JMU football lost to App State, 34-31, in overtime on Thursday. The Dukes are 7-1 overall and 4-1 in the Sun Belt. 

Here are three takeaways from the defeat. 

This loss stings

There’s a lot of coping on the internet today. 

“Hey, JMU is 7-1 in Year 1 of Billy Napier and still has a great chance to win the Sun Belt. They were probably never a playoff team anyway.”

Huh?

Yes, nearly every JMU fan would’ve signed up for 7-1 through eight games when the season started. But that lacks context. It’s not August. 

JMU reached 7-0 in October. The Dukes clearly made a great hire with Napier, and we’ve seen George Pettaway emerge as an elite running back. Camden Coleman and JC Evans have both played well at quarterback. The wide receiver room is spectacular. Cole Keller is an NFL tight end.

Before Thursday, the defense had yet to allow 30 points in a game. JMU’s special teams unit performed like one of the best nationally before a shakier showing Thursday in Boone. 

There is a lot to love about this JMU team, and going undefeated became a very real possibility after a few wins and a better understanding of the schedule. It’s a weak slate, and every advanced metric suggests the Dukes are far and way the best team in the league. 

And are we sure this wasn’t a playoff-worthy team? I didn’t love their hypothetical chance in a potential playoff game, but JMU still looks the part of a top Group of Six team. They were deserving of being in that conversation while undefeated. 

The Dukes had what it took to go undefeated, too, and they just didn’t execute well enough in what seemed like the largest remaining stumbling block this fall. 

It is OK for fans to be upset about losing a national TV game. Earlier in the week, people within the program billed the matchup as a chance to make a national statement in the G6 playoff race. 

A statement was made, just not in a good way.

Obviously this isn’t a program-defining loss for the Dukes. They’re still an overwhelming favorite to win the Sun Belt, and the program is in great health. Napier is doing very well in Year 1, even in the loss.

JMU has a great chance to bounce back Thursday on national TV against Troy, perhaps making a new statement that they’re still among the handful of best G6 teams in the country. 

But as a fanbase, it’s OK to have a high standard. I’m not saying coaches should be fired — anyone saying that should touch grass immediately — but the loss was disappointing. 

It is disappointing to score an opening-drive touchdown and follow it up with four straight three-and-outs while the defense is dominating and creating great field position. If JMU had any sort of offense going in the first half, the Dukes could’ve scored 20-plus points and essentially put the game to bed after 30 minutes. Instead, they gave the underdog belief. 

“We had a few opportunities in the first half to break the game open and did not do that,” Napier said. 

JMU wasted amazing field position on several first-half drives. It could’ve been 14-0, 17-0, or even 21-0 had the offense showed up early.

JMU had chances in the second half to put the game away, too. They led from the first drive until early in the fourth quarter, and the Dukes had one final chance in overtime. They were putrid in the final period, settling for a long field goal that missed and allowing the Mountaineers to quickly set up for a game-winning kick. 

Losing to App State always stings. Doing so for the second time in a few years to end an undefeated season? It’s not fun. 

The sky isn’t falling, but the result still hurts. It’s OK to admit it.

Go for 2?

Trailing 31-24, JMU orchestrated a game-tying touchdown drive. Coleman trotted into the end zone with three seconds left, and Napier opted for the tie instead of a potential game-winning 2-point attempt. 

“We had the momentum,” Napier said. “We had come back and tied it up. That’ll be one that I’ll be thinking about for sure. If you go for it and don’t get it, there will be a lot of conversation about that, too.”

Should he have gone for 2?

Hindsight is 20-20, but with Pettaway dealing with an injury and the defense reeling, trusting Evans to help get 3 yards might’ve been the prudent play. It’s also valid reasoning by Napier to think he has the better football team. JMU’s lack of overtime execution was a bigger problem than not going for a 2-point try.

Still, the decision, or lack thereof, will be on the minds of JMU fans for years to come. 

Lack of complementary football 

JMU’s success this year can often be attributed to complementary football. The special teams unit sets up a short field, and the offense or defense cashes in. 

The Dukes were so, so close to doing this again Thursday. It would’ve won them the game. 

After an opening touchdown drive, JMU held the Mountaineers to zero points over its first four drives. With a 7-0 lead, the Dukes had drives start at their own 33, 47, 45, and 38. That’s elite field position. 

JMU scored a whopping zero points on those four drives, which all went three-and-out. One second-quarter drive started from the App 38. It ended with a missed kick. 

Then, in the second quarter, Evans hit Wisloski for an exceptional 70-yard touchdown pass to put the Dukes up 14-3. How did the Dukes’ defense back it up? By giving up an App State touchdown drive that pulled the Mountaineers within four points going into halftime. 

When JMU scored a touchdown in the second half to go up 21-13, the Dukes’ defense responded by immediately allowing a touchdown and 2-point conversion. Then, JMU answered with a field goal. App State came back with a field goal of its own, tying the game at 24. 

With a chance to again take control, Coleman threw an interception within a clean pocket that set up a Mountaineers touchdown. JMU ultimately got the game to overtime, but you get the picture. 

Far too often, a JMU scoring drive was immediately answered by an App State score. And when the defense was forcing quick stops in the first half, the offense did nothing to take advantage of spectacular field position. 

JMU had been winning games by stacking scores and stops to overwhelm teams with big early leads. Thursday’s loss set up perfectly for JMU to jump out to a multiple-possession lead and take the crowd out of the game. The Dukes’ offense sputtered, instead, giving one of the most competent programs in the Sun Belt hope.

And when the offense needed a stop in the second half to extend the lead, the defense couldn’t deliver. 

The units didn’t back each other up Thursday night.

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications