JMU Post Game Thoughts.

[Professor Chaos]

[Commence rant]
Just need to vent along that line. Obviously not all, or even most, JMU fans are this way. In fact several on this thread are a joy to talk to, particularly JMUSteeler. But I am tired of the JMU fans that want to pretend that what happened on Saturday was nothing but a fluke. Everything that they did right was a result of their superior skill. And all the plays that went wrong for them were a result of bad luck or something that "never happens." As if the Bison were there to be cannon fodder for them. NO "dropped" pass had anything to do with Bison defense. Tanguay's interception took away the TD they "deserved" so they should get "credit" for those 7 points. They missed a makeable FG (40+ yards from a hashmark is makeable, but hardly a "gimme"), so they want credit for that 3 points. Therefore, add 10 points for what they "deserve" and the won the game. Plus the throw to Kloosterman should have been a TD but it was overthrown. Nevermind I think there was a Bison linebacker right in the line of fire preventing Schor from throwing it lower and a couple defenders around him and closing fast so if it is lobbed to him they will possibly be able to break it up. The throw to Alls was the one that was, I believe, thrown behind the runner. Each of these "should have" resulted in a TD. Therefore, NDSU was fortunate to come out with a win.

It was a close game. I get that. By their nature close games lend themselves to counter-factuals ("What if...?") I get that. I have had my favorite teams on the losing side of those too. But you don't get to change everything that went wrong, change it to something going right, then insist that this means you "really" won the game despite what the score said. Yes, JMU's defense was good. I have no problem saying that their defense was outstanding. But they were also defending a long field almost all day making scoring a lot more difficult. NDSU's defense was frequently STARTING drives in their own territory and still gave up fewer yards and fewer points. One drive might be "luck," or "unforced errors" but doing it virtually all day? Some of that is credit to the defense. Their 3rd and 4th string cornerbacks were going up against a quality receiving corps (why didn't Stapleton do more during the season?) and did better than I expected. The run defense was lights out. They contained Schor, a very good QB not only bottling him up but seemed to rattle him by the end.

I, and I am sure most Bison fans, don't need sycophantic praise. I don't need/want them to grovel and pretend that they were just cannon fodder on NDSU's march to the title. I don't need them to "proclaim" NDSU kings of FCS. What I would appreciate hearing/reading from them would be something along the lines of, "WOW, that was a great game. We had a great season and are a very good/great team. On this day NDSU won the game fair and square. I like our chances to beat you next time." That was my honest response when JMU won last year. That was my response when SDSU beat NDSU this year. But the whole thing of saying NDSU didn't "deserve" to win the game, or that they "outplayed NDSU" in anything but special teams, or their poor clock management/play-calling were to blame as if NDSU didn't have any questionable ones as well, we never drop those passes, gets really old.

Maybe it is just "too soon." If so, we'll see what happens when the shock and initial pain wears off.

[End of rant]

It is ironic how they wanted to give their defense credit for "forcing" Christion to fumble 3 times in the semis when his arms/the ball weren't touched but they're quick to point out that NDSU's defense did nothing to force their receivers into getting the dropsies.

[RonMexico]

[Commence rant]
Just need to vent along that line. Obviously not all, or even most, JMU fans are this way. In fact several on this thread are a joy to talk to, particularly JMUSteeler. But I am tired of the JMU fans that want to pretend that what happened on Saturday was nothing but a fluke. Everything that they did right was a result of their superior skill. And all the plays that went wrong for them were a result of bad luck or something that "never happens." As if the Bison were there to be cannon fodder for them. NO "dropped" pass had anything to do with Bison defense. Tanguay's interception took away the TD they "deserved" so they should get "credit" for those 7 points. They missed a makeable FG (40+ yards from a hashmark is makeable, but hardly a "gimme"), so they want credit for that 3 points. Therefore, add 10 points for what they "deserve" and the won the game. Plus the throw to Kloosterman should have been a TD but it was overthrown. Nevermind I think there was a Bison linebacker right in the line of fire preventing Schor from throwing it lower and a couple defenders around him and closing fast so if it is lobbed to him they will possibly be able to break it up. The throw to Alls was the one that was, I believe, thrown behind the runner. Each of these "should have" resulted in a TD. Therefore, NDSU was fortunate to come out with a win.

It was a close game. I get that. By their nature close games lend themselves to counter-factuals ("What if...?") I get that. I have had my favorite teams on the losing side of those too. But you don't get to change everything that went wrong, change it to something going right, then insist that this means you "really" won the game despite what the score said. Yes, JMU's defense was good. I have no problem saying that their defense was outstanding. But they were also defending a long field almost all day making scoring a lot more difficult. NDSU's defense was frequently STARTING drives in their own territory and still gave up fewer yards and fewer points. One drive might be "luck," or "unforced errors" but doing it virtually all day? Some of that is credit to the defense. Their 3rd and 4th string cornerbacks were going up against a quality receiving corps (why didn't Stapleton do more during the season?) and did better than I expected. The run defense was lights out. They contained Schor, a very good QB not only bottling him up but seemed to rattle him by the end.

I, and I am sure most Bison fans, don't need sycophantic praise. I don't need/want them to grovel and pretend that they were just cannon fodder on NDSU's march to the title. I don't need them to "proclaim" NDSU kings of FCS. What I would appreciate hearing/reading from them would be something along the lines of, "WOW, that was a great game. We had a great season and are a very good/great team. On this day NDSU won the game fair and square. I like our chances to beat you next time." That was my honest response when JMU won last year. That was my response when SDSU beat NDSU this year. But the whole thing of saying NDSU didn't "deserve" to win the game, or that they "outplayed NDSU" in anything but special teams, or their poor clock management/play-calling were to blame as if NDSU didn't have any questionable ones as well, we never drop those passes, gets really old.

Maybe it is just "too soon." If so, we'll see what happens when the shock and initial pain wears off.

[End of rant]

Yeah, they bring up all that but they never mention the hellacious pass interference call that was missed on RJ, don't say anything about the phantom block below the waist, they still think the pass to Shep was a blown coverage when both players and coaches have said that play was designed for that game for that specific coverage to put the safety in a bad spot and allow Shep to run away from him. Couldn't have possible been great coaching and execution, nope it was a blown coverage.

I thought the JSU fans were delusional but JMU is given them a run for their money.

[NoDak]

Yeah, they bring up all that but they never mention the hellacious pass interference call that was missed on RJ, don't say anything about the phantom block below the waist, they still think the pass to Shep was a blown coverage when both players and coaches have said that play was designed for that game for that specific coverage to put the safety in a bad spot and allow Shep to run away from him. Couldn't have possible been great coaching and execution, nope it was a blown coverage.

I thought the JSU fans were delusional but JMU is given them a run for their money.

At least JMU beat the Bison at the dome. JSU beat SHSU and that proved they were great.

[Bison 4 Life]

Yeah, they bring up all that but they never mention the hellacious pass interference call that was missed on RJ, don't say anything about the phantom block below the waist, they still think the pass to Shep was a blown coverage when both players and coaches have said that play was designed for that game for that specific coverage to put the safety in a bad spot and allow Shep to run away from him. Couldn't have possible been great coaching and execution, nope it was a blown coverage.

I thought the JSU fans were delusional but JMU is given them a run for their money.

They literally survive on the refs not calling all the contact they do. They were grabbing and holding everybody everywhere and it was never called.

[Christopher Moen]

[Commence rant]
Just need to vent along that line. Obviously not all, or even most, JMU fans are this way. In fact several on this thread are a joy to talk to, particularly JMUSteeler. But I am tired of the JMU fans that want to pretend that what happened on Saturday was nothing but a fluke. Everything that they did right was a result of their superior skill. And all the plays that went wrong for them were a result of bad luck or something that "never happens." As if the Bison were there to be cannon fodder for them. NO "dropped" pass had anything to do with Bison defense. Tanguay's interception took away the TD they "deserved" so they should get "credit" for those 7 points. They missed a makeable FG (40+ yards from a hashmark is makeable, but hardly a "gimme"), so they want credit for that 3 points. Therefore, add 10 points for what they "deserve" and the won the game. Plus the throw to Kloosterman should have been a TD but it was overthrown. Nevermind I think there was a Bison linebacker right in the line of fire preventing Schor from throwing it lower and a couple defenders around him and closing fast so if it is lobbed to him they will possibly be able to break it up. The throw to Alls was the one that was, I believe, thrown behind the runner. Each of these "should have" resulted in a TD. Therefore, NDSU was fortunate to come out with a win.

It was a close game. I get that. By their nature close games lend themselves to counter-factuals ("What if...?") I get that. I have had my favorite teams on the losing side of those too. But you don't get to change everything that went wrong, change it to something going right, then insist that this means you "really" won the game despite what the score said. Yes, JMU's defense was good. I have no problem saying that their defense was outstanding. But they were also defending a long field almost all day making scoring a lot more difficult. NDSU's defense was frequently STARTING drives in their own territory and still gave up fewer yards and fewer points. One drive might be "luck," or "unforced errors" but doing it virtually all day? Some of that is credit to the defense. Their 3rd and 4th string cornerbacks were going up against a quality receiving corps (why didn't Stapleton do more during the season?) and did better than I expected. The run defense was lights out. They contained Schor, a very good QB not only bottling him up but seemed to rattle him by the end.

I, and I am sure most Bison fans, don't need sycophantic praise. I don't need/want them to grovel and pretend that they were just cannon fodder on NDSU's march to the title. I don't need them to "proclaim" NDSU kings of FCS. What I would appreciate hearing/reading from them would be something along the lines of, "WOW, that was a great game. We had a great season and are a very good/great team. On this day NDSU won the game fair and square. I like our chances to beat you next time." That was my honest response when JMU won last year. That was my response when SDSU beat NDSU this year. But the whole thing of saying NDSU didn't "deserve" to win the game, or that they "outplayed NDSU" in anything but special teams, or their poor clock management/play-calling were to blame as if NDSU didn't have any questionable ones as well, we never drop those passes, gets really old.

Maybe it is just "too soon." If so, we'll see what happens when the shock and initial pain wears off.

[End of rant]

Have any if them realized that had one of those "bad" plays gone their way and they scored and taken the lead, that NDSU would have countered with a less conservative offense? If not, they need to understand "temporal paradoxes" better. In other words, if you change something in the past (a certain negative play in this case), the complete future changes and is totally unknown (there is no guarantee that they win).

[NoDak]

At least JMU beat the Bison at the dome. JSU beat SHSU and that proved they were great.

FWIW, SHSU is interesting. In some ways they belong in the upper-echelon of FCS schools. They have been to the semi-finals at least 4 times in the last 8 years and went to the finals 2x. That would be something to be proud of for most programs. But it seems they get beaten worse and worse every year. Kind of like the Bills in the 1990's. Certainly better than almost everyone. But I have a hard time giving them credit as they can't seem to quite get over the hump. Yet the teams ahead of them seem to constantly change (with the exception of NDSU). Though they can also say that, with the exception of JSU, they lost in the playoffs to the eventual champion. They are the Forrest Gump of the FCS. Never far from the center.

[EC8CH]

FWIW, SHSU is interesting. In some ways they belong in the upper-echelon of FCS schools. They have been to the semi-finals at least 4 times in the last 8 years and went to the finals 2x. That would be something to be proud of for most programs. But it seems they get beaten worse and worse every year. Kind of like the Bills in the 1990's. Certainly better than almost everyone. But I have a hard time giving them credit as they can't seem to quite get over the hump. Yet the teams ahead of them seem to constantly change (with the exception of NDSU). Though they can also say that, with the exception of JSU, they lost in the playoffs to the eventual champion. They are the Forrest Gump of the FCS. Never far from the center.

BearKats have a glass chin.

[NoDak]

Yeah, they bring up all that but they never mention the hellacious pass interference call that was missed on RJ, don't say anything about the phantom block below the waist, they still think the pass to Shep was a blown coverage when both players and coaches have said that play was designed for that game for that specific coverage to put the safety in a bad spot and allow Shep to run away from him. Couldn't have possible been great coaching and execution, nope it was a blown coverage.

I thought the JSU fans were delusional but JMU is given them a run for their money.

Nope, those just prove how much more dominant they are on defense.

[EC8CH]

Dunn and Anderson were beginning to bust off some longer runs as the 4th quarter went along. I think cracks were beginning to show in the FCS's second best defense. While not an explosive performance I think NDSU was able to run the ball more consistently than JMU and other than the fake punt and Stick killing time at the end, that gap was growing. To me that was one of the biggest differences in the game.

Both Ds where nightmares for the opposing team's QBs. Towards the end Bison where even getting pressure with 3 man rushes.

[WhoRepsTheLurker]

[Commence rant]
Just need to vent along that line ... [End of rant]

I thought Weber was impressive against JMU. I was struck by with how athletic they looked. I didn’t think JMU would win, honestly. Plus there’s Weber’s stadium. Talk about a view, damn. And then there’s Idaho, talk about a shitty view. I’ll be curious about the Vandals. If they buy in they coudl be tough. Maybe they’ll even go visit the Dukes next year in the playoffs?

It’s never easy to get to the semis, let alone the finals. NDSU? Different planet baby …