Losing to Akron will not mean the end of the world. It will mean that we likely will not make the playoffs or not go very far in the playoffs. The outcome of this game will determine what kind of team we have this year.

I hope we have a great following at Akron. Very easy trip to make and a great opportunity to show prospective conferences what our fan base is all about!

Excited for this game and cannot wait for the weekend!

Go Dukes!

(09-02-2013 09:03 PM)DoubleDDuke Wrote:  

(09-02-2013 08:59 PM)Hart Foundation Wrote:  Akron is not void of talent. They have at least 11 players on their roster that have transferred from 1-A programs as Terry Bowden tries to build with renegades.
2 from Florida State
2 from Colorado State
1 from Colorado
1 from Ohio State
1 from Pittsburgh
1 from BYU
1 from Washington State
1 from Wisconsin
1 from Virginia Tech

That will get you a really bad football team. Taking peoples' mistakes is no way to get good.

Well, we've got close to that w/ Till, Wilson, P.Rose, Lane, AJ Scott, Starke, Dunston, Hunter, Thorougood and Bangura.

The Akron-UCF game is still up on ESPN3. Following Olddawg's lead, I just went and watched part of it. Akron's got a QB with less experience than Birdsong, but other than that they're returning a lot of people on the offensive side of the ball. They seemed mostly outmatched by UCF's speed. They never got much of a pass rush going, and they were only successful in the run game when they'd catch UCF in a pass D. It looked like their QB could find his receivers, given time, but UCF's defense was doing a good job disguising their fronts and he didn't have much of a chance to settle into a rhythm.

I think proclaiming doom and gloom for this season if we don't win is frankly a bit silly. I will only be a bit worried if we get blown out, but I don't think that's likely. If we win it's nice, will get us a minor bit of notice nationally as one of the "FBS killers", and will help a bit in the polls, but if we don't, so what? It's an away game against a team most of our fanbase will have never heard of, and they still have more scholarships than we do. I'm going to be much more concerned if Birdsong is still having trouble hitting open receivers (or if the receivers are still having trouble getting open), or we still can't generate a consistent pass rush, by the time we're 2/3 of the way through the Charlotte game.

There's no chance we lose this game. None.

(09-02-2013 09:41 PM)DoubleDDuke Wrote:  There's no chance we lose this game. None.

Did you actually watch the CCSU game? I want us to win as much as anyone, but we looked mediocre.

Our depth on defense could be something to watch. If their hurry up offense gets us gassed at all. Granted if we shut them down quick it won't matter as much. Should be fun

"Akron quarterback Kyle Pohl was 16 of 28 for 98 yards and an interception in his first-career start."

This is a weird one. They are possibly the worst DI-A/FBS team we've ever played, but they still hand out scholarships and more of 'em.

I guess I'll go back to what I wrote a month or two ago. An upper level FCS team really should win this game. Therefore I almost feel like we need to win to re-establish our reputation as a top tier program. If we lose I'm gonna get real pessimistic for the rest of the year, and my expectations going into the season were probably lower than most on here.

(09-02-2013 10:38 PM)jmusuperfan Wrote:  "Akron quarterback Kyle Pohl was 16 of 28 for 98 yards and an interception in his first-career start."

16 of 21, actually. 58 of 79 with 5 TDs and 3 INTs in his career.

(09-02-2013 09:41 PM)DoubleDDuke Wrote:  There's no chance we lose this game. None.

Agree with Double D Cup! We win this mo!

current Sagarin ratings have us 15 spots in front of Akron. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaaf/sag...13/rating/

(09-02-2013 09:48 PM)jmutoml757 Wrote:  

(09-02-2013 09:41 PM)DoubleDDuke Wrote:  There's no chance we lose this game. None.

Did you actually watch the CCSU game? I want us to win as much as anyone, but we looked mediocre.

I hear you but I think we were kind of treating it like a preseason game. I saw the Akron beat guy predicted Akron to win like 46-17 or something like that. Can't remember exactly I read it in a rush this morning but that's ridiculous. If that happened I'd be distraught.

(09-03-2013 01:36 PM)jmusuperfan Wrote:  current Sagarin ratings have us 15 spots in front of Akron. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/ncaaf/sag...13/rating/

Not worth too much at this point, but predictors are 57.20 for JMU and 52.36 for Akron. With home field advantage we should still be favored by a couple.

well durn....looks like Tyler Snow may still be out this week

From the News Virginian:
"How tough is it not having redshirt senior defensive end Tyler Snow (hamstring) out there?

“Tyler we are missing horribly,” Matthews said. “He is a three-year starter and a unanimous captain selection. Other than being a great football player, he is a 4.0 [GPA] student and the unquestioned leader of the team. I don’t think he ever missed a play in four years.”

Note: Matthews said that Snow is doubtful for Saturday, but he expects him to return in week three against St. Francis (Pa.). "

interesting akron tidbits as well http://www.dailyprogress.com/newsvirgini...f6878.html

5Dimes currently has us as a 2.5 point underdog.

I wants to win this games.

Sagarin correctly has ODU listed as I-AA (FCS) as this is still a transition year for their team. I noticed that ESPN was showing them as FBS on their scoreboard tracker all weekend... I just sent a kind reminder to ESPN to correct that. :)

The Sagarins are pretty much meaningless until the teams become "well connected" after about five weeks in. Until then, he uses where the team finished last season as a major factor.

(09-03-2013 02:14 PM)jmu-fan-1981 Wrote:  Sagarin correctly has ODU listed as I-AA (FCS) as this is still a transition year for their team. I noticed that ESPN was showing them as FBS on their scoreboard tracker all weekend... I just sent a kind reminder to ESPN to correct that. :)

NCAA lists ODU among FBS teams...aren't they the authority on this?

http://stats.ncaa.org/team/inst_team_lis...ision=11.0