JMU Post Game Thoughts.

[WhoRepsTheLurker]

I agree with this completely. From what it looked like in the stands the refs should have tossed that JMU player. Their coach deserves a ton of respect and credit if he decided to bench him on his own. Very classy move and probably speaks to the accountability he teaches and expects throughout their team.

Houston is a great coach and JMU is a great team. I have no doubt that we will see them again soon.

But after peaking at their board (http://csnbbs.com/thread-839517-page-5.html), I feel compelled to add that dropping passes is what’s called ‘choking’, and the best teams don't 'choke' – they execute. This is what makes them ‘best’.

Using arguments like “if JMU doesn't drop those passes, different outcome” is no different than saying “if the Bison don’t screw up on special teams, different game”. JMU did drop those passes and the Bison did screw up on special teams, but the better team won Saturday because, overall, THAT team did a better job of executing their game plan.

This is what makes the Bison the best team in FCS this year.

[ZHerd]

Houston is a great coach and JMU is a great team. I have no doubt that we will see them again soon.

But after peaking at their board (http://csnbbs.com/thread-839517-page-5.html), I feel compelled to add that dropping passes is what’s called ‘choking’, and the best teams don't 'choke' – they execute. This is what makes them ‘best’.

Using arguments like “if JMU doesn't drop those passes, different outcome” is no different than saying “if the Bison don’t screw up on special teams, different game”. JMU did drop those passes and the Bison did screw up on special teams, but the better team won Saturday because, overall, THAT team did a better job of executing their game plan.

This is what makes the Bison the best team in FCS this year.

This. Had been thinking the same thing. It's almost like saying "If our offense didn't stink we would have won."

[NoDak]

Houston is a great coach and JMU is a great team. I have no doubt that we will see them again soon.

But after peaking at their board (http://csnbbs.com/thread-839517-page-5.html), I feel compelled to add that dropping passes is what’s called ‘choking’, and the best teams don't 'choke' – they execute. This is what makes them ‘best’.

Using arguments like “if JMU doesn't drop those passes, different outcome” is no different than saying “if the Bison don’t screw up on special teams, different game”. JMU did drop those passes and the Bison did screw up on special teams, but the better team won Saturday because, overall, THAT team did a better job of executing their game plan.

This is what makes the Bison the best team in FCS this year.

I read some post-game comments from the players and they said something like, "They won because they made fewer mistakes than we did." I can get behind that. They didn't blame the refs. They didn't blame extraneous things. Obviously if they drop fewer passes they MIGHT have won the game. But it isn't guaranteed. And if they want to change things that didn't work I can point to some runs that "should" have gone for way more yards if JMU hadn't tackled the players. It is easy to play "what if" but it carries a false assumption: EVERYTHING ELSE would have gone the same. Which isn't true. Let's say that JMU made their 40-yard field goal (that was missed). Then they MIGHT HAVE been down only 1 point making a FG a viable option late in the game. Do they still fake punt or do they punt and count on their defense to get them the ball back because they don't need a TD but a FG to win? Or does NDSU frantically try to get the ball down the field, possibly making another big pass play. The conditions encouraged NDSU to have a conservative game plan the last couple minutes to bleed the clock down. So a change earlier in the game can have dramatic effects later. The game played out like it did.

So, we have to be careful with "IF we'd done this/that or if we hadn't done this/that..." Or, as my grandpa always said, "'If' is a little word but it means a lot."

[noryan34]

This. Had been thinking the same thing. It's almost like saying "If our offense didn't stink we would have won."

Have seen it too. But I just laugh it off and think....that TROPHY is where it belongs. Let them have their what ifs and hold onto something. Let them think they were the superior team. I will take the trophy every time.

[NoDak]

This. Had been thinking the same thing. It's almost like saying "If our offense didn't stink we would have won."

What I find surprising is they are ticked off at Klieman for being a jerk and quote him as saying something like, "Both sides had schemes to win the game. NDSU had some schemes that worked like the Sheppard TD and the Bridges INT. JMU had some schemes too and some of them just didn't work but were really close." Those comments sound like "sour grapes" to me. If they can change things that didn't work, like the dropped passes, then NDSU should get to choose to change things that didn't work, like a punt return to the 15-yard line, Stick's fumble (afterall, it was nothing but "luck" that allowed that rusher to get past Kuhnert), Ankrah chasing down Stick from behind when there was a lot of green in front of him, etc. You DON'T get to change things only in a way that benefits you and insist that the stuff that didn't work was "good luck" for the other team.

[Bison56]

The same group gave credit to JMU D for TC flat out dropping the ball in the semi game twice.

[semobison]

This. Had been thinking the same thing. It's almost like saying "If our offense didn't stink we would have won."

Or last year after the loss when many of our fans said we would have won if we were not missing key injured players. Typically when a team loses a close one their fans are always thinking..what if! That's part of being a fan. If I was a JMU fan I would be thinking the same..what if we hadn't dropped those passes...In the end though, it just doesn't matter!

[ZHerd]

Or last year after the loss when many of our fans said we would have won if we were not missing key injured players. Typically when a team loses a close one their fans are always thinking..what if! That's part of being a fan. If I was a JMU fan I would be thinking the same..what if we hadn't dropped those passes...In the end though, it just doesn't matter!

Definitely it would be similar if the role was reversed. Last year the injury card might have been tempting except they were also missing a bunch of key players. In the end there wasn't anything to grasp at and ya it didn't matter. Only thing that would satisfy it was a revenge game. Sooo glad that they beat the rabbits

[Bison20]

Or last year after the loss when many of our fans said we would have won if we were not missing key injured players. Typically when a team loses a close one their fans are always thinking..what if! That's part of being a fan. If I was a JMU fan I would be thinking the same..what if we hadn't dropped those passes...In the end though, it just doesn't matter!

And not giving credit to our guys for the reason for the drops is poor logic. We made schor uncomfortable and throw some balls that were slightly behind the receiver. You also wonder if the receivers were thinking about getting hit as soon as the ball was there and caused the drops. I really think only one drop by all's when he was at the 30 mattered and doesn't mean they score a td. All the other drops were short passes with guys in position to make the tackle right away

[BisonFanAnn]

Here is the quote from the JMU board:

If Klieman was my coach I would love him. As a fan of the team the lost, he rubbed me the wrong way. Basically said they out schemed us and were a tougher team, which is why they won. I will give him a pass as he should be excited about winning the game and I am sure he didnt want to take anything away from their accomplishment. But lets face it, this was as much about us laying an egg as it was them playing very well.

So would they have been happier if Coach Klieman had said "JMU is a great team, but they sure laid an egg today"? That would have ticked me off, as a Bison fan, much less as a fan of the other team.