From a JMU fan. How good is this year's Bison squad compared to last year's?

[IzzyFlexion]

Aside from having 109 season-ending ACL tears and 1 debilitating hip pointer, the Bison are hanging in there.

[THEsocalledfan]

Aside from having 109 season-ending ACL tears and 1 debilitating hip pointer, the Bison are hanging in there.

I think McFeely may be onto something; it may not be a hip pointer. (ie if Brooks was back, and you think Dunn is close, why pull shirt?) I'd pay attention to the presser today as someone is going to try to pin down Coach K on that one.

[THEsocalledfan]

Considering we are 8-0 and have beat 4 top 25 teams couple pretty handily I'd say we are ok

Next weeks game if fascinating to me. SDSU is rolling again, but they are about to run into the best D they have faced minus Cox for 1/2 half. On the other hand, SDSU defense is putrid, and NDSU should be able to run the ball. This does not set up well for SDSU IMHO unless they get turnovers.

[sbark]

With Cox playing and Deluca playing like Deluca (he was nicked up), this appears to be the best Bison defense since 2013, but we will know for sure after the next two weeks. Most impressive has been the emergence of the DE's which was one of the only liabilities, but no more.

Offensively, we have some issues. Line still needs to take that next step, but the offense is still better than 95% of FCS teams to put this in perspective. Stick appears to be going though the same kind of issues as Brock Jensen when not 100%. We just need to grind through it. Dunn may not be back for sometime, but if Brooks stays healthy, we will be okay.

Just with DeLuca.......JMU wouldnt get the run game yardage between the tackles they did last year, will we shut them down totally, maybe not, but the kid wouldnt get 200 for sure.

Offensivly...JMU was able to get more guys at the point the FB lead to the hole than anyone in Fargo. Their defensive speed was impressive, but they fully keyed on the FB and flew to that point of attack very well. Can the Bison bring some trap, zone stretch to combat, screens, flare to rb's to negate...

[tjbison]

Just with DeLuca.......JMU wouldnt get the run game yardage between the tackles they did last year, will we shut them down totally, maybe not, but the kid wouldnt get 200 for sure.

Offensivly...JMU was able to get more guys at the point the FB lead to the hole than anyone in Fargo. Their defensive speed was impressive, but they fully keyed on the FB and flew to that point of attack very well. Can the Bison bring some trap, zone stretch to combat, screens, flare to rb's to negate...

We have to win out yet before we talk about a game

[bulldogg]

Complacency setting in after one year. Something about that just seems cute to me.

I see. No offense taken. Just wondering what about my post seemed "cute."

Actually, what I perceive as complacency isn't so much about last year. It has more to do with winning 20 games in a row, I think, and not really being challenged. The last real challenge we had was playing in Fargo. Remember, we were ahead of Youngstown 21-0 very early in the second quarter at Frisco and then the team just let off the gas. We seem to be doing more of that this year, and I'm afraid it is going to come back to bite us in the ass. Our D isn't complacent. It's our offense, and I don't know why.


We still have two ranked teams in Richmond (#11) and Elon (#14) to play, and if we don't get up big and stay up, either one could be a loss. Our offense seems content to go up a couple of scores and coast, letting our D secure the win. We shutout #12 UNH Saturday, 21-0, a perfect example of going up early and letting off the gas. The Bison don't seem to be doing that. You are going for the jugular all the time, and I say that not having seen you play this year, just studying the stats. THAT is the way a championship team should play! I guess keeping that hunger and offensive intensity isn't easy, but aside from Youngstown, you guys seem to have found a way to do it, and just as importantly, when there is a little letdown, you have proven you can win the close games. We will see if we have that when we run up against a buzz saw. Right now, I'm a little worried about it.

I'm not sure if JMU and NDSU will be on the same side of the bracket again this playoff season. If not, Frisco could be a real war if we meet there. Even if the Bison make it that far and JMU doesn't, I will be there, as I live 20 minutes from the stadium. I met several Bison fans in Frisco last year. Every one was friendly and fun to be around. We were tailgating at 11 degrees at 7AM. We southerners were freezing our asses off, which made the Bison fans smile. Now, THAT is "cute."

[bisonp]

Stick is so up and down this year. NDSU is beatable, but at the same time I think they are better than last year on both sides of the ball. As others have said we will know more about the character of this team after the South Dakota games.

[Professor Chaos]

I think McFeely may be onto something; it may not be a hip pointer. (ie if Brooks was back, and you think Dunn is close, why pull shirt?) I'd pay attention to the presser today as someone is going to try to pin down Coach K on that one.

Agreed. I don't particularly care for McFeely but he made good points regarding Wilson's emergence signaling an extended absence from Dunn. Getting Klieman to say anything on it in the presser though will be like trying to nail jello to the wall. It'll just be the standard "he's progressing... we'll take it day-by-day/week-by-week" whether Dunn is on track to play Saturday or isn't even close.

Stick is so up and down this year. NDSU is beatable, but at the same time I think they are better than last year on both sides of the ball. As others have said we will know more about the character of this team after the South Dakota games.

I think Stick's performance has been pretty predictable when you look at the defenses he's faced. He's lit up the bad defenses (first 5 games of the year), played decent against good defenses (YSU and WIU), and really struggled against an elite defense (UNI).

JMU has an elite defense this year so if they do end up meeting in the playoffs I don't think the Bison will be able to rely on much of anything from the passing game.

[tony]

I see. No offense taken. Just wondering what about my post seemed "cute."

I believe he was implying that NDSU doesn't get complacent until the fourth consecutive national title.

Anyway, I watched a bit of Delaware v Towson (what a game!) and Delaware's defense looked awesome... assuming JMU's is better, that's a little scary, but, heck, one game at a time. NDSU still has to play South Dakota State, South Dakota, and Illinois State and those teams are the next three best in the conference.

IMO, NDSU's defense has improved. Holding EWU to 13 without DeLuca playing was a good sign, but one weakness NDSU still has is defending a running mobile QB. The DEs have been better on contain - we'll see how much better after playing SDSU and USD.

I'm not so sure about the offense. The offensive line is getting pushed around, and the power running game has been awful until late in the game. OTOH, Stick is a very good QB even though UNI made him look bad. Couldn't tell from the broadcast because they like to zoom in, but I'm guessing UNI went into the same kind of defense that Indiana State used to get a win against Brock Jensen a couple years ago - take away the middle of the field and go with a lot of coverage, keeping everything in front of them. Seems to me that's what UNI did to Youngstown State the week before so it's kind of disappointing that NDSU didn't seem ready for it.

[FrozenTech]

JMU has an elite defense this year so if they do end up meeting in the playoffs I don't think the Bison will be able to rely on much of anything from the passing game.

Stick didn't look great against UNI. But he made the plays we needed made, when they needed to be made. We won with 30 points on the board, so while his throwing stats looked abysmal, they made the most of the opportunities they had. That's a pretty flipping solid offense. That said, Thank you Robbie Grimsley and the Defense for giving the Offense the kick in the ass they needed to get it going in the second half.