#24/25 Liberty Flames (2-1) vs. #6/7 JMU Dukes (1-1)
Sept. 26, 2009 - 7:05pm - Lynchburg, VA
Pre-game Social: 4:30-6:30pm
Lynchburg Ham's - 5704 Seminole Drive
Weather Report
| Tailgating? At Liberty? | 1pm | 61° | 70% (precip) |
| Getting to Ham's | 4pm | 61° | 80% |
| Getting into the stadium | 6pm | 61° | 90% |
| Kickoff | 7pm | 60° | 90% |
| Game over | 10pm | 60° | 80% |
Line for the game
Pick 'em
Injuries
WR Bosco Williams should be returning this week. Griff Yancey is also returning after bruising his clavicle. WR Kerby Long broke his hand in practice Thursday and will miss the next 6-8 weeks.
I haven't heard of any major injuries for Liberty, as their QB Beecher is now back.
What to watch
Dudzik and Thorpe will supposedly still be battling it out for the official QB spot. The offensive line seemed a little suspect against VMI, but I'm sure Mickey lit a fire under them this week to improve. Both QB's showed a great versatility last week in one of the better passing performances we've seen at JMU for awhile. Both have also shown they're a real run threat. Sullivan didn't have his best game last week, and Acker had a few nice runs. I'd guess Rock and Caussin will continue to get at least one TD each, as they're both big targets that have been solid so far.
Liberty's QB's will be very dangerous. Brown and Beecher are both versatile QB's, but the worst thing is that Liberty often plays with both of them in the play at the same time (something that wouldn't hurt for us to do once in awhile). As for their defense, nose tackle Asa Chapman is a monster at over 350 pounds. He'll create havoc for our offensive line if we play like last week. Overall, Liberty is a very solid team that won't get too many penalties and won't make a lot of mistakes. Not to mention that they'll be really hyped up for this game, which might be good for us. Our guys won't go in thinking we're playing a lesser opponent if it's a big-time crowd. Predictions are saying that there will be about 20,000 fans at the game, which will shatter their previous record. This is their Super Bowl. But, we'll have a sizeable crowd of our own taking up at least 3 sections of their stadium and we'll also have all the MRDs (who will split the halftime show with Liberty's marching band). Overall, it should be a very exciting game.
The rain may cause some problems, but it should just be showers throughout the game. The wind is only supposed to be about 7mph, so the weather shouldn't effect the offense too much. Weather and turnovers could be the equalizer of this game, but this is a game JMU should win and JMU rarely loses games like this.
My Thoughts
I don't see JMU scoring less than 30, and at the same time I don't see Liberty scoring that much. Here are the games in the past couple years that JMU has scored less than 30:
9/1/07 - @UNC - 14-37 (L) - FBS, 3 turnovers
10/6/07 - @NE - 21-14 (W) - Up north in the fall
10/27/07 - Richmond - 16-17 (L) - 3 turnovers, Richmond at home
11/17/07 - Towson - 23-13 (W) - Cruising into playoffs and ran the entire game
11/24/07 - @Appy - 27-28 (L) - Everyone remembers why we didn't score 30...
08/30/08 - @Duke - 7-31 (L) - FBS, 3 turnovers and couldn't get any O going
09/27/08 - @Maine - 24-10 (W) - Freezing cold, in Maine, raining
10/25/08 - @Nova - 23-19 (W) - In a driving downpour
12/12/08 - Montana - 25-37 (L) - 4 turnovers
It's not going to be cold or rainy enough for weather to kill our offense. There's enough hype and crowd that we won't fall into the Northeastern/Towson/Villanova trap. So that leaves turnovers, and so far we've done really well in this regard, so hopefully we keep it up (knock on wood). I think JMU will score 38 (+/- 7) and Liberty will score 28 (+/- 7). I don't think it'll be a blowout, and given the type of offense and defense JMU runs, I don't see us losing when we have the same or better talent. At the same time, it could range anywhere from JMU winning 45-21 to JMU losing 33-35. Either way, it will be a great game to watch.
Game Notes
JMU Game Notes
CAAZone - They Think They Are thread
Score Updates
To get score updates on Twitter, subscribe to @JMUWindbreaker. I'll be posting scores at the end of each quarter and any major action that happens. Posts might be more intermittent due to weather, but I'll do my best.
Live TV Coverage
FamilyNet - Atlanta, Ga. (National)
WTLU - Lynchburg, Va. (Channel - 50)
WRTV - Lynchburg, Va. (Channel - 13.2)
WGGN - Sandusky, Ohio (Channel - 52)
KCFT - Anchorage, Alaska (Channel - 35)
WAAY - Huntsville, Ala. (Channel - 31)
WBGR - Glenburn, Maine (Channel - 33)
WWMB - Florence, S.C. (Channel - 21)
WPDE - Myrtle Beach, S.C. (Channel 15)
WHSV MyValley - Harrisonburg, Va. (Channel 2)
Delayed TV Coverage (Two-Hour Delay/9 p.m.)
JCTV - Santa Anna, Calif. (Channel - National)
DirecTV (Channel 372)
Dish Network (Channel 260)
Replay TV Coverage (Sept. 28, 11:30 p.m.)
MASN - Baltimore (National)
DirecTV (Channel 640)
Dish Network (Channel 432)
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