey Matthews, the Dukes are 31-35 the last 11 years on the road.

* JMU is coming off a down year. They went 6-5 last season after going 12-2 and making the I-AA semifinals in 2008. And remember, the Dukes went on a pretty magical run to the 2004 I-AA national championship. Most years they’re among the cream of the crop in their division.

* JMU runs a spread offense and utilizes an eight-man front on defense. (I don’t know enough football to explain further. Wikipedia, friends.) The Dukes averaged only 337 yards per game in 2009, but the defense was among I-AA’s best, allowing only 286 yards per game.

* However, the Dukes lost DE Arthur Moats, who won the 2009 Buck Buchanan Award as the top defensive player in I-AA, to the NFL. JMU, by the way, has three players in the league and two more on practice squads.

* Dukes receiver Kerby Long is a big-play threat. He caught three passes (two for touchdowns) for 112 yards in the opener. His only catch in five games last year was a 65-yard touchdown reception.

* JMU will be without their dynamic dual-threat QB in this game. Justin Thorpe – a Richmond-area player to whom the Hokies considered offering a scholarship – threw for 1,260 yards and ran for 654 as a freshman last fall. He ran three times for 31 yards in last week’s opener before hyper-extending his knee.

* Thorpe’s replacement is solid. Drew Dudzik, in five games last season and last week’s opener, is 36 of 65 (55 percent) for 661 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions. He’s also run for 176 yards and three touchdowns, so he’s not immobile. But he’s not Thorpe in that area, either. One less thing for Tech to worry about.

* And a few final snippets: Tailbacks Jamal Sullivan and Griff Yancey are strong runners and have a combined 2,303 career yards. ... Don’t get confused Saturday. Like the Hokies, JMU has a linebacker named Chase Williams, who recorded five tackles in the Dukes’ opener. ... Don’t get confused, Part II. You’ll see Peter Rose, a player who originally signed with the Hokies, playing a safety/linebacker hybrid role Saturday for JMU. He had six tackles in the opener. His scholarship was yanked after a drug arrest. 

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