CAA Week 8 Prediction Thread

[bluehenbillk]

UNH 34 Maine 17- UNH seems to be rolling offensively lately
VU 37 GSU 20- Talley & Robertson keep Cats momentum
UD 27 URI 10- Ugly game of week, 3 best UD players likely to sit
JMU 31 UR 21 - Would've been good game with Laub, Dukes win
TU 28 ODU 26- I'll take Ambrose over Wilder this week

[SuperHornet]

UNH
Villanova
Delaware
JMU
ODU

[CAA Flagship]

UNH 44 Maine 21
VU 41 GSU 13
UD 38 URI 12
JMU 24 UR 17
TU 37 ODU 31

[BDKJMU]

UNH (5-2/3-1) @ Maine (2-4/1-2) (noon) (CSN MA/CSN NE/CSN P/CSN BA) By 10 Maine looks like they have improved a lot in the last 2 weeks, but not enough to win at home against UNH.

JMU (5-1/3-0) @ UR (3:30) (4-2/2-0) (3:30) (CSN-MA/TCN P/CSN-CH/CSN-NW) 27-13

URI (0-6/0-3)@ UD (4-2/1-2) (3:30): By 24 UD has had 2 weeks to fix what ails them, and they face off against the hapless Rams, who might be the worst team they have faced all season, and that’s saying a lot considering the 3 cream puffs they played OOC.

Villanova @ GST (3:30) By 17 GST appears to have improved the last 2 weeks when they lost to UNH at home by "only 23", and they beat URI worse than Villanova and JMU did, worse than anyone else except for BG. Nova has a big letdown in the empty GA Dome in their 2nd straight week on the road after pulling the huge upset in Norfolk, but still wins rather comfortably.

ODU (5-1/2-1) @ TU (3-3/2-1) (7 PM). By 7 in a relatively high scoring game of around 70 points. Was billed pre season as the CAA game of the year, but it has lost a little of its luster with TU’s loss @ JMU and ODU getting spanked at home by Villanova last week. I think TU is the most balanced team in the CAA, the only one that is probably a top 3-4 CAA team in both offense and defense. ODU will bounce back from their embarrassment last week, but not enough to overcome their Achilles heel swiss cheese of a defense. West will rush for 200+.

Bye: W&M- This comes at a perfect time for W&M. I think emotionally they shot their wad in Harrisonburg last week, and wouldn’t have a hard time bringing their A game this week after that 2OT excruciating loss in a game they should have won (plus after 7 games in 7 weeks I'm sure they are banged up).

[BDKJMU]

UR doesn’t have as good a defense as W&M. UR “HAD” a much better offense than W&M, but if they still do it remains to be seen.
-Laub broke his foot late in their 44-40 loss at UNH, which from what I heard, is HUGE. I don’t know anything about UR’s backup except he transferred from UVGay where he was slated to be 4th-5th string. --
-UR also loss their starting TB & leading rusher the prior week to a career ending spinal condition.
-Their big OG went down in the 2nd Qtr vs UNH with what looked like a serious ankle injury, doubt he'll play vs JMU.

JMU injury list is long:

Out for season:
-Starting WR (ACL, WVU)
-Starting LT (broken foot, URI)

Likely out for UR:
-Starting WR, #22, rSo (concussion & knee/PCL, Towson)
-2 deep OLB, #2, rSr (ankle, W&M)
-2 deep safety, #9, rJr (concussion W&M)

Questionable for UR
-Starting DT, #98, rJr (knee, W&M, same knee blew out last season game 2 CCSU)
-Starting DE, #39, rSr (concussion, W&M)

Basically the 5th DT and DE have been moved to the 2 deep, and a bulked up 240lb LB has been moved to DE. Will be an 8 man rotation along the DL, but there will be a dropp off if the 2 starters can't go.
http://jamesmadison.rivals.com/barrier_ ... &mid=&rid=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yesterday was assuming that JMU wouldn’t sh*t the bed 2 weeks in a row and was predicting JMU 27, UR 20. Then when I found out Laub broke his foot I changed it to 27-13. If the 2 Questionable starting JMU DL #98 & #39 are out (should find out by tomorrow), changing it back to 27-20.

[BDKJMU]

It seems like every week JMU is having a couple of guys go down due to concussions, with one missing the following week. Never seen anything like it before. Unbelievable.

[LDopaPDX]

I'll take a shot...

New Hampshire over Maine, 45-20 Without considering the Delaware beatdown, I'm not sold on the Maine D. But I am sold on the UNH offense.

Villanova over Georgia State, 44-14 Beating Rhode Island will be the highlight of GSU's season... now back to reality.

James Madison over Richmond, 24-21 Richmond might be the best 3-loss team in the FCS, but JMU might be the best 1-loss team in the FCS.

Old Dominion over Towson, 30-20 Old Dominion has a lot of offensive playmakers, they'll be good for enough points to top Towson who just looks dubious when they have the ball.

Delaware over Rhode Island, 41-9 Rhode Island is just one step better than Savannah State, the perfect tonic for struggling Delaware.

[Seahawks08]

Villanova @ GST (3:30) By 17 GST appears to have improved the last 2 weeks when they lost to UNH at home by "only 23", and they beat URI worse than Villanova and JMU did, worse than anyone else except for BG. Nova has a big letdown in the empty GA Dome in their 2nd straight week on the road after pulling the huge upset in Norfolk, but still wins rather comfortably.

So nova has a big letdown and still wins by 17? I'll take it!

[ODUalum78]

UNH @ Maine 31-24 Maine is at home, but UNH has a little too much offense.

URI @ UD 3-41 URI may very well be the worst team in all of the FCS, including Savannah St.

JMU @ Richmond 24-23 This would have been a toss-up had Laub not been injured. Still; a trap game for JMU that could be an upset after a letdown from the Towson game.

Villanova @ GaSt 35-10 Back to reality for GaSt. They only win the one game this year.

ODU @ Towson 47- 38 ODU offense back on track. Certainly the ODU defense was addressed during the week ? ....uhh sure.

[bluehenbillk]

UR doesn’t have as good a defense as W&M. UR “HAD” a much better offense than W&M, but if they still do it remains to be seen.
-Laub broke his foot late in their 44-40 loss at UNH, which from what I heard, is HUGE. I don’t know anything about UR’s backup except he transferred from UVGay where he was slated to be 4th-5th string. --
-UR also loss their starting TB & leading rusher the prior week to a career ending spinal condition.
-Their big OG went down in the 2nd Qtr vs UNH with what looked like a serious ankle injury, doubt he'll play vs JMU.

JMU injury list is long:

Out for season:
-Starting WR (ACL, WVU)
-Starting LT (broken foot, URI)

Likely out for UR:
-Starting WR, #22, rSo (concussion & knee/PCL, Towson)
-2 deep OLB, #2, rSr (ankle, W&M)
-2 deep safety, #9, rJr (concussion W&M)

Questionable for UR
-Starting DT, #98, rJr (knee, W&M, same knee blew out last season game 2 CCSU)
-Starting DE, #39, rSr (concussion, W&M)

Basically the 5th DT and DE have been moved to the 2 deep, and a bulked up 240lb LB has been moved to DE. Will be an 8 man rotation along the DL, but there will be a dropp off if the 2 starters can't go.
http://jamesmadison.rivals.com/barrier_ ... &mid=&rid=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yesterday was assuming that JMU wouldn’t sh*t the bed 2 weeks in a row and was predicting JMU 27, UR 20. Then when I found out Laub broke his foot I changed it to 27-13. If the 2 Questionable starting JMU DL #98 & #39 are out (should find out by tomorrow), changing it back to 27-20.

\

Cry me a river, everybody has injuries we just don't complain about them.

UD's starting QB (Hurley) is out this week, all-league RB (Pierce) is out again this week & all-league LB (Worrilow) & our best defender is out this week & maybe multiple games.

[BDKJMU]

UR doesn’t have as good a defense as W&M. UR “HAD” a much better offense than W&M, but if they still do it remains to be seen.
-Laub broke his foot late in their 44-40 loss at UNH, which from what I heard, is HUGE. I don’t know anything about UR’s backup except he transferred from UVGay where he was slated to be 4th-5th string. --
-UR also loss their starting TB & leading rusher the prior week to a career ending spinal condition.
-Their big OG went down in the 2nd Qtr vs UNH with what looked like a serious ankle injury, doubt he'll play vs JMU.

JMU injury list is long:

Out for season:
-Starting WR (ACL, WVU)
-Starting LT (broken foot, URI)

Likely out for UR:
-Starting WR, #22, rSo (concussion & knee/PCL, Towson)
-2 deep OLB, #2, rSr (ankle, W&M)
-2 deep safety, #9, rJr (concussion W&M)

Questionable for UR
-Starting DT, #98, rJr (knee, W&M, same knee blew out last season game 2 CCSU)
-Starting DE, #39, rSr (concussion, W&M)

Basically the 5th DT and DE have been moved to the 2 deep, and a bulked up 240lb LB has been moved to DE. Will be an 8 man rotation along the DL, but there will be a dropp off if the 2 starters can't go.
http://jamesmadison.rivals.com/barrier_ ... &mid=&rid=" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yesterday was assuming that JMU wouldn’t sh*t the bed 2 weeks in a row and was predicting JMU 27, UR 20. Then when I found out Laub broke his foot I changed it to 27-13. If the 2 Questionable starting JMU DL #98 & #39 are out (should find out by tomorrow), changing it back to 27-20.

\

Cry me a river, everybody has injuries we just don't complain about them.

UD's starting QB (Hurley) is out this week, all-league RB (Pierce) is out again this week & all-league LB (Worrilow) & our best defender is out this week & maybe multiple games.

Yeah, but UD is playing URI at home. Should be able to beat them with your 2nd string.

[BisoNation]

I gotta get in on the CAA action this week, I'm feeling some upsets.

New Hampshire over Maine

Nova over GSU

Delaware over Rhode Island

Richmond upset over JMU

And Towson beats an overrated Old Dominion

[93henfan]

UNH 31 Maine 24
VU 44 GSU 10
UD 34 URI 10
JMU 24 UR 20
ODU 35 TU 34

[CAA Flagship]

UNH 44 Maine 21
VU 41 GSU 13
UD 38 URI 12
JMU 24 UR 17
TU 37 ODU 31

UNH 44 Maine 21 (28-21) (Maine on the nose)
VU 41 GSU 13 (49-24)
UD 38 URI 12 (47-24)
JMU 24 UR 17 (29-35)
TU 37 ODU 31 (20-31) (ODU on the nose)

[93henfan]

UNH 31 Maine 24
VU 44 GSU 10
UD 34 URI 10
JMU 24 UR 20
ODU 35 TU 34

4-1

UNH 31 Maine 24 (28-21) nailed the spread; had each team a FG high
VU 44 GSU 10 (49-24) tad low on the score
UD 34 URI 10 (47-24) nailed the spread; low on the score
JMU 24 UR 20 (29-35) at least JMU lost
ODU 35 TU 34 (31-20) gave Towson too much credit

[BDKJMU]

Never in a million years would I have thought JMU would get 500+ yds of total offense (526 in this case) and lose a CAA game to anyone other than possibly ODU. JMU 1st 2 series nice drive with a TD pass by Thorpe, followed by a drive with a FG. After that, from about 2/3 of the way through the 1st qtr to about 2/3 of the way through the 3rd qtr, the JMU offense didn’t do jack squat. JT threw 2 horrible picks that lead to 9 UR points, and was replaced by JMU’s #2 QB, true Fr Michael Birdsong, who had seen action against SFU, Alcorn, WVU, and URI. In the 4 JMU series before the onside kick, JMU scored 3 TDs with Birdsong under center. Then JMU recovered an onsides kick, and had the ball at the UR 31 on the last play of the game, where Birdsong’s jump ball was knocked down in the endzone.
The comparison of the 2:

JT in 40:36 of game:
JMU 254 yds total offense
Passing: 8 for 13, 142 , 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: 15 for 36, 0 TD, 0 fumbles (remove the 3 sacks, it was 12 for 50).

Birdsong in 19:24 of game:
JMU 277 yds total offense
Passing: 11 for 22, 159, 1 TD, 0 INT (were several drops)
Rushing: 7 carries, 73 yds, 1 TD, 0 fumbles.

Now JMU has a raging QB controversy over on the CAA Zone.

[GannonFan]

Man, and here I thought after all the Thorpe bragging on here, and the hoopla over him getting a 6th year of eligibility, that he was the man? Any chance disgruntled JMU fans are now lining up party invitations to have Thorpe come over and smoke some few just before his next drug test?

And all the hype around Birdsong's performance in relief in that loss is starting to sound a lot like the hype for that guy who came in for relief of an injured Landers in that Montana playoff game loss, played somewhat well, and JMU guys claiming they had found their QB of the future and they wouldn't miss a beat. Dudzik, that's they guy's name - I actually had to look it up as I forgot about him since JMU guys tossed him away when Thorpe came on the scene. Granted, Birdsong may be a player, but we'll need to see more than just mop up duty in a loss.

[BDKJMU]

Man, and here I thought after all the Thorpe bragging on here, and the hoopla over him getting a 6th year of eligibility, that he was the man? Any chance disgruntled JMU fans are now lining up party invitations to have Thorpe come over and smoke some few just before his next drug test?

And all the hype around Birdsong's performance in relief in that loss is starting to sound a lot like the hype for that guy who came in for relief of an injured Landers in that Montana playoff game loss, played somewhat well, and JMU guys claiming they had found their QB of the future and they wouldn't miss a beat. Dudzik, that's they guy's name - I actually had to look it up as I forgot about him since JMU guys tossed him away when Thorpe came on the scene. Granted, Birdsong may be a player, but we'll need to see more than just mop up duty in a loss.

He came in about 2-3 of the way through the 3rd qtr with JMU down 28-10, and had JMU on the UR 31 on the last play of the game down 35-29. This was his 1st action when it WASN'T mop up duty.

Difference being Dudzik was a 3rd yr soph when he came in late in the 1st half in that Montana semi final loss, and Birdsong is a true fr.

[BDKJMU]

I have gone from after TU thinking JMU has a great defense to after W&M thinking have a very good defense to after UR thinking just an avg-above avg one. Sure, JMU was missing 2 starting DL, but still. I can see why the commentators of the UR @ UNH game when Stauss came in in the 4th qtr for the injured Laub that the competition in camp between the 2 had been neck and neck. Stauss isn’t the runner that Laub is, but he sure can throw. 29 for 43, 271 yds, 4 TDs, 0 INTs.
Stupid JMU penalties (late hit out of bounds, late hit on QB, helmet to helmet) extended 3 UR drives. On the last UR TD pass the pass was deflected in the endzone, and landed in the hands of a UR receiver who had fallen down. Was that type of day for JMU.

This sequence summed up the game for JMU:
3rd qtr Mickey orders a GD rugby punt for JMU’s normally very good conventional style punter that goes 2 yds, and and UR gets ball on JMU 49.

Think that was the same series that JMU defensive player dropped a SURE pick 6. UR then drives to score a TD, aided by a helmet to helmet on JMU’s all CAA safety Dean Marlowe. That is a 13 point swing right there (UR missed 3 XP, and JMU failed on two 2 point conversions).

[bluehenbillk]

I have gone from after TU thinking JMU has a great defense to after W&M thinking have a very good defense to after UR thinking just an avg-above avg one. Sure, JMU was missing 2 starting DL, but still. I can see why the commentators of the UR @ UNH game when Stauss came in in the 4th qtr for the injured Laub that the competition in camp between the 2 had been neck and neck. Stauss isn’t the runner that Laub is, but he sure can throw. 29 for 43, 271 yds, 4 TDs, 0 INTs.
Stupid JMU penalties (late hit out of bounds, late hit on QB, helmet to helmet) extended 3 UR drives. On the last UR TD pass the pass was deflected in the endzone, and landed in the hands of a UR receiver who had fallen down.

This sequence summed up the game for JMU:
3rd qtr Mickey orders a GD rugby punt for JMU’s normally very good conventional style punter that goes 2 yds, and and UR gets ball on JMU 49.

Think that was the same series that JMU defensive player dropped a SURE pick 6. UR then drives to score a TD, aided by a helmet to helmet on JMU’s all CAA safety Dean Marlowe. That is a 13 point swing right there (UR missed 3 XP, and JMU failed on two 2 point conversions).

Congratulations for coming up with 10 excuses for losing in one thread.

Sometimes you just have to tip your hat to the other team & say they were better that day.

[BDKJMU]

I have gone from after TU thinking JMU has a great defense to after W&M thinking have a very good defense to after UR thinking just an avg-above avg one. Sure, JMU was missing 2 starting DL, but still. I can see why the commentators of the UR @ UNH game when Stauss came in in the 4th qtr for the injured Laub that the competition in camp between the 2 had been neck and neck. Stauss isn’t the runner that Laub is, but he sure can throw. 29 for 43, 271 yds, 4 TDs, 0 INTs.
Stupid JMU penalties (late hit out of bounds, late hit on QB, helmet to helmet) extended 3 UR drives. On the last UR TD pass the pass was deflected in the endzone, and landed in the hands of a UR receiver who had fallen down.

This sequence summed up the game for JMU:
3rd qtr Mickey orders a GD rugby punt for JMU’s normally very good conventional style punter that goes 2 yds, and and UR gets ball on JMU 49.

Think that was the same series that JMU defensive player dropped a SURE pick 6. UR then drives to score a TD, aided by a helmet to helmet on JMU’s all CAA safety Dean Marlowe. That is a 13 point swing right there (UR missed 3 XP, and JMU failed on two 2 point conversions).

Congratulations for coming up with 10 excuses for losing in one thread.

Sometimes you just have to tip your hat to the other team & say they were better that day.

I said Stauss was good- listed what he did.
Pointing out all the stupid stuff your team does (big penalties, a 2 yd punt, dropping sure pick 6, etc) isn't making excuses. Its just pointing out all the stupid stuff you're team does, a lot of it unforced, against a good team, and why they deserve to lose.

UR has a good team. Like night and day compared to last season. They won @ Nova 28-17. If UR had a FG kicker, they would have beaten UNH and be tied for 1st place. In that game when UR was down late in the 4th 41-40 because of a missed XP and 23 yd FG. UR had to go for it on 4th down, failed to convert, UNH got the ball already in FG range, kicked an FG, and won 44-40.

UR is now 5-3/3-2. With a bye, UD, URI, and @ W&M, they may have just punched their ticket as one of the likely 4 CAA playoff teams.

[jmufan]

I think UR is going to be playoff bound. They have an easy schedule the rest of the way except W&M. But they still need to win 3 of the 4 games left.

[BDKJMU]

I think UR is going to be playoff bound. They have an easy schedule the rest of the way except W&M. But they still need to win 3 of the 4 games left.

They have 3 games left. They have to win all 3. 7-4 will not get you in this yr.