I feel like we really let this game get away from us in the 2nd and 3rd quarters, with the failed containment on Lance, the fakes, etc.

NDSU had better execution than we did on those plays, and we were fortunate to have a shot at the end. Would have liked to see a run there, but that wasn't the whole story of the ballgame.

I give NDSU a lot of credit. It is very frustrating when you go toe to toe with them, but come up short. But the Bison don't make stupid mistakes and they pounce on opponent's miscues.

In the last two games we played against them, we have scored 7 times and they have scored 7 times.
Difference is, they've come away with TDs on 6 out of those 7 chances, where we came away with TDs on only 3 out of 7. Their coach has said in interviews that FGs are not going to beat them. They take a lot of pride, when a team mounts a drive against them, in holding them to 3 points.

(07-26-2020 07:27 PM)olddawg Wrote:  

(07-26-2020 05:13 PM)Polish Hammer Wrote:  And when he fumbles the game away all we hear is how on earth could we trust a 3rd string freshman in crunch time?!? I trust Cigs and his call there, the defender stepped up and made a stellar play. Add even if they scored on it good luck on a 2 point conversion to tie the game. And of course the play he called there would’ve been the 2-point conversion play nonetheless.

Possibly, but not because it was a statistical probability and not because it was a bad call given his performance in the 2nd half. In short, the comments to the negative would have been without merit IMHO.

Palmer had accrued:
6.7 yds per carry over the season
4.85 yds per carry in the semis & final
5.5 yds per carry against NDSU
Zero fumbles, (at least I can't recall one)
93% of carries produced positive yardage
67% of carries produced 3+ yds

Frankly, I'd have been happy w/ any of the 3 backs getting cracks at it, but would have preferred Palmer or Obese. Between Obese, Hamilton & Palmer, there was a combined negative 50 yards in 487 combined rushing attempts. That's pretty darn good. Again, I like my odds. Instead we threw to Polk, who had managed to free himself for one reception the whole game. Polk was the man for most of the season, but the Bison game was not his night against their scheme.

Palmer, 60 carries on the season, had 1 fumble- 2nd qtr, 2nd JMU possession, Palmer's 2nd carry vs TU. After going 28 yds 1st carry, given the ball again, fumbles, recovered by D Stapleton. R Stapleton caught TD pass few plays later, so the fumble was forgotten.

I agree, 2 cracks at the end zone from 2 yards, I would have given it to Palmer on the 1st one.

(07-27-2020 11:25 AM)olddawg Wrote:  I give NDSU a lot of credit. It is very frustrating when you go toe to toe with them, but come up short. But the Bison don't make stupid mistakes and they pounce on opponent's miscues.

In the last two games we played against them, we have scored 7 times and they have scored 7 times.
Difference is, they've come away with TDs on 6 out of those 7 chances, where we came away with TDs on only 3 out of 7. Their coach has said in interviews that FGs are not going to beat them. They take a lot of pride, when a team mounts a drive against them, in holding them to 3 points.

And as I recall in those last 2 games, 4 JMU turnovers, 0 NDSU.

(07-27-2020 08:46 AM)JMUNation Wrote:  I wasn’t crazy about the play on the last play call either but Polk was wide open if Nooch throws it on time instead of hesitating a second. The NDSU safety anticipated the play and came off of Ryan to make the interception.

If I criticize anything the coaches did, it would be having another receiver near the route. If I am going to criticize a player, it would be Nooch for holding the ball too long and then floating one out there.

The play was there. The Dukes ran it the series before and it was open then too. Nooch over threw the receiver that time which is probably why he lobbed it on the last play. Sort of like putting in golf. You hit the first one too far by so the next one is short.

We are all human and yes, hindsight is 20/20. I too felt NDSU was the better team that day. We would have stole a win if we scored, completed the two point conversion and won in OT.

NDSU was two plays better that day. A 22 yard run for a TD on a fake field goal, and a 44 yard run for a TD on a 3rd down and 23. Take away those 2 TDS and give NDSU a FG and JMU wins. But the game is decided on the field, and sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

(07-27-2020 01:34 PM)Longhorn Wrote:  

(07-27-2020 08:46 AM)JMUNation Wrote:  I wasn’t crazy about the play on the last play call either but Polk was wide open if Nooch throws it on time instead of hesitating a second. The NDSU safety anticipated the play and came off of Ryan to make the interception.

If I criticize anything the coaches did, it would be having another receiver near the route. If I am going to criticize a player, it would be Nooch for holding the ball too long and then floating one out there.

The play was there. The Dukes ran it the series before and it was open then too. Nooch over threw the receiver that time which is probably why he lobbed it on the last play. Sort of like putting in golf. You hit the first one too far by so the next one is short.

We are all human and yes, hindsight is 20/20. I too felt NDSU was the better team that day. We would have stole a win if we scored, completed the two point conversion and won in OT.

NDSU was two plays better that day. A 22 yard run for a TD on a fake field goal, and a 44 yard run for a TD on a 3rd down and 23. Take away those 2 TDS and give NDSU a FG and JMU wins. But the game is decided on the field, and sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

Also the facemask on 3rd and long when we had them backed up in their own end

If that last play HAD to be a pass, it should have been a jump ball to Stapleton. Throwing under 10 feet in traffic like that has disaster written all over it.

Still, one or two totes by Latrele would have scored. He's a 60-MPH bulldozer.

(07-27-2020 01:34 PM)Longhorn Wrote:  

(07-27-2020 08:46 AM)JMUNation Wrote:  I wasn’t crazy about the play on the last play call either but Polk was wide open if Nooch throws it on time instead of hesitating a second. The NDSU safety anticipated the play and came off of Ryan to make the interception.

If I criticize anything the coaches did, it would be having another receiver near the route. If I am going to criticize a player, it would be Nooch for holding the ball too long and then floating one out there.

The play was there. The Dukes ran it the series before and it was open then too. Nooch over threw the receiver that time which is probably why he lobbed it on the last play. Sort of like putting in golf. You hit the first one too far by so the next one is short.

We are all human and yes, hindsight is 20/20. I too felt NDSU was the better team that day. We would have stole a win if we scored, completed the two point conversion and won in OT.

NDSU was two plays better that day. A 22 yard run for a TD on a fake field goal, and a 44 yard run for a TD on a 3rd down and 23. Take away those 2 TDS and give NDSU a FG and JMU wins. But the game is decided on the field, and sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

This is what drives me crazy, is that on both Natty games we were the better team for 56-58 mins but just a handful of plays they executed and we didn't and now those smug asswipes in nowhere land lord it over like they are unbeatable.

(07-28-2020 09:27 AM)JMaddy Wrote:  

(07-27-2020 01:34 PM)Longhorn Wrote:  

(07-27-2020 08:46 AM)JMUNation Wrote:  I wasn’t crazy about the play on the last play call either but Polk was wide open if Nooch throws it on time instead of hesitating a second. The NDSU safety anticipated the play and came off of Ryan to make the interception.

If I criticize anything the coaches did, it would be having another receiver near the route. If I am going to criticize a player, it would be Nooch for holding the ball too long and then floating one out there.

The play was there. The Dukes ran it the series before and it was open then too. Nooch over threw the receiver that time which is probably why he lobbed it on the last play. Sort of like putting in golf. You hit the first one too far by so the next one is short.

We are all human and yes, hindsight is 20/20. I too felt NDSU was the better team that day. We would have stole a win if we scored, completed the two point conversion and won in OT.

NDSU was two plays better that day. A 22 yard run for a TD on a fake field goal, and a 44 yard run for a TD on a 3rd down and 23. Take away those 2 TDS and give NDSU a FG and JMU wins. But the game is decided on the field, and sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

This is what drives me crazy, is that on both Natty games we were the better team for 56-58 mins but just a handful of plays they executed and we didn't and now those smug asswipes in nowhere land lord it over like they are unbeatable.

In 2017 i would say we were definitely the better team but last year I'm not so sure. Definitely had plenty of opportunities and some boneheaded plays cost us but I'd say we were pretty evenly matched

(07-28-2020 12:00 PM)fishingduke12 Wrote:  

(07-28-2020 09:27 AM)JMaddy Wrote:  

(07-27-2020 01:34 PM)Longhorn Wrote:  

(07-27-2020 08:46 AM)JMUNation Wrote:  I wasn’t crazy about the play on the last play call either but Polk was wide open if Nooch throws it on time instead of hesitating a second. The NDSU safety anticipated the play and came off of Ryan to make the interception.

If I criticize anything the coaches did, it would be having another receiver near the route. If I am going to criticize a player, it would be Nooch for holding the ball too long and then floating one out there.

The play was there. The Dukes ran it the series before and it was open then too. Nooch over threw the receiver that time which is probably why he lobbed it on the last play. Sort of like putting in golf. You hit the first one too far by so the next one is short.

We are all human and yes, hindsight is 20/20. I too felt NDSU was the better team that day. We would have stole a win if we scored, completed the two point conversion and won in OT.

NDSU was two plays better that day. A 22 yard run for a TD on a fake field goal, and a 44 yard run for a TD on a 3rd down and 23. Take away those 2 TDS and give NDSU a FG and JMU wins. But the game is decided on the field, and sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

This is what drives me crazy, is that on both Natty games we were the better team for 56-58 mins but just a handful of plays they executed and we didn't and now those smug asswipes in nowhere land lord it over like they are unbeatable.

In 2017 i would say we were definitely the better team but last year I'm not so sure. Definitely had plenty of opportunities and some boneheaded plays cost us but I'd say we were pretty evenly matched

I agree with this, and believe I posted something stating the same just after the game. 2018 JMU was the better team, but mistakes (drops mainly) made the difference. 2020 NDSU was the better team, but JMU still had a chance to pull it out.

(07-28-2020 09:27 AM)JMaddy Wrote:  

(07-27-2020 01:34 PM)Longhorn Wrote:  

(07-27-2020 08:46 AM)JMUNation Wrote:  I wasn’t crazy about the play on the last play call either but Polk was wide open if Nooch throws it on time instead of hesitating a second. The NDSU safety anticipated the play and came off of Ryan to make the interception.

If I criticize anything the coaches did, it would be having another receiver near the route. If I am going to criticize a player, it would be Nooch for holding the ball too long and then floating one out there.

The play was there. The Dukes ran it the series before and it was open then too. Nooch over threw the receiver that time which is probably why he lobbed it on the last play. Sort of like putting in golf. You hit the first one too far by so the next one is short.

We are all human and yes, hindsight is 20/20. I too felt NDSU was the better team that day. We would have stole a win if we scored, completed the two point conversion and won in OT.

NDSU was two plays better that day. A 22 yard run for a TD on a fake field goal, and a 44 yard run for a TD on a 3rd down and 23. Take away those 2 TDS and give NDSU a FG and JMU wins. But the game is decided on the field, and sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

This is what drives me crazy, is that on both Natty games we were the better team for 56-58 mins but just a handful of plays they executed and we didn't and now those smug asswipes in nowhere land lord it over like they are unbeatable.

Exactly.

I don’t agree with those who think NDSU was the better team in 2019. Evenly matched? Maybe, but the Dukes were a deeper and better balanced team. Other than their QB, who hurt JMU? Our coaching staff, that’s who. At critical moments they got out-coached.

Again, players have to make the plays, and NDSU players stepped up, along with their coaches, and JMU did not. Give credit where credit is due. They won, but NDSU knows they were in a game, and in both NC games the Dukes could have just as easily walked off the field victorious.

100% agree on this take....coaches lost both NC games to NDSU - a real shame