# 15 New Hampshire Wildcats vs. # 7 James Madison
It was over when…New Hampshire RB Donna Peters took it in from 14 yards out to give the Wildcats a two score lead with 6:26 left to play in the 4th quarter. Peters was the leading rusher on the afternoon, getting 11 touches for 60 yards and that 4th quarter touchdown.
What I liked: The way New Hampshire came out in the 2nd half. The Wildcats were down 14-10 at halftime and JMU's defense had shut them down for most of the half. Their lone touchdown in the first half came off a Drew Dudzik fumble that was picked up by New Hampshire DE Matt Evens who ran it in for 17 yards. So this offense did not do a whole lot in the first 30 minutes of the contest. In the second half, the Wildcats gained 247 offensive yards to the Dukes 83 yards and put up 18 points to JMU's ZERO. The All-CAA quarterback ,R.J. Toman, also got it going in the second half, passing for 159 of his 254 yards and led the Wildcats on all 3 of their second half scoring drives. A team that had just beaten Richmond in a defensively sound game, came into JMU's backyard during their Homecoming and took the sails out of what could be a long second-half season for the Dukes. Credit the Wildcats, just like the Delaware Blue Hens did, in beating Richmond and JMU in back-to-back weekends on the road.
What I didn’t like: There are a lot of things not to like in this game but I'm going to say Drew Dudzik. This man was the big man on campus just a month ago after their stunning upset win over Virginia Tech, and now the kid probably couldn't go down to Harrisonburg High and throw a touchdown. He isn't throwing the ball with confidence and when he is rolling out, it's almost like he is looking at one receiver and if that's not there then he's throwing it away. He threw two interceptions in the game and one that stopped a drive at mid-field in the 4th quarter when they were down 21-14. With Thorpe probably out for the rest of the season, Dudzik must understand this is his team and he needs to carry it. He has not down a great job the past couple weeks and it's showing. His bottom line on Saturday read: 10-23, 157 yards, 2 INT. That's just not going to cut it for a team that has a top 5 defense in the league. This offense needs to find something in practice soon, because the schedule does not get any easier from here on out.
Game ball goes to…New Hampshire's 2nd half defense. They didn't allow the Dukes to score in the 2nd half, and only allowed the Dukes into Wildcat territory twice, and didn't allow them in the redzone after halftime. They held JMU's miserable offense to 83 yards and forced both interceptions. I'm not sure whether to credit the New Hampshire defense or to credit Drew Dudzik with the game ball, but we'll give the Wildcats some credit for putting Dudzik under a heap of pressure.
Key Stat: The Dukes are now 1-5 at home in the month of October the past 4 seasons. They will get one more home October game to improve on that record, but for a top team each of the past 4 seasons, that record is daunting. October is the middle stretch of the season, and to have a terrible home record like that, shows that this team struggles playing in front of the home crowd mid-season. Their last home October game this season wont get much easier as UMass comes to town Halloween weekend.
Up Next: JMU now enters the stretch of the season that will show whether this team will make the playoffs. Now after reading that you might think playoffs are a shoe-in for this team, but pump the brakes. They already have 2 CAA loses, both at home which KILLS, and they haven't even played the past two I-AA champions, Villanova and Richmond, along with two top-15 teams, UMass and William and Mary. Villanova is next on the schedule up in Philadelphia this Saturday in a must-win for the Dukes. They could still lose and get into the playoffs, but the uphill battle will just get harder for JMU as they keep digging themselves into a hole. Look back later in the week as we preview the Nova-JMU game and update you on injuries from Saturday's game.
-MO
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