Well that was....embarrassing.

"Penalties, penalties, penalties." That's what Mickey Matthews said in the post-game conference regarding what cost his team another W. I actually watched the whole conference and tried to keep count of how many times Matthews said the word penalty. I lost count somewhere in the thirties. You know, fine, blame the loss on penalties and poor field position. I choose to blame the loss on Drew Dudzik and the lack of, yet again, an offense. 10 penalties for a loss of 81 yards, several that negated lengthy returns in the kicking game.


But credit needs to be given to Delaware's back-up QB Trevor Sasek who completed 13 of 21 passes for a total of 124 yards.  In comparison, Dudzik threw 12 for 20 for 120 yards. Yes, our redshirt senior was essentially even with a true freshman back-up quarterback. How comforting. What is most frustrating is we have the weapons. Dudzik, when he trusts himself, can throw lasers. We saw it against Tech. When Jamal Sullivan gets open, he can fly. He had moments of greatness today, earning 93 of JMU's 161 rushing yards. On second down at the JMU 31, Sullivan rushed up the middle for 16 yards near midfield.  He followed that with the longest play of the day for either team, a 47-yard rush down to the Delaware six.


I never thought I would say this, but I am looking forward to the return of Justin Thorpe. He is said to have about three weeks left dealing with his injury, so I am hoping to see the return, according to Matthews, "the best athlete he's ever coached" at least for the William & Mary game on 11/13, if not sooner. 


Kudos, once again, to JMU's stellar defense. I almost wrote a post about freshman running back Andrew Pierce and what the Duke's D-line was going to have to do to prepare for him. But in true form, they shut Pierce, who entered the game leading the CAA averaging nearly 150 yards a game, to 55 yards on the afternoon.  JMU has not allowed a 100-yard rusher this season. 


Next up for the Dukes is a road game against the Towson Tigers this Saturday. A game I would normally never worry about considering they are ranked dead last in the CAA, I now should probably reconsider. I am looking forward to seeing the shake-up in the polls tomorrow. No. 1 Villanova lost in a shocker to William & Mary 31-24. Depending on how well Appalachian State did (No. 2) I could see Delaware moving into the new No. 2 slot with App St. taking the prestigious top spot. I don't think JMU will drop out of the top 10, but with huge wins by Delaware, W&M and a solid, but predictable performance by Massachusetts, there will certainly be some changes.


Once again, college football proves to be unpredictable. Here is a video from the local news station that makes JMU look a lot better than they actually were, nice editing guys. NBC 29 News JMU vs. Delaware Recap


-CH