Arguably the 4 best football teams in JMU history.

This one could be the best. They are playing that way now, with the defense finally coming together. There has been talent on defense, but it's taken most of the season to de-witther them. Now the defense is improving each week, with plenty of upside to still discover.

Offense? Best ever. Schor? Best ever. The kid is amazing. 3 straight POW awards, and would of had his 4th if not for the injury. He's completed 87% of his passes the last 3 games. He leads the nation in pass completion %. Nobody I'd rather have behind center of this team - not Rascati, Landers, or Lee. Running backs have not been this good and deep since 2004. The difference this group of backs is healthy. Wide Receivers may be the best group ever. Offensive line very good.

Coaching - could be the best ever.


With a healthy Schor and an improving defense this team could beat NDSU without flukes. This team is fantastic.

Fricking amazing....

(11-15-2016 09:16 PM)Dukester Wrote:  Arguably the 4 best football teams in JMU history.

This one could be the best. They are playing that way now, with the defense finally coming together. There has been talent on defense, but it's taken most of the season to de-witther them. Now the defense is improving each week, with plenty of upside to still discover.

Offense? Best ever. Schor? Best ever. The kid is amazing. 3 straight POW awards, and would of had his 4th if not for the injury. He's completed 87% of his passes the last 3 games. He leads the nation in pass completion %. Nobody I'd rather have behind center of this team - not Rascati, Landers, or Lee. Running backs have not been this good and deep since 2004. The difference this group of backs is healthy. Wide Receivers may be the best group ever. Offensive line very good.

Coaching - could be the best ever.


With a healthy Schor and an improving defense this team could beat NDSU without flukes. This team is fantastic.

Fricking amazing....

Well stated.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm superstitious - I wish you hadn't posted this thread. :(

Schor had 4 straight (that he was eligible for due to the bye) POTWs, right?

I won't entertain "best ever" discussions unless we're holding a trophy at the end of the season. I also agree that you probably just jinxed us.

Yeah, we're having a fantastic year. Time will tell if it can overtake what we accomplished in the regular season in 2008 (more impressive schedule and results IMO) or the post season in 2004 (three road victories en route to the NC Title). Still more football to go... I am not sure the defense of this team matches what Mickey Matthews had in 2004 or 2008, though it feels like it after watching last year's debacle.

Not sure whether this is the thread to bring this up in, but since it was the one that made me think about the topic, I will...

There is a lot of talk of the watering down of the FCS level due to graduations of some successful programs to FBS. Old-school powers like Marshall, Georgia Southern, Appalachian State...and newbies that have come on the scene and made noise like ODU and Coastal. I'm not sure I see the FCS drop off though...

There are more teams playing FCS football by number, and a good number of them suck (largely from non-scholarship conferences, once called 1-AA mid-majors). But look at the number of FCS teams that are competitive with the FBS. Look at the number of teams that have beaten ranked FBS (I'll even include EWU this year - now that Wazzu is ranked currently) the last few years. That had never happened until Appalachian State beat Michigan. EVER.

We won a national championship in 2004. This years team, coaching, etc is even better IMO and has A LOT of work to do even to make it as far as the semis.

In 1994/1995 I thought we had about as good a receiving corps as possible at the 1-AA level (Brooks, Dorsey, Jones, Perry). I'm not sure we have an NFL talent at receiver this year, but it is an insanely strong group and ridiculously deep.

Has FCS football really dropped off?

These are the Dukester posts that I miss...

Has FCS football dropped off? I'd say without question if a school like North Dakota State can win five consecutive national titles with little true resistance along the way. I only recall two moments so far in their run where their run could've ended.

Georgia Southern in 2012 (i think) had an opportunity in the red zone to punch it in with very little time remaining and take the lead, NDSU provides an epic goal line stand instead and they lose.

2014, Illinois State almost and should have beaten them in the title game. They lead very late but then NDSU gets the ball back with maybe 2 or so minutes remaining. One of IL State's safeties absolutely chokes and lets their receiver just get behind him for an unbelievable 60 or 70 some odd yard pass play. He barely brought him down in time and they were 1st and goal from the five for an easy run it up their throats go ahead score that couldn't be stopped.

Other than that, they've pretty much controlled every game in the last five playoffs throughout. That lack of parity shows the depth in FCS is at an all time low.

(11-16-2016 10:19 AM)Potomac Wrote:  Has FCS football dropped off? I'd say without question if a school like North Dakota State can win five consecutive national titles with little true resistance along the way. I only recall two moments so far in their run where their run could've ended.

Georgia Southern in 2012 (i think) had an opportunity in the red zone to punch it in with very little time remaining and take the lead, NDSU provides an epic goal line stand instead and they lose.

2014, Illinois State almost and should have beaten them in the title game. They lead very late but then NDSU gets the ball back with maybe 2 or so minutes remaining. One of IL State's safeties absolutely chokes and lets their receiver just get behind him for an unbelievable 60 or 70 some odd yard pass play. He barely brought him down in time and they were 1st and goal from the five for an easy run it up their throats go ahead score that couldn't be stopped.

Other than that, they've pretty much controlled every game in the last five playoffs throughout. That lack of parity shows the depth in FCS is at an all time low.

Even teams like Wofford, Furman, Lehigh, and Lafayette, were at one time among the more powerful programs and now stand at mid-level FCS. Somehow Richmond (which is somewhat a similar university) has stayed in the upper tier. My hats off to the Citadel as they are continuing to invest in their program. Not sure what the heck is up with Liberty and why they can't stay close to the top. Sure not a lack of spending and facilities. Nevertheless, FCS is really designed around those who cannot or will not continue to pour money into rapid growth of their athletics like we have done along with ODU, Appy, GS, Charlotte and others.

(11-16-2016 10:19 AM)Potomac Wrote:  Has FCS football dropped off? I'd say without question if a school like North Dakota State can win five consecutive national titles with little true resistance along the way. I only recall two moments so far in their run where their run could've ended.

Georgia Southern in 2012 (i think) had an opportunity in the red zone to punch it in with very little time remaining and take the lead, NDSU provides an epic goal line stand instead and they lose.

2014, Illinois State almost and should have beaten them in the title game. They lead very late but then NDSU gets the ball back with maybe 2 or so minutes remaining. One of IL State's safeties absolutely chokes and lets their receiver just get behind him for an unbelievable 60 or 70 some odd yard pass play. He barely brought him down in time and they were 1st and goal from the five for an easy run it up their throats go ahead score that couldn't be stopped.

Other than that, they've pretty much controlled every game in the last five playoffs throughout. That lack of parity shows the depth in FCS is at an all time low.

FCS/1AA football has been dyanstic for most of its existence.

Georgia Southern (late 80s)
Marshall/Youngstown (most of 90s)
"The Atlantic 10" (most of 2000s - I would also include finals appearances here)
Appalachian (mid 2000s)
North Dakota State (most of 2010s, to date)

Parity is really difficult to evaluate. I might argue that it is better measured by the depth of the quality rather than who wins the whole thing every year. I'd make the same argument with womens hoops. UConn may win with similar frequency, but you see a lot more double digit seeded teams making runs, "weaker" seeds in the sweet 16, elite 8s, etc.. There is far more parity than 20 years ago in womens hoops.

Therefore Alabama's strength devalues all of FBS. Got it! Seems when Appy was winning three in a row FCS was plenty strong. The only thing that has moved is your point of reference.

I would argue Alabama does weaken the appeal of FBS to anyone that isn't an Alabama fan, yes.

(11-16-2016 12:30 PM)Potomac Wrote:  I would argue Alabama does weaken the appeal of FBS to anyone that isn't an Alabama fan, yes.

I am a huge Bama fan and while the season has been great for fans I can see that it has been a bit boring for the other teams not named Alabama. But, hey, RMFT!

NDSU is good for 1AA. Without their run, would not be a major team of interest.

JMU beating Tech
JMU first to win 3 on the road to win NC
JMU to knock off 5 time NC NDSU. It fits and I could see it happening - umm if Schor is 95% of himself.

(11-16-2016 07:16 PM)Dukester Wrote:  NDSU is good for 1AA. Without their run, would not be a major team of interest.

JMU beating Tech
JMU first to win 3 on the road to win NC
JMU to knock off 5 time NC NDSU. It fits and I could see it happening - umm if Schor is 95% of himself.

JMU beating NDSU, which would likely have to happen in Fargo, would be a pretty significant national story. Especially given when it would happen - amongst crappy bowl games.

I agree with your point on NDSU Dukester.

The more I look at the top 4 as they stand now, the more I like being the 4. Obviously, I would rather us be the 1, but being the 4 puts us opposite of NDSU. I would rather play them than EWU in the semis (if we get that far). I'd much rather play EWU in the championship game after beating NDSU. NDSU has shown some (not a lot) vulnerabilities this year. We'd have to score TDs and not FGs. We'd have to hold onto the ball with longer sustained drives which I think we can do now as opposed to last year. Having 3 or 4 or 5 and outs will not cut it against them. Score early to shut the doom up and maintain a lead.

(11-17-2016 02:05 PM)JMU_71 Wrote:  The more I look at the top 4 as they stand now, the more I like being the 4. Obviously, I would rather us be the 1, but being the 4 puts us opposite of NDSU. I would rather play them than EWU in the semis (if we get that far). I'd much rather play EWU in the championship game after beating NDSU. NDSU has shown some (not a lot) vulnerabilities this year. We'd have to score TDs and not FGs. We'd have to hold onto the ball with longer sustained drives which I think we can do now as opposed to last year. Having 3 or 4 or 5 and outs will not cut it against them. Score early to shut the doom up and maintain a lead.

We've got the don't score field goals thing down...

(11-17-2016 02:55 PM)HyperDuke Wrote:  

(11-17-2016 02:05 PM)JMU_71 Wrote:  The more I look at the top 4 as they stand now, the more I like being the 4. Obviously, I would rather us be the 1, but being the 4 puts us opposite of NDSU. I would rather play them than EWU in the semis (if we get that far). I'd much rather play EWU in the championship game after beating NDSU. NDSU has shown some (not a lot) vulnerabilities this year. We'd have to score TDs and not FGs. We'd have to hold onto the ball with longer sustained drives which I think we can do now as opposed to last year. Having 3 or 4 or 5 and outs will not cut it against them. Score early to shut the doom up and maintain a lead.

We've got the don't score field goals thing down...

True dat

lol hyper