JMU did it. Why not us?

[Greathusky]

Last year, JMU in its first year of after moving up to the FBS level was 8-3. This year, they are ranked 21st in the polls and are 9-0.
So that begs the question - why them and not us? It can't be a lack of resources.

 

[huskymedic]

Mora discussed part of it on Tuesday:

Assisted access link <<

-> It is impossible to look at the roster for the undefeated James Madison University football team and not appreciate the amount of talent available within an hour’s drive of the JMU campus in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Count UConn football coach Jim Mora among those impressed by James Madison’s recruiting footprint and the willingness to stay consistent with how and who they recruit as the Dukes made the jump from Football Championship Subdivision powerhouse to being one of seven remaining undefeated teams at the Football Bowl Subdivision level heading into Saturday’s 2 p.m. showdown.

“They have an outstanding recruiting base and they do a fantastic job in keeping [local] players,” Mora said.

JMU’s top rusher Kaelon Black, second-leading receiver Elijah Sarratt and leading tackler Aiden Fisher all hail from Virginia. The Dukes have more than 50 players from Virginia on the roster.<-

 

[huskymedic]

The Hearst Media story from Tuesday:

Assisted access link <<

-> Mora noted the transfer portal and NIL go hand in hand.

"The positives are that it gives you the opportunity to add quality players who have played in college games and are a little more physically and hopefully emotionally mature and can come in and make an immediate impact," Mora said. "The problems are you have to have money to get them and I think our people who support this program understand that and are doing a great job of addressing that. I feel incredibly, incredibly positive about the direction that's going and it's because there are people who are very committed to it.

"It's become a little bit more cut-throat that I don't really enjoy. Sometimes you have to have difficult conversations with guys on your team that maybe are not quite good enough. I don't like that part at all. That's the human element. There are chances you take when you go into the portal that you don't have the background and knowledge about the personality of a player you're picking to come to your school like you do recruiting a high school player. But that's the way it is and for us to grow as fast as we need to grow we have to go get about 12 to 14 impact players from the portal. It's kind of like the NFL — free agency and the draft and how you balance your budget." <-

 

[Greathusky]

Mora discussed part of it on Tuesday:

Thanks. I did not see Mora's comments.

 

[Chin Diesel]

They have committed to the football program.

Much like Liberty did. Much like Ga State, Coastal Carolina, App St., etc.

 

[JaMa]

It has everything to do with coaching. The coach = the program.
recruiting, development, discipline, game planning, in-game management

get a good head coach and winning will follow.

FYI, UConn significantly outspends JMU in football. $18 to $11 MM.
the gap will probably close as James Madison continues to grow. It appears UConn has simply made a string of bad decisions over the years and is paying the price for it.

 

[freescooter]

They have committed to the football program.

Much like Liberty did. Much like Ga State, Coastal Carolina, App St., etc.

This is partly true. But also look at their schedule. And compare it to ours and how our fans, shizzle for example, if our second biggest name opponent was Utah State. I’m not saying we’d be 9-0 but we had 4 games we were probably losing when The schedule was printed. It makes a difference.

 

[dvegas]

They have committed to the football program.

Much like Liberty did. Much like Ga State, Coastal Carolina, App St., etc.

And JMU, all southern schools. I don't think most posters on the Boneyard have the slightest clue about what the culture of high school school football in the south (and Texas, and even Pennsylvania & Ohio) is all about. It starts there....

 

[UCan3]

Where we’re at in the season, I would rather not hear Professor Mora talk about what he admires about other programs. UConn needs to change? Well actually Jim it’s you, get out there, grind it out, you change. The fans are waiting. Recruiting isn’t a spectator sport, get out there and hit the road after Thanksgiving.

 

[uconntailgater]

I think our path to relevancy is going to have to be achieved through the portal. Much like Bill Snyder did with Kansas State going through the JUCO route to build that program, which was competitive in the Big8/12 exc….

When we first transitioned into the big east for Football, we had the luxury of time in developing high school players. We don’t have that luxury anymore.

We can offer substantial playing time to players over recruited at other universities. We play an attractive schedule with a mix of P4 and G5 opponents. I’m sure Jim Mora and staff will have a heart-to-heart conversation with some of the players after the season is over and give them a reasonable expectation of where they fit into the program.

 

[Palatine]

Actually, UConn has been to a BCS Bowl. That is a rare thing in college football.

 

[giddyup]

Culture doesn’t really explain it. The stadium was damn near packed for NC State. People are hungry for success. Resources isn’t the issue either. There is an awful lot of money spent compared to a lot of programs. Where there seems to be an issue is always the last 2-3M for quality staff and recruiting. We nickel and dime in the most critical aspects of success. Look at the staff we have. No DC. A moron OC out of Maine. No QB coach (despite years of failure at the most critical position in CFB). Recruiting is really poor and these guys need to be out on the road 24x7 getting what we need. This a combination of laziness, lack of effort and execution by the people that preach effort and execution.

 

[Richmondhsky]

My son went to JMU, we attended many a game during his time there. Great atmosphere.
The main difference I see lies in how successful they were at the FCS level. They were perennial Nat champion, contenders for almost 20 years. They also have a significant advantage given the recruiting opportunities in and around Virginia.
Downside for them, is they recruit against UVA, Va tech and Old Dominion.

 

[Waquoit]

They have committed to the football program.

Much like Liberty did. Much like Ga State, Coastal Carolina, App St., etc.

Define commitment. Seriously. One fellow fan I know says committment is not worrying about players going to class.

 

[UCFBfan]

This is partly true. But also look at their schedule. And compare it to ours and how our fans, shizzle for example, if our second biggest name opponent was Utah State. I’m not saying we’d be 9-0 but we had 4 games we were probably losing when The schedule was printed. It makes a difference.

Your schedule is what it is. JMU beat their opponents, period. We didn't beat anyone except Rice, thus making our opponents people we couldn't beat. We need to get over ourselves thinking we're better than the Utah St, Georgia St of the world. We are not. Just because we are a state U, doesn't mean a thing. We got beat by every program on our schedule, minus Rice. We were supposed to be at a good chunk of them yet we didn't. If we played JMU's schedule, I bet we wouldn't be 9-0 or even .500. We are not a good team.

 

[Dizzy21]

This is partly true. But also look at their schedule. And compare it to ours and how our fans, shizzle for example, if our second biggest name opponent was Utah State. I’m not saying we’d be 9-0 but we had 4 games we were probably losing when The schedule was printed. It makes a difference.

JMU massacred Georgia State last week. The same Georgia State that put a beating on us. They also beat Utah State who beat us. Schedule has nothing to do with this.

 

[DoctorWho85]

UConn cares more about basketball than any other sport. Despite the success football saw, the success baseball sees, the success both hockey teams have and the success of soccer and field hockey. DB’s hands are probably tied by the BoT who all would rather see every other sport fail before they lose their precious basketball programs.

 

[freescooter]

JMU massacred Georgia State last week. The same Georgia State that put a beating on us. They also beat Utah State who beat us. Schedule has nothing to do with this.

It does. Not this year for us of course. We aren’t a good team. It happens. But when you schedule 25-35% of your schedule against teams you hove very little hope of beating , remember we are 2-19 against P5 teams since the end of the Big East, it puts incredible pressure on the rest of the season. We really need to go 6-2 in 8 games just to be .500. Who seriously thinks JMU beats Tennessee? Michigan? NC State? Remember they beat a 2-win Virginia by a point. That is where they are. Maybe they win 2 ACC games. Maybe they win an SEC game against Vanderbilt.

 

[Hondo 77]

JMU is not a top 25 team. It is vastly overrated.

 

[freescooter]

A different way of putting it is if JMU played NCState Tennessee BC and Duke instead of Virginia they’d be 5-4 or 6-3. Not bad but nobody is going Gaga over them either.

That should be our plan too. Schedule so we have a shot at 9-0, 8-1. Not 5-4 every year.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

The first thing that needs to change is the inane idea that we have to prioritize in state players. If this is going to be our approach we may as well pull the plug now as we will never generate enough talent locally to compete.

There are a number of programs that were built by travelling to recruiting hot beds to stock their rosters. We were doing that under RE (first run) and did pretty well in Virginia then. There is no way you can convince me that we couldn't win most recruiting battles against JMU in the state of Virginia if we put the correct effort into it.

I've posted endlessly about how half of our scholarship roster needs to come from NJ, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ohio. There is enough talent there that after the big boys take who they want, we can still find a dozen guys a year who can contribute.

 

[Scoe]

I was glad we had Tenessse the week before JMU because I believed we had a chance in this game, but of course stupidty and self inflicted wounds believe it or not there is still a chance to make this a game.

 

[TouchdownHusky]

Gee maybe the question should be asked is Why they have had success. The secret I think is to play exciting football (i.e., emphasis on the offensive side of the LOS) is so boring. BORING. UConn's entire approach to the game (offensively & defensively) is boring. BORING. Why would a talented kid ever go to UConn?

UConn does not improve till the coaching staff reboots everything about their approach to the game - or be fired. Oh and lose the off tackle play with Rosa. Fooling no one and, off often, losing yardage. Something else please.

 

[Dizzy21]

A different way of putting it is if JMU played NCState Tennessee BC and Duke instead of Virginia they’d be 5-4 or 6-3. Not bad but nobody is going Gaga over them either.

That should be our plan too. Schedule so we have a shot at 9-0, 8-1. Not 5-4 every year.

JMU would have beaten BC and NCState, we almost did, but that is irrelevant. They played Georgia State last week and crushed them. We got murdered by Georgia State. With our schedule this JMU team would most likely be 10-2 at the end of the year and even say they were 8-4 at the very worst, we may be lucky to get 3 wins. Or reverse that, if we had their schedule, our win total is probably the same as it is now. It is certainly nowhere near 9-0. Their success has nothing to do with the schedule.

 

[billybud]

JMU would have beaten BC and NCState, we almost did, but that is irrelevant. They played Georgia State last week and crushed them. We got murdered by Georgia State. With our schedule this JMU team would most likely be 10-2 at the end of the year and even say they were 8-4 at the very worst, we may be lucky to get 3 wins. Or reverse that, if we had their schedule, our win total is probably the same as it is now. It is certainly nowhere near 9-0. Their success has nothing to do with the schedule.

Not sure of those wins...JMU beat really bad Virginia by one point.