(07-16-2018 12:28 PM)olddawg Wrote:  

(07-16-2018 10:53 AM)ShadyP Wrote:  

(07-16-2018 09:58 AM)Longhorn Wrote:  

(07-15-2018 05:47 PM)olddawg Wrote:  

(07-15-2018 12:13 PM)2Buck Wrote:  Do we have the same playbook as Pitt? Same players/personnel? Most of early pre-season is playing catch, often without pads let alone full contact. How many practices do our QBs even have where the defense can full out pressure and hit them? Hardly the same as playing a Top 40 FBS team out to keep from looking bad in front of a huge home crowd.

I hope the team rises to the occasion and the passing game does well. But this has all the potential to see the starting QB and young WRs overwhelmed. We've seen it many times with very good JMU QBs against P5 teams. I'm saying if our QB does poorly this game, it won't necessarily be a good reflection of the success they could have the rest of the season.

My biggest concern is coming away without injuries.

In fairness to JMU, many of those losses to UNC involved our O-line being manhandled by their highly skilled D-line. State may still have their way w/ our O-line, but they have a lot a new starters there. It's not a given.

Two thoughts. 2Buck worries too much, and secondly, he/she is living in the past. MH plays to win every game.

To 2Buck's last concern...all team's want to avoid and finish every game without injuries. But if 2Buck is implying that playing a big, bad FBS team is more likely to hurt the little, weak FCS team and produce unnecessary injuries that's (again) pure silliness.

The outcome still comes down to line play...NCST's D against JMU's OL. DiNucci (or Johnson if he's tabbed to start), will be ready. So will our receivers and RBs. I'm not concerned about the skill position guys at all, and JMU will score. Whether JMU puts up enough points for JMU to win will depend on our D, but it's going to be a real contest

Until the WRs do it in a game, yes I am gonna be a little worried about the WR play. The WR play was a bit shaky last year with dropped balls and in my opinion cost JMU a national title with dropped balls. Yeah I think the dropped balls culprits have graduated but they were still on the field a lot last year in front of our young WRs. The young WRs have something to prove and have to prove they can catch balls consistently in a GAME. It is one thing to catch great in practice and drills it is another to do so in live game action. I think over the first month on the season Kirkpatrick and Houston are gonna shuttle WRs a lot figuring out who the reliable 3/4/5 WRs are going to be.

We were really spoiled w/ Ravenel, Davis, Domo and Miller in terms of not having the drops. For my money, drops were the entire difference in the Natty game.