This Week Will Tell Us Everything About JMU's CFP Hopes

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James Madison has a huge matchup this weekend. What does
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it mean for the Sun Belt, the G6, and the
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college football playoff as a whole? We discuss that and
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more next.
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Hello, and welcome to The Pool Report, a college football
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podcast revolved around the group of six. I'm your host,
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Colton Poole, and today we have Bennett Conlon from JMU
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Sports News. Bennett, welcome to the show.
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Thanks so much for having me. Excited to be here.
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Yeah, we've known each other, you know, Twitter known each
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other for quite a while now. You used to write
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for a website that I was at previously, and so
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it's good to be able to finally sit down and
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talk football with you, and specifically a JMU team that
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There's a lot of storylines to talk about, a lot
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going on with this team. And yeah, I wanted to
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get your thoughts from someone who, you know, watches this
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team and covers this team as as in-depth as you
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guys do over there at JMU Sports News. So just overall,
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after two weeks of the Billy Napier experience, what is
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the feeling with the with the Dukes right now?
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I think there's a lot of optimism, but maybe some
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of the same preseason questions are still there. So the
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Liberty game in week one, they jump out to an
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early lead. They're up 20 to six in that game.
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Things are looking pretty good. And they kind of faded
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down the stretch and held on for that 20 to
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13 win. And I think Jamie fans are maybe a
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little frustrated about how the second half went. They weren't
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throwing the ball much. They used the two quarterback system
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with JC Evans and Camden Coleman. So some questions there.
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but I also think a lot of fans were probably
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selling themselves on the fact that going into the year,
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I think most people assumed Liberty Liberty would be a
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conference USA contender. And we don't know for sure if
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they won't, but you know, the wind looks a little
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less nice when Liberty needs a late, you know, blown
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coverage touchdown has to be Gardner web by one in
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week two. So I think there's a little more concern
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of like, should we have been Liberty by 21 points
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from the fan base?
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So that's part of it.
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And then they go out and play Wagner and win
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87 to three, which was, um, a resounding victory. Anytime
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you score 87, a lot of things are obviously going well.
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They had three punt return touchdowns, two traditional returns. One
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was a block that was returned for a touchdown for
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the first touchdown.
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Of the game.
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They're up seven, three, they scored the next 80 points
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as silly as that sounds.
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So a good performance.
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Camden Coleman was the starting quarterback, JC Evans is banged up.
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So he was out, which is obviously a big story
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these next few weeks, but They played pretty well. I
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think the defense has been solid stopping the run the
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first two weeks. Maybe some questions still in the secondary
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and with the pass rush and the ability to actually
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get home and create sacks, which has been a strength
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of the Jamie defense since moving to the FBS a
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few years ago.
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So there's questions.
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I think people are excited about Billy Napier, excited about
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the start, but also I think they're well aware of
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most Jamie fans. And I think people will follow the
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G6 closely that, you know, Liberty and Wagner is not
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the same as this upcoming stretch where you got San
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Diego state, Old Dominion, Marshall, Georgia Southern, Georgia State looks
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kind of sneaky to start the year. You get App
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and Troy on Thursdays in October. So it kind of
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feels like the real season is starting this week with
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San Diego State.
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How are things different with Napier there compared to Bob Chesney,
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compared to Kurt Cignetti before him? In what ways has
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Cignetti made this program his own?
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Yeah, I mean, I think it's a fascinating situation where
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like Cignetti came in and there were There were high
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expectations when he was at the FCS level and then
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lower expectations as he led him into the transition, which,
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of course, then he raised really quickly because they had
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a great transition. So Cignetti knew what needed to be done,
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and he kind of said it that way when he
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was transitioning. He's like, we're going to be fine. I
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know what it takes to win at the FBS level.
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They did a great job doing that, really successful in
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his couple.
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Of years at the FBS level.
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And then you have Chesney come in. There's a lot
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of excitement about what he can do. probably still an
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adjustment for him using the portal. I think he said
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he had like maybe a handful of transfers, his entire
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Holy Cross tenure. It just wasn't something he was doing
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in a different era at the FCS level at a
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very specific school with academic sort of rigors and things
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that are maybe different than they are at JMU, different
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standards there, different transfer rules. And then the same when
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he was at D2 and D3. So he was adjusting
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that first year to the portal, I think did a
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pretty good job, but also maybe missed on a few
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evaluations and learned that he really liked to get those
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FCS D2, D3 kids. So then you go into 2025
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after a solid nine and four, 24, and he retained
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some players, but then also was like, Hey, I don't
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really need many of these like P4 dropdowns. And then
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I think you've got a 2025 roster that was really
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cohesive and competent. They built it a way that made
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a lot of sense. Alonzo Barnett comes back from the ACL.
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He's healthy, look pretty good. The second half of the year,
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they make the college football playoff. And I think Napier,
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what he's done is he's got a better understanding, probably
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than Chesney did, or at least Chesney when he got
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to JMU, of what it takes to have a recruiting
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and personnel department at the FBS level. So he has
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a more standard, I guess what you'd see at a
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P4 school, where there's a general manager and they have
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people who are just solely focused on portal and high
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school recruiting. So they do a better job, I think,
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of just having more manpower evaluating, which we'll hope. hopefully
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play out in the next few years. It's kind of
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their thought is that once they have this system in place,
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they'll do a better job of really consistently evaluating.
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Some of the portal guys.
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Cause they'll probably have a pretty heavy portal roster most years.
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So that's, that's one of the bigger changes. And then
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Napier did steal some things from Chesney. So for one,
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like he brought in a lot of lower level transfers,
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which he's talked about success, leaving clues. He's kind of
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stolen that idea from Chesney where, Hey, I'm going to
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get a lot of these. lower level guys who produce,
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they kind of talk about production over potential. So they've
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done that a few times or a lot, I guess,
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in the off season here. And then like the sideline
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demeanor is a little different. Chesney's sort of obsessed with
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like sideline energy and players bouncing around and constantly moving.
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They looked more like a normal team, I guess, against
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Liberty in week one. Week two, it's probably easy to
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bounce around a lot when you score 87. It's sort
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of just natural for any team. but against Liberty in 20,
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in the 20 to 13, when, when some things went
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up and down, they were a little more even keeled
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on the sideline, which is something fans notice, not necessarily
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good or bad, but there may be a little less
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obsessed with like sideline demeanor. And then there are some
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practice periods that are the same under Napier. So Chesney
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did like compete drills. You'd love to do like one-on-one
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periods where they're going up against each other and the
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whole team's watching to add pressure, that.
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Sort of thing.
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They still do some of that. So there's definitely some similarities, um,
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And then I guess one of the major differences is
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the offensive system. They're running like really high tempo with
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Cam Macon, an offensive coordinator, where last year they were
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pretty huge on ball control. I think they ranked in
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the top five nationally in time of possession. And this
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year they're probably going to be closer to the bottom
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five in that.
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So, and you touched on this a little bit just there,
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but very illuminating in terms of the behind the scenes
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with Napier and Just on the field, stylistically, do you
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see any differences or really not so much? Is it
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more of the same, especially with Napier trying to make
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this a transition from Chesney to his own thing? Do
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you see any strong differences or not so much?
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Definitely some similarities there.
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I mean, the up-tempo scheme is different on offense.
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We've noticed that a little bit.
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I think the other thing that's interesting is defensively, since
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they moved to the FBS, they've been really good at
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stopping the run. They're still pretty good at that. I
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think Chesney was, and he had a background kind of
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coaching defensive backs. I think the defensive back play, their
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ability in 24 to force turnovers, and then in 2025
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to just like stop people from moving the ball entirely
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was a little different. I think they were, you know,
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maybe doing more exotic things with pressures under Colin Hitchler
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last year than they've done so far under Robert Bala,
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the new defensive coordinator, which might be because they played
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Liberty and Wagner. We'll see in the coming weeks. but
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I do think they were doing some things defensively in
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terms of like exotic pressures where they would, you know,
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have six guys all standing up at the line of
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scrimmage in a certain package. They haven't done anything that
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looks like, wow, when it's a third and long that
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they were maybe doing in the past. They also had like,
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like a NASCAR kind of speed rush package where they
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would rotate clear pass rushers in last year. I don't
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know if they found sort of that unit yet.
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With this team.
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So I think, offensively, they're still trying to run the ball,
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be efficient passing. They're definitely moving faster, but then defensively,
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it looks like a little bit of a different shift
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where they want to stop the run. They're, they're trying
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to stop the run. I don't know if they have
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the same kind of like pass rush, exotic blitz looks
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that they had last year. And I think that's maybe
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the area of questioning for most fans going into this
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third week and beyond. It's like, can the secondary hold
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up all year last year is pretty solid. And then
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can the, defensive ends get home on like a third
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and eight.
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Going to be a very interesting dynamic seeing them compete
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with san diego state a team that is trying to
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be more well balanced but certainly they are a run
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first team and yeah and so maybe it's like a
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weakness versus weakness situation uh and and who can show
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up at the more pivotal times will will certainly play
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an important role Wanted to get your thoughts on the
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JMU quarterback situation because it seemed like JMU had at
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least a leader in that situation. position group with JC
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Evans and looked pretty solid against Liberty 7 of 9
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61 yards one touchdown passing 69 yards rushing and gets
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hurt and now it's Camden Coleman who is a little
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bit of the leader against Wagner and Arrington Maiden saw
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some time as well But it was kind of a
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three-person battle for the starting quarterback role. So, you know,
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it's interesting because I think that GMU's quarterback room is
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really deep. And so compared to a lot of other
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teams in the G6, of course you're not going to
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want your best quarterback to get hurt right away. But
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they are not unprepared for something like this to happen,
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especially early in the season. So... how do you see
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Jamie's quarterback situation right now? And how is the Evans
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injury impacting everything? Yeah.
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Like the, the term leader, I think that's a good
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way to describe it. Maybe instead of like their traditional
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QB one or starting quarterback is Evans came out of
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camp and he was, you know, the guy, but you
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also had Camden Coleman who they gave him and they
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planned that they were going to give him the fourth
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and eighth drives against Liberty. And they didn't really explain
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like the fourth and eighth. They just said that was
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their plan. no idea how they came up with that.
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I'd be fascinated to learn more about like why the
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fourth and eighth. I've never seen that before, but they
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gave him the fourth and eighth drives. I think they
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thought the first one too would come in the first half,
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but Liberty did such a great job in that game
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of like having really long possessions, even though they weren't
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scoring a lot of points. Jamie only had three first
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half drives against Liberty. So Coleman actually started the second half.
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It was a very disjointed rotation, but yeah, they like
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all three. Evans is definitely the most gifted runner of
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the three. His pocket mobility was really impressive against Liberty.
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Still questions about him as a passer, just because I
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think we're up to, I guess he threw nine times
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against Liberty. I think he had three career pass attempts
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before that. So we're up to 12 college passes for
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JC Evans, which is obviously an incredibly small sample. So
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we don't know a lot about what he is as
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a passer. Camden Coleman played a lot at Richmond before
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he transferred into JMU ahead of last season. Didn't play
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last season for the Dukes, but He's now 14 and
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one as a starter dating back to Richmond this past
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week against Wagner, but he never started. Interestingly, he never
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started for Richmond in one of their FBS matchups. And
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now for JMU, he's yet to start. So this is
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15 career starts, but this one against San Diego state,
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presumably will be his first against an FBS opponent, which
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I think will be interesting, but he's solid player, probably
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the best passer of the group, at least in terms
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of the most reliable with the accuracy, the experience.
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He's a great leader.
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He has kind of like, He's above average at a
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lot of things. He's not going to run a 4-4-4-D,
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but he probably runs a 4-6 or 4-7.
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He's pretty fast. He's accurate. He has a good arm.
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Teammates love him. Good leader.
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He just kind of has a sum-of-all-parts feel, where I
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think they feel like they can play winning football with him.
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Errington Maiden, who's kind of the quarterback three and I
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guess fell out of the battle a little bit early
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in fall camp, but he's got crazy tools. Which is
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why when he plays against Wagner, it's easy for fans
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to be like, wait, why.
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Is this guy not the guy?
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Because he had one where he threw, it was an incompletion,
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but they had a pass interference call. And he threw
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like a 40-yard dart out the back of an end
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zone that's like slamming into the wall.
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And people are like, whoa.
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He threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to a tight end
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that's a dart right over the middle. He had a
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44-yard bomb that felt like he was in the sky forever.
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He can do things throwing a football that I don't
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think Camden Coleman can. But I also think they probably
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trust Cam Moore to lead the offense efficiently and diagnose
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different pressures from San Diego State. He's played a lot
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of football. He's got more than 3,000 career passing yards.
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Coleman does.
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Maiden and Evans both are more inexperienced but have some really,
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really exciting traits.
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So they like the three. It's going to be fascinating.
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We've heard that Evans is going to be out probably
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until at least October, maybe mid-October. They haven't given a
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firm timeline there. Jamie hasn't, but people around the program
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kind of said it's more looking like October for him
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as he deals with a couple injuries, it seems like.
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So we'll see when they get him back. If Cam
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Coleman goes on a run here and they beat San
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Diego State and beat ODU and beat Marshall, are you
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taking the job from him after they're undefeated?
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I don't know.
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That's really hard for a guy coming off injury in
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Evans with 12 career pass attempts. So I think a
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pretty big opportunity here for Coleman to take the job.
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On the flip side, if he struggles and Evans is unavailable,
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how long is his leash till you say, Hey, Errington
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Maiden does have crazy traits and can run and throw
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like what's it take for him to come in the game.
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So I am interested to see the next few weeks.
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Cause there's a bunch of scenarios. There's one where Coleman
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takes the job. There's one where Coleman struggles and Maiden
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gets a chance. And then there's another where Coleman's fine.
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They're like four and two in mid October Evans is
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back and they go back to whatever the weird quarterback
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rotation was. So, I don't know what they're going to
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do these next few weeks. It's certainly going to be
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00:15:14.500 --> 00:15:16.740
fun to watch. I know they like all three guys,
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00:15:17.620 --> 00:15:19.379
but that's also kind of a tricky spot to be
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at a certain point.
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You kind of want to lean on one as much
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as you can and make a decision.
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They'll also have to make a decision, of course, with
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the way the portal goes in the offseason. It seems unlikely,
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in my opinion, that they would have all three that
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they think are really good on the roster again next year.
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So they've got a lot of quarterback decisions over the
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next weeks, months, year. It's going to be pretty complicated
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for them, I think.
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I think this is a rare situation where I don't
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hate a little bit of a rotation because they bring
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different things to the table. And when you roll out
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a guy and maybe he struggles a little bit, you
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can play a different guy because the dynamic has already
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been set. You're not just, you're the starter. Okay, now
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we're going to pull you because you aren't great against
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this team. It's a, we're going to see what you
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00:16:06.710 --> 00:16:08.029
can do. We're going to see what you can do.
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And then we'll roll with the hot hand. I think
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they've played that pretty well to this point. I'm curious,
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as we're going into week three here, if Evans wasn't
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hurt and he played how well we expected him to
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going into the season, would we still be seeing a rotation?
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Or is that too tough to call? Do they want
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a number one beginning-to-end quarterback?
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That's a great question. I think that was what fans
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were wondering too. And I think the expectation once they
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did it against Liberty was that they would, assuming Evans
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was healthy, we're going to run it back against Wagner
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in some capacity. And I think most of the fans,
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and I certainly thought that after that, they would make
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a decision going into San Diego state and say, Hey,
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this is our guy. And I think most people who
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would watch them thought it would be Evans. So my,
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my thought after Liberty game, before learning that Evans was
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banged up, was that Evans would be like the guy
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00:17:12.869 --> 00:17:15.599
this week against San Diego State. So I don't know
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if they would have kept the rotation that long. I
359
00:17:17.180 --> 00:17:20.160
know they talked about wanting to do that. It felt more,
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or at least a little bit like in that Liberty game,
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that they kind of know that J.C. Evans is going
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to run a lot, which maybe puts him in a
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00:17:28.049 --> 00:17:30.450
position to get injured more than your average quarterback. And
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I think part of it was like Coleman didn't play
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00:17:32.410 --> 00:17:34.289
last year. They wanted to knock some of the rust off.
366
00:17:36.119 --> 00:17:37.619
certainly it's knocked off now and he's got to be
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the guy, but yeah, I think some of it was
368
00:17:39.730 --> 00:17:41.589
just trying to build up that depth in the room
369
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and feel confident in a couple of guys and get
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them game reps, see how they looked under the fire.
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But it certainly seemed like it was trending toward JC Evans,
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just taking the job before.
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He got hurt.
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And now I wanted to get your thoughts on kind
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00:17:54.900 --> 00:17:57.960
of the overall offensive outlook, you know, regardless of the quarterback.
376
00:17:58.000 --> 00:18:01.819
And obviously that's going to impact everything, you know, depending
377
00:18:01.859 --> 00:18:04.049
on who's in there, but What are your thoughts on
378
00:18:04.089 --> 00:18:08.069
Jamie's offense, especially as we're comparing it to a college
379
00:18:08.089 --> 00:18:12.170
football playoff team from a year ago? How do you
380
00:18:12.210 --> 00:18:14.980
see the Duke stacking up against the rest of the
381
00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:17.160
teams they've got on their schedule this year?
382
00:18:18.299 --> 00:18:21.180
I think they have a nice set of pieces offensively.
383
00:18:21.220 --> 00:18:24.220
It's just a matter of figuring out which ones they
384
00:18:24.259 --> 00:18:26.220
want to use and how they can implement them. So
385
00:18:26.740 --> 00:18:29.319
George Petaway at running back is a pretty solid returner,
386
00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:32.380
and he's been decent for the first two weeks but
387
00:18:32.420 --> 00:18:34.809
hasn't gone– crazy and i think fans are waiting for
388
00:18:34.829 --> 00:18:36.930
him to have that that breakout but he had like
389
00:18:36.970 --> 00:18:39.269
nine carries against wagner and like five of them were
390
00:18:39.309 --> 00:18:40.309
around the goal line.
391
00:18:40.529 --> 00:18:42.819
He's gonna have one of those games coming up yeah.
392
00:18:42.779 --> 00:18:44.839
So he's he's getting closer to that liberty was kind
393
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of limited to in terms of where what he was
394
00:18:47.559 --> 00:18:49.779
doing and like some of the carries are asking him
395
00:18:49.799 --> 00:18:52.279
to get like two yards to get him from from
396
00:18:52.299 --> 00:18:54.079
being backed up at their own five kind of thing
397
00:18:54.119 --> 00:18:56.529
rather than like trying to break a huge run so
398
00:18:56.549 --> 00:18:57.990
i think once he gets into some of those spots
399
00:18:58.009 --> 00:19:02.940
he'll do well seth cromwell uh came in from the
400
00:19:03.079 --> 00:19:06.920
FCS level. They're excited about him for carries for 51
401
00:19:06.920 --> 00:19:09.329
yards against Liberty. One of them went for 51 yards
402
00:19:09.710 --> 00:19:11.349
and then he got nicked up. So he doesn't play
403
00:19:11.369 --> 00:19:13.589
against Wagner and then miss the rest of the Liberty game.
404
00:19:14.930 --> 00:19:16.630
We'll see if he's available against.
405
00:19:16.430 --> 00:19:17.089
San Diego state.
406
00:19:17.109 --> 00:19:19.730
It sounds like he's progressing well, but they're kind of
407
00:19:19.970 --> 00:19:23.269
tight lipped on most injury news over there. So unclear
408
00:19:23.289 --> 00:19:24.730
if he can go. And then Nick Herman's the other
409
00:19:24.769 --> 00:19:27.230
running back. I think he was banged up a little
410
00:19:27.250 --> 00:19:29.190
bit in fall camp and kind of coming off of that.
411
00:19:29.660 --> 00:19:31.500
He got to play more against Wagner. He had eight
412
00:19:31.559 --> 00:19:34.440
carries for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Looked pretty good,
413
00:19:34.460 --> 00:19:34.880
pretty good.
414
00:19:35.579 --> 00:19:36.140
Pretty fast.
415
00:19:36.200 --> 00:19:38.799
Fans were excited about him. And then the receivers, they
416
00:19:38.819 --> 00:19:43.789
have a million guys, which is cool, but it's also like, man,
417
00:19:44.009 --> 00:19:45.869
maybe you just go with like two or three of
418
00:19:45.930 --> 00:19:49.170
the guys. Corey Scott seems like the one who's really emerging.
419
00:19:49.210 --> 00:19:51.680
He leaves the team through two weeks, but he's only
420
00:19:51.700 --> 00:19:54.279
got seven caches for 73 yards. So nothing crazy there,
421
00:19:55.099 --> 00:19:57.259
but he looks pretty good. He's a West Florida transfer,
422
00:19:57.839 --> 00:19:59.950
really athletic. I think if they can get him space,
423
00:20:00.009 --> 00:20:02.569
give him some deep shots, it'll work out well.
424
00:20:02.589 --> 00:20:03.569
And then fans are.
425
00:20:03.630 --> 00:20:06.369
Excited about tight end Cole Keller, who looks the part
426
00:20:06.410 --> 00:20:08.890
of like maybe an NFL prospect came in from ETSU.
427
00:20:09.579 --> 00:20:12.819
really big, good pass catcher. So there's some stuff there.
428
00:20:12.940 --> 00:20:16.099
Offensive line looks pretty solid. They have the pieces. It's
429
00:20:16.140 --> 00:20:19.819
just like receivers. They've been rotating, you know, six, eight,
430
00:20:19.819 --> 00:20:23.160
10 guys in, which is probably because of who they
431
00:20:23.200 --> 00:20:25.480
played a little bit with Liberty and Wagner. But at
432
00:20:25.500 --> 00:20:27.579
a certain point, I think you're, you're kind of looking
433
00:20:27.640 --> 00:20:33.069
for quarterback stability, like a more stable running back rotation.
434
00:20:33.650 --> 00:20:36.329
And then like a group of three to five receivers
435
00:20:36.509 --> 00:20:38.029
that you feel like you can trust that are playing
436
00:20:38.069 --> 00:20:39.880
most of the game. So I know they run up
437
00:20:39.920 --> 00:20:41.700
tempo and it's going to lead to like guys needing
438
00:20:41.720 --> 00:20:44.000
to come out and get a breather occasionally. But I
439
00:20:44.160 --> 00:20:47.940
do think there's definitely some questions there about like you
440
00:20:47.980 --> 00:20:49.279
say you have a lot of guys and you have
441
00:20:49.319 --> 00:20:51.640
a lot of depth, which is great. But when you
442
00:20:51.700 --> 00:20:53.769
need a guy to go make a play, if it's
443
00:20:53.809 --> 00:20:56.269
tied in the fourth quarter against San Diego State, who
444
00:20:56.309 --> 00:20:57.890
are you throwing the ball to? And I think they're
445
00:20:58.009 --> 00:21:01.150
still like on the final stages of narrowing that.
446
00:21:02.859 --> 00:21:04.759
And then conversely on the other side of the ball,
447
00:21:04.779 --> 00:21:07.880
what are your thoughts on JMU's defense? A unit that
448
00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:10.700
lost a number of star pieces from last year. So
449
00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:14.210
your West Trent Hendrick. So what do you think of
450
00:21:14.230 --> 00:21:16.210
that side of the ball and are they going to
451
00:21:16.250 --> 00:21:21.170
be good enough to be in the CFP discussion once again,
452
00:21:21.190 --> 00:21:24.430
to be in the Sunbelt championship mix once again on
453
00:21:25.220 --> 00:21:26.000
that side of the ball?
454
00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:30.180
I don't think so. And I think that's where, that's
455
00:21:30.220 --> 00:21:32.589
where my question is. And, And where I need to
456
00:21:32.630 --> 00:21:36.390
see a little more, certainly the schedule is favorable enough
457
00:21:36.430 --> 00:21:38.009
that if they can get through these next two weeks
458
00:21:38.069 --> 00:21:40.279
with Camden Coleman, a quarterback, they'll probably be in the
459
00:21:40.339 --> 00:21:43.859
conversation for a while in terms of the G6 playoff spot.
460
00:21:43.920 --> 00:21:46.619
But I just have questions about the defense. I think
461
00:21:47.200 --> 00:21:50.700
the defensive line and the linebackers seem like they're built really,
462
00:21:50.759 --> 00:21:53.369
really well to stop the run. And they've done that
463
00:21:53.410 --> 00:21:56.470
through two weeks. But then you get into situations where
464
00:21:56.490 --> 00:21:58.809
there are going to be teams that We'll see if
465
00:21:58.829 --> 00:22:00.369
San Diego State can do it. But they're going to
466
00:22:00.390 --> 00:22:04.440
be teams that stress JMU through the air. And they
467
00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:08.299
have Ken Willis at cornerback. Cincinnati transferred, but he was
468
00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:11.119
at JMU last year. They feel really good about him,
469
00:22:11.160 --> 00:22:14.700
and he's been playing really well. Jayon Harvey is a
470
00:22:14.759 --> 00:22:18.900
safety from Finley who's been playing really well. D2 guy
471
00:22:18.940 --> 00:22:23.069
came in, looks awesome. So they've got those two guys
472
00:22:23.869 --> 00:22:27.059
in the secondary. And after that, they're just like throwing
473
00:22:27.099 --> 00:22:28.700
a bunch of dudes out there and trying to see
474
00:22:28.740 --> 00:22:32.609
what they have. And through two weeks, I think they
475
00:22:32.640 --> 00:22:36.250
have some concerns. Like they're picking up, I think, you know,
476
00:22:36.269 --> 00:22:38.890
they had one cornerback who had three penalties last week
477
00:22:38.930 --> 00:22:42.250
against Wagner. They had some other guys who have just
478
00:22:42.289 --> 00:22:44.109
been out of position. They had some young guys they
479
00:22:44.130 --> 00:22:46.210
threw in against Liberty. A couple of them played like
480
00:22:46.309 --> 00:22:48.890
five snaps, got burned twice. And then the coaches are like, okay,
481
00:22:49.289 --> 00:22:51.710
not yet. We'll get you back in against Wagner. So
482
00:22:51.910 --> 00:22:55.200
they're still figuring stuff out in the secondary. It feels
483
00:22:55.319 --> 00:22:58.160
to me a lot like a team that would have
484
00:22:58.339 --> 00:23:02.099
loved to add like an edge rusher in a corner
485
00:23:02.299 --> 00:23:04.279
in a spring portal period if they would have had
486
00:23:05.039 --> 00:23:07.920
the spring portal this year like that open window. So
487
00:23:07.980 --> 00:23:09.670
I still feel like they're missing a little bit there.
488
00:23:09.710 --> 00:23:12.750
And maybe those young guys develop this year and I'm
489
00:23:12.769 --> 00:23:14.130
being a little too harsh on them and they get
490
00:23:14.150 --> 00:23:16.670
it figured out and they go on to have a
491
00:23:16.690 --> 00:23:17.430
great season there.
492
00:23:17.789 --> 00:23:19.410
I think they'll be fine defensively.
493
00:23:20.160 --> 00:23:22.200
It's just like last year they were an elite group
494
00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:24.220
of six defense, which is why they made the playoff
495
00:23:24.279 --> 00:23:26.640
is anytime the offense had a down week, it was fine.
496
00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:29.380
And this year it feels like when you're playing these
497
00:23:29.420 --> 00:23:33.150
key games, if the offense has a down week, I
498
00:23:33.170 --> 00:23:35.450
think it's got a decent chance of being a loss. Like,
499
00:23:35.490 --> 00:23:37.309
I don't know that the defense is going to hold
500
00:23:37.450 --> 00:23:41.109
up against top tier offenses for four quarters. I think
501
00:23:41.130 --> 00:23:45.289
there's too many questions at corner. And then there's also,
502
00:23:45.450 --> 00:23:48.559
you know, the fact that, um, they're like an injury
503
00:23:48.599 --> 00:23:50.819
to away from being really concerned, right? If Ken Willis
504
00:23:50.839 --> 00:23:54.140
goes down a corner, then you've got two unproven corners
505
00:23:54.160 --> 00:23:56.440
and you've got to really start plugging and playing guys and,
506
00:23:56.859 --> 00:23:58.640
and trying to use safeties to help them out. And
507
00:23:58.680 --> 00:24:00.259
maybe then you can't put as many guys in the
508
00:24:00.299 --> 00:24:02.579
box to stop the run. And you start giving it
509
00:24:02.599 --> 00:24:06.279
more run plays and more pass plays. So I don't
510
00:24:06.299 --> 00:24:08.349
want to say it's a house of cards defensively, because
511
00:24:08.369 --> 00:24:11.130
I don't think it's quite that bad, but it's, it's
512
00:24:11.490 --> 00:24:14.750
definitely still a question and a concern. And we'll see
513
00:24:14.769 --> 00:24:17.490
what they can do against, you know, better passing offenses.
514
00:24:17.509 --> 00:24:19.849
I know San Diego State struggled a lot through the air,
515
00:24:19.890 --> 00:24:22.069
so maybe it's not this week that we learn, but
516
00:24:23.440 --> 00:24:26.240
Old Dominion certainly does some things offensively and schematically that
517
00:24:26.259 --> 00:24:28.420
I think will give them a good test. We'll see
518
00:24:28.460 --> 00:24:31.859
what Marshall's quarterback situation is, but they'll get tested more
519
00:24:31.880 --> 00:24:34.230
through the air than they've been against Liberty and Wagner
520
00:24:34.250 --> 00:24:34.470
for sure.
521
00:24:35.759 --> 00:24:38.380
To your point, I am fascinated to see how this
522
00:24:38.440 --> 00:24:42.400
JMU team performs the next few weeks at San Diego State,
523
00:24:42.599 --> 00:24:46.779
at Old Dominion versus Marshall. Yeah, even at Georgia Southern,
524
00:24:46.839 --> 00:24:48.960
Georgia State, like there's a lot of teams in the
525
00:24:49.000 --> 00:24:52.559
Sun Belt that could give this JMU team issues. But
526
00:24:52.619 --> 00:24:56.269
let's focus on the here and now. JMU at San
527
00:24:56.289 --> 00:25:02.769
Diego State, certainly not an easy road trip. So... Yeah,
528
00:25:02.950 --> 00:25:06.710
I think it's going to be a battle, at least
529
00:25:06.730 --> 00:25:08.549
on paper, it's going to be a battle between two
530
00:25:08.650 --> 00:25:11.710
really good running backs. George Petaway, Lucky Sutton for San
531
00:25:11.730 --> 00:25:17.700
Diego State. These run offenses are going to get theirs.
532
00:25:17.799 --> 00:25:22.980
There's going to probably be a few methodical long drives
533
00:25:23.420 --> 00:25:26.720
with that running game. So ultimately it comes down to
534
00:25:26.779 --> 00:25:30.809
which defense can show up and maybe even some special teams.
535
00:25:31.960 --> 00:25:36.950
And then also, which quarterback can make enough throws, especially late,
536
00:25:37.630 --> 00:25:42.549
to seal the win? I think it's, and I've said
537
00:25:42.589 --> 00:25:44.630
this for weeks now, that I think it's going to
538
00:25:44.650 --> 00:25:46.960
be San Diego State in this one, if only because
539
00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:49.380
they're at home. If this was at JMU, I think
540
00:25:49.400 --> 00:25:52.640
that would be a different discussion. But right now, in
541
00:25:52.779 --> 00:25:56.259
our G6 Top 25 Media Poll, JMU is at number
542
00:25:56.259 --> 00:26:00.349
4 and San Diego State is number 10. I think
543
00:26:00.390 --> 00:26:03.009
I had JMU a little bit lower, especially after that
544
00:26:03.049 --> 00:26:05.819
performance against Liberty. I would have liked to have seen
545
00:26:05.859 --> 00:26:09.200
JMU kind of take it to them, especially kind of
546
00:26:09.579 --> 00:26:14.559
the rivalry energy there. But I could see JMU going
547
00:26:14.599 --> 00:26:17.599
on the road and taking care of business. So Bennett,
548
00:26:17.660 --> 00:26:18.880
how do you see this game unfolding?
549
00:26:19.690 --> 00:26:21.349
Yeah, I mean, I think really similarly.
550
00:26:21.410 --> 00:26:24.130
I think my pick going in is San Diego State.
551
00:26:24.150 --> 00:26:27.150
I think it's a hard road trip. I think as
552
00:26:27.269 --> 00:26:30.250
much as You know, Cam Nicoleman is experienced and really good.
553
00:26:30.269 --> 00:26:33.309
He is their pick for, you know, quarterback two, right?
554
00:26:33.329 --> 00:26:35.289
It's their backup quarterback here in week three going on
555
00:26:35.309 --> 00:26:38.029
the road to a really good Pac-12 team. Like, I
556
00:26:38.049 --> 00:26:40.650
think it's going to be a hard test. And I
557
00:26:40.670 --> 00:26:42.880
think they're going to try to force Denigal to beat
558
00:26:42.900 --> 00:26:45.559
him through the air. And I know he's been inconsistent,
559
00:26:45.579 --> 00:26:47.440
but there have been times where he has beaten teams
560
00:26:47.460 --> 00:26:48.680
through the air. Like, I mean, he's got a couple
561
00:26:48.740 --> 00:26:52.000
games last year where he was like over 80% completion percentage,
562
00:26:52.000 --> 00:26:55.980
250 yards, and a couple touchdowns. So if you do
563
00:26:56.089 --> 00:26:58.150
stack the box, which I assume Jamie's going to try
564
00:26:58.170 --> 00:27:00.450
to do to just force him to throw it, if
565
00:27:00.470 --> 00:27:03.049
he hits one or two plays and they play defense
566
00:27:03.150 --> 00:27:06.150
and San Diego State, I thought, would take a step
567
00:27:06.190 --> 00:27:09.970
back defensively. They looked really good defensively against UCLA. I mean,
568
00:27:09.990 --> 00:27:12.089
they kind of faded late, but some of that might
569
00:27:12.109 --> 00:27:16.609
be the offense's fault for not giving them any help until.
570
00:27:15.690 --> 00:27:17.589
The final moment. So I don't know.
571
00:27:17.609 --> 00:27:20.210
I think San Diego State's really good. And then you
572
00:27:20.230 --> 00:27:21.910
look at the fact, and the home field advantage to
573
00:27:21.950 --> 00:27:23.690
me is kind of what flips the pick, like you
574
00:27:23.710 --> 00:27:26.559
had mentioned. seven straight wins at home for San Diego state.
575
00:27:26.599 --> 00:27:29.380
And they've taken down Cal and Boise state during that stretch.
576
00:27:30.119 --> 00:27:32.180
They're good. They're a good team. They're well coached. They're
577
00:27:32.200 --> 00:27:32.759
good at home.
578
00:27:33.380 --> 00:27:35.799
It's the first road trip of the Billy Napier era
579
00:27:36.079 --> 00:27:39.460
at JMU with a whole new roster. And I know
580
00:27:39.480 --> 00:27:41.460
they're talking about like all the sports science they're doing
581
00:27:41.509 --> 00:27:43.390
and things to get prepped for it, but it's a
582
00:27:43.450 --> 00:27:46.450
different test. They've been a morning practice team all year.
583
00:27:46.470 --> 00:27:49.369
It's a 10 o'clock Eastern time kick. I think you
584
00:27:49.430 --> 00:27:53.430
add those variables in the backup quarterback situation. It's a
585
00:27:53.450 --> 00:27:56.569
hard place to win. I think they'll compete pretty well,
586
00:27:56.589 --> 00:27:58.049
and I think it'll be a really fun game, at
587
00:27:59.069 --> 00:28:01.369
least competitive game. Maybe when you look at some of
588
00:28:01.430 --> 00:28:05.170
the inconsistencies passing and some good defense, maybe not fun
589
00:28:05.210 --> 00:28:07.609
if you're just a casual observer, but it could be
590
00:28:07.630 --> 00:28:08.829
a bit of a slugfest here.
591
00:28:08.890 --> 00:28:12.250
But I think it'll be competitive and enjoyable for G6 Sickos.
592
00:28:12.309 --> 00:28:15.170
So I'm looking forward to it. But yeah, my pick,
593
00:28:15.210 --> 00:28:16.650
my lean here is certainly San Diego State.
594
00:28:17.430 --> 00:28:21.230
For us G6 Sickos, I think it's going to tell
595
00:28:21.269 --> 00:28:24.589
us a lot about each of these respective conferences as well. Yeah.
596
00:28:25.339 --> 00:28:29.420
if San Diego State is a... Because I think going
597
00:28:29.440 --> 00:28:31.829
into the season, I had them as number two behind
598
00:28:31.869 --> 00:28:34.789
Boise State in the Pac-12, but there was certainly an
599
00:28:34.829 --> 00:28:36.869
argument for a few other teams, so maybe they're even
600
00:28:36.890 --> 00:28:41.509
in that second, third tier in the Pac-12. And then JMU,
601
00:28:41.589 --> 00:28:44.549
I think I had them as a clear number one
602
00:28:44.730 --> 00:28:47.299
out of the Sun Belt. There's some other teams that
603
00:28:47.319 --> 00:28:52.980
certainly could take that spot, but I think if JMU
604
00:28:53.039 --> 00:28:55.869
goes on the road... and beat San Diego State, and
605
00:28:55.890 --> 00:29:00.750
then San Diego State is, say, 6-2 in the Pac-12,
606
00:29:01.730 --> 00:29:04.950
that's an interesting data point. If San Diego State beats
607
00:29:04.990 --> 00:29:08.269
JMU and JMU goes and dominates the Sun Belt, that's
608
00:29:08.289 --> 00:29:12.089
an interesting data point. So I think it's going to
609
00:29:12.109 --> 00:29:14.490
tell us a lot about how these two conferences stack
610
00:29:14.529 --> 00:29:18.559
up against each other, especially when we're comparing resumes as
611
00:29:18.599 --> 00:29:23.069
we get closer to the college football playoff. So... Yeah,
612
00:29:23.829 --> 00:29:25.490
I think there's a lot on this line, not just
613
00:29:25.559 --> 00:29:28.400
for these two teams. So I'm really interested to see
614
00:29:28.440 --> 00:29:33.359
how it unfolds. Lastly here, you touched on JMU's Sunbelt schedule.
615
00:29:34.369 --> 00:29:38.690
How do you see JMU competing with the rest of
616
00:29:38.710 --> 00:29:42.740
the league right now, especially like, you know, going into
617
00:29:42.769 --> 00:29:44.829
the season, I would have said Marshall is kind of
618
00:29:44.849 --> 00:29:49.289
the biggest challenger, but, but I mean, old dominion is
619
00:29:49.309 --> 00:29:51.490
going to be right there that, and that's, you know,
620
00:29:51.630 --> 00:29:55.089
at ODU, you know, at app state, all of a
621
00:29:55.109 --> 00:29:58.130
sudden that game looks tougher after the East Carolina win.
622
00:29:59.099 --> 00:30:01.380
So where do you see JMU stacking up with the
623
00:30:01.420 --> 00:30:04.059
rest of the Sun Belt as we sit here today?
624
00:30:04.700 --> 00:30:07.460
It happens most years, maybe less so last year, but
625
00:30:07.480 --> 00:30:10.130
I feel like always my Sun Belt preseason priors blow
626
00:30:10.190 --> 00:30:12.750
up in my face right after they played a week
627
00:30:12.809 --> 00:30:17.430
or two. Yeah, I thought App State would struggle this year.
628
00:30:17.470 --> 00:30:19.269
I was maybe more of a wild card this year,
629
00:30:19.349 --> 00:30:20.470
and I was like, okay, we'll see how they do
630
00:30:20.490 --> 00:30:23.430
against ECU. They looked pretty good, and they made some mistakes.
631
00:30:23.450 --> 00:30:26.079
They had some self-inflicted penalties and still kind of dominated
632
00:30:26.140 --> 00:30:28.700
on the road against an ECU team that I really like.
633
00:30:29.269 --> 00:30:32.849
So they're good. Georgia State, I pretty much discounted. I
634
00:30:33.029 --> 00:30:35.309
was like, oh, fun quarterback, but that doesn't mean much.
635
00:30:35.410 --> 00:30:38.930
The way they played against Kennesaw was awesome. They look
636
00:30:38.950 --> 00:30:41.829
like a legitimate team, and they've got UCF without a
637
00:30:41.849 --> 00:30:44.009
starting quarterback and then Northern Illinois the next two weeks.
638
00:30:44.029 --> 00:30:47.109
I mean, they could be a sneaky, sneaky game on
639
00:30:47.130 --> 00:30:49.390
the schedule, and it comes after a stretch of some
640
00:30:49.470 --> 00:30:52.390
tough ones for JMU. They go to Statesboro, and then
641
00:30:52.410 --> 00:30:54.230
they come home for homecoming against Georgia State, which I
642
00:30:54.250 --> 00:30:56.710
think everyone thought would be a reprieve, and it does
643
00:30:56.779 --> 00:30:59.670
not look like it will be. And then Statesboro, like
644
00:31:00.569 --> 00:31:03.920
going to Georgia Southern is a tricky one. They're always
645
00:31:04.119 --> 00:31:06.220
hard to beat there. JMU's never won in Statesboro.
646
00:31:06.240 --> 00:31:08.859
I think they're 0-6. So it's going to be hard.
647
00:31:08.960 --> 00:31:11.119
I think JMU certainly has a chance to contend for
648
00:31:11.160 --> 00:31:15.440
the East. It feels a lot like the 2014, which
649
00:31:15.480 --> 00:31:19.009
is the first under Chesney, where they had some incredible highs,
650
00:31:19.230 --> 00:31:22.190
where they dropped 70 on North Carolina. I think they
651
00:31:22.210 --> 00:31:25.970
beat Ball State like 63-0 or something crazy. Everyone was
652
00:31:26.009 --> 00:31:27.710
on top of the world, and then they lost to ULM.
653
00:31:28.380 --> 00:31:30.319
And I was like, huh, that doesn't quite add up.
654
00:31:30.680 --> 00:31:32.460
It feels like they might be in that area where
655
00:31:32.480 --> 00:31:35.240
they're going to have some great wins. And then you're
656
00:31:35.259 --> 00:31:36.220
going to be like, all right, all we got to
657
00:31:36.259 --> 00:31:38.140
do is get the monkey of our back in Statesboro.
658
00:31:38.779 --> 00:31:41.069
And they're just going to like struggle on past defense again.
659
00:31:41.480 --> 00:31:43.630
So my look is I had them, I think at
660
00:31:43.650 --> 00:31:46.049
like 10 and two going into the year. I'm probably
661
00:31:46.109 --> 00:31:48.349
still in like the eight and four, 10 and two range.
662
00:31:49.410 --> 00:31:51.230
And it's hard to pick a winner in the Sunbelt East.
663
00:31:52.309 --> 00:31:54.519
I think they're going to take a couple of losses
664
00:31:54.559 --> 00:31:56.420
in the Sunbelt. Wouldn't be surprised if they lose to
665
00:31:56.440 --> 00:31:59.039
San Diego State. I think like nine and three seems
666
00:31:59.099 --> 00:32:02.910
pretty realistic. And then it might depend on tiebreakers and
667
00:32:02.930 --> 00:32:05.470
things like that. I don't, I don't think at least
668
00:32:05.490 --> 00:32:08.089
my initial thought is I don't think the Sunbelt has
669
00:32:09.210 --> 00:32:11.230
like a playoff team this year, but I think it's
670
00:32:11.250 --> 00:32:13.569
going to be a really fun conference to watch, but
671
00:32:13.609 --> 00:32:15.230
you might have a six and two get you out
672
00:32:15.259 --> 00:32:17.799
of the East and gets you into the Sunbelt championship
673
00:32:17.839 --> 00:32:20.089
game where you could win it. I just don't know if,
674
00:32:20.839 --> 00:32:22.880
if anyone from the league is actually going to be
675
00:32:22.980 --> 00:32:26.190
deep into, uh, playoff contention as we get into november
676
00:32:26.230 --> 00:32:28.549
it just looks like some of those pac-12 and american
677
00:32:28.589 --> 00:32:31.650
teams um we'll see what boise does but man they
678
00:32:31.670 --> 00:32:34.069
look they look legit so yeah so it's gonna be
679
00:32:34.089 --> 00:32:35.289
hard to unseat them i think.
680
00:32:35.970 --> 00:32:40.289
Certainly uh looking at the their their schedule the rest
681
00:32:40.309 --> 00:32:42.710
of the year you know you mentioned maybe eight and
682
00:32:42.789 --> 00:32:45.049
four because i think that's what that 2024 yeah did
683
00:32:45.250 --> 00:32:50.069
right eight and four So where do you see the losses?
684
00:32:50.150 --> 00:32:53.809
And specifically pointing out that ULM game, where's that trap game?
685
00:32:53.950 --> 00:32:56.359
Where is that game that is going to be really
686
00:32:56.470 --> 00:32:58.059
disappointing for JMU to lose?
687
00:32:59.319 --> 00:33:02.920
Yeah, I think probably if you're looking for the real
688
00:33:03.039 --> 00:33:05.400
trap that could end up getting them and have people
689
00:33:05.519 --> 00:33:07.359
fuming at the end of the year, it's probably something
690
00:33:07.400 --> 00:33:10.950
in November where they play at Southern Miss and at UConn.
691
00:33:11.309 --> 00:33:14.109
Those two, especially if you're out of the playoff conversation
692
00:33:14.670 --> 00:33:16.710
or if you're even kind of out of the East conversation,
693
00:33:17.329 --> 00:33:20.130
I'm curious how stoked they're going to get for a
694
00:33:20.349 --> 00:33:24.130
mid-November game against UConn, where they haven't had a bye
695
00:33:24.170 --> 00:33:24.569
week yet.
696
00:33:24.609 --> 00:33:26.250
You're going into the bye the next week.
697
00:33:26.990 --> 00:33:29.430
I wasn't that high on UConn coming into the season,
698
00:33:29.450 --> 00:33:32.609
but they might be feistier than I realized with Candle
699
00:33:32.630 --> 00:33:35.009
in year one. So that one could certainly be an
700
00:33:35.049 --> 00:33:38.309
ugly one. And then I think the ones that really,
701
00:33:38.329 --> 00:33:41.349
I guess, stand out as possible losses are the road
702
00:33:41.390 --> 00:33:43.230
games here coming up in the next month or two.
703
00:33:43.920 --> 00:33:46.940
So you've got San Diego State, obviously, which I think
704
00:33:46.960 --> 00:33:49.160
we both picked that as a loss here. That certainly
705
00:33:49.180 --> 00:33:52.059
seems like one. That Old Dominion is going to be tough.
706
00:33:52.140 --> 00:33:54.900
ODU always plays them pretty well. The Statesboro trip to
707
00:33:54.940 --> 00:33:57.259
Georgia Southern is going to be tough. Like App State
708
00:33:57.299 --> 00:33:59.920
in Boone on a Thursday night is a short week.
709
00:34:00.059 --> 00:34:01.980
You've got to go to Boone on national TV.
710
00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:04.240
That's a scary one.
711
00:34:04.259 --> 00:34:07.079
So I think those are the ones that look the
712
00:34:07.119 --> 00:34:08.000
most frightening.
713
00:34:08.019 --> 00:34:09.480
And then you look at JMU's record.
714
00:34:09.500 --> 00:34:13.380
They're 24-3 at home since coming to the FBS. 18-8
715
00:34:13.920 --> 00:34:15.619
on the road or at a neutral site.
716
00:34:16.159 --> 00:34:17.440
Pretty good for both marks.
717
00:34:18.059 --> 00:34:20.699
And certainly they played some really hard teams on the road,
718
00:34:21.260 --> 00:34:23.199
but they have taken their lumps. I think they were
719
00:34:23.219 --> 00:34:26.360
3-3 on the road in 2024. It feels like it
720
00:34:26.400 --> 00:34:29.110
could be one of those years where, hey, you go 8-4, 9-3,
721
00:34:29.920 --> 00:34:32.360
and almost all of your blips are on the road,
722
00:34:32.760 --> 00:34:35.260
which I wouldn't fault them too much for. San Diego
723
00:34:35.280 --> 00:34:40.079
State's a tough road one. ODU, Georgia Southern, App State.
724
00:34:40.159 --> 00:34:41.739
I mean, I think some of those road games are
725
00:34:41.760 --> 00:34:45.550
just hard to win. And if you're going through three,
726
00:34:45.949 --> 00:34:50.289
maybe four of those with your backup quarterback, I could
727
00:34:50.329 --> 00:34:50.949
get a little dicey.
728
00:34:51.639 --> 00:34:55.400
For sure. And even, you know, Troy at home, you know,
729
00:34:55.460 --> 00:34:59.039
returning Sunbelt West champion. And then, you know, pointing out
730
00:34:59.059 --> 00:35:02.280
the November games ending the season, granted it is at home,
731
00:35:02.400 --> 00:35:05.409
but Coastal Carolina looked pretty solid against West Virginia and
732
00:35:06.030 --> 00:35:08.829
Ryan Beard there. That program could be kind of turning
733
00:35:08.869 --> 00:35:11.579
things around. So Of course, we'll have to see how
734
00:35:12.179 --> 00:35:14.260
the season unfolds for them, but that could be a
735
00:35:14.300 --> 00:35:21.059
tricky one as well. I think that's about all we
736
00:35:21.079 --> 00:35:23.050
got here today, Bennett. Thanks to you so much for
737
00:35:23.090 --> 00:35:25.289
the time. Before I let you go, what are you
738
00:35:25.309 --> 00:35:27.630
working on this week? What are you working on over
739
00:35:27.650 --> 00:35:28.690
there at JMU Sports News?
740
00:35:29.369 --> 00:35:31.969
Yeah, we'll have some San Diego State preview content. I
741
00:35:31.989 --> 00:35:35.719
know we've got some San Diego State analysts coming on
742
00:35:35.760 --> 00:35:39.059
for some podcast previews. We'll have a story about the
743
00:35:39.119 --> 00:35:42.130
matchup against the Aztecs and kind of looking at that.
744
00:35:42.230 --> 00:35:44.630
So we're, we're stoked for this one. I think it's
745
00:35:44.650 --> 00:35:46.670
going to be a really fun game. It is rare
746
00:35:46.889 --> 00:35:49.969
for the Jamie fan base to get late night kicks.
747
00:35:50.090 --> 00:35:52.610
So I think people are excited for the, the one
748
00:35:53.010 --> 00:35:56.099
rare West coast trip first game they've ever played in California.
749
00:35:56.139 --> 00:35:59.000
So it does not happen often, but I know Jamie
750
00:35:59.019 --> 00:36:02.059
fans will be tuned into the CW this weekend.
751
00:36:03.610 --> 00:36:07.659
Should be an exciting game no matter how it unfolds. Yeah,
752
00:36:07.679 --> 00:36:09.179
so thank you so much for the time again, Bennett.
753
00:36:09.219 --> 00:36:11.699
Really appreciate it. This has been the Pool Report with
754
00:36:11.719 --> 00:36:13.460
Colton Poole. If you like what you heard and want
755
00:36:13.480 --> 00:36:16.139
some more mid-major football coverage, make sure you subscribe and
756
00:36:16.159 --> 00:36:18.429
give us a five-star review. You can find me and
757
00:36:18.449 --> 00:36:20.010
the work that I'll be doing covering the group of
758
00:36:20.030 --> 00:36:23.510
six over on Twitter slash X at CPoolReporter. And if
759
00:36:23.530 --> 00:36:26.210
you're so inclined, you can support my G6 coverage at
760
00:36:26.250 --> 00:36:28.969
the Pool Report on Substack. And now I think it's
761
00:36:29.010 --> 00:36:30.380
about time we get out of here.