JMU football is a perfect 2-0 on the season, but Saturday’s 13-6 win over Gardner-Webb was anything but perfect. The Dukes needed a goal-line stand to hold off the Runnin’ Bulldogs.

Fans came away from Saturday’s showing stressed, and players spent the postgame press conference answering questions about being booed in their home opener. It was an awkward game, and the Dukes were fortunate to win.

Here are a few takeaways from the less-than-stellar performance.

Offense isn’t that far off, but it’s off

JMU’s offense looked out of sorts Saturday, similar to its first-half performance against Charlotte. The Dukes managed just one touchdown, failed to score in the first half, and tallied just 285 total yards against an FCS foe. Wofford put up 379 total yards against Gardner-Webb in Week 1.

Watching the film, a bunch of plays were missing one key ingredient, especially in the passing game.

Some plays, guys were wide open, but the pass was batted down at the line of scrimmage or Alonza Barnett’s throw was just off the mark. Other plays, receivers dropped good throws. On a few others, receivers weren’t creating a ton of separation. Rarely, the offensive line missed an assignment or executed poorly.

Barnett largely made the right decisions and good throws Saturday, but a few play calls were puzzling and his receivers missed a couple chances at generating chunk plays.

While JMU’s offensive line took a lot of heat for Saturday’s lackluster showing, Pro Football Focus gives JMU the third-highest pass blocking grade of any FBS team through two weeks. The run blocking grade is also in the top 35 nationally. The group earned a pass blocking grade of 95(!) in Saturday’s game against Gardner-Webb.

Fans need to stop the offensive line slander.

JMU football has the third-highest pass blocking grade in the FBS through two weeks, per Pro Football Focus.

But the Dukes rank 103rd nationally in passing yards per game (107).

Dukes missed some WIDE open opportunities (bad throw, drop, tipped pass, etc.) yesterday.

— JMU Sports News (@JMUSportsNews) September 8, 2024

George Pettaway and Tyler Purdy stood out at running back, with Pettaway quickly becoming one of JMU’s best offensive weapons. He ran the ball 10 times for a team-high 84 yards and caught a team-high four passes for a team-best 32 yards. Pettaway was the team’s most consistent and dangerous offensive player Saturday. Ayo Adeyi was banged up, so his action was limited.

The offense has potential, and the group really wasn’t that bad Saturday.

The team was slightly off, and Gardner-Webb possessed the ball for nearly 34 minutes. JMU only had four offensive possessions in the second half, and the Dukes killed the clock on their fourth drive of the half. They scored (one touchdown and two FGs) on the first three drives.

I’d argue the lack of overall possessions hurt JMU’s offense more than JMU’s actual offensive performance, especially in the final 30 minutes.

The biggest concern from the showing was that JMU looked slightly off against an average FCS team. The Dukes need to execute more consistently in a hurry or games could get ugly against much better competition.

Defense less dominant than 2023

Uhhhh your takeaway from the 13-6 win is that the defense isn’t as dominant as last year?

Actually, yes!

JMU’s 2024 defense looks a lot different from 2023. I like the 2024 unit a lot, but I’m not sure it’s capable of shutting down opponents as easily as last year’s squad.

The 2023 JMU defense was among the nation’s best in generating sacks and tackles for loss with a punishing and dominant defensive line.

The Dukes’ 2024 defensive line might be deeper than last year’s squad, but the top-end dominance took a step back. Losing Mikail Kamara, Jalen Green, James Carpenter, and Jamree Kromah is hard, and the Dukes don’t have the same firepower up front this season.

That’s led to JMU leaning on what looks more like a bend-but-don’t-break philosophy compared to recent years.

Lyle Hemphill’s defense snagged a pair of interceptions against Garnder-Webb, and they held strong in the red zone. Still, Gardner-Webb had as many 5+ minute drives (3) as it did three-and-outs. One of those 5+ minute drives spanned 8:42. In JMU’s 38-3 win over Bucknell in 2023, the Bison were forced into seven three-and-outs, and they managed just one drive over five minutes.

The Dukes have allowed just one touchdown through two games in 2024, and there’s a lot to like about improved ball skills in the secondary, as well as linebacker and defensive line depth. At the same time, JMU’s 2023 defense was special in its ability to simply destroy teams with its four-man defensive line.

I’m not sure the 2024 unit can control a game as well as last year’s defense, but the ability to create turnovers should prove valuable in league play. I really like the group, but tackles for loss and sacks allowed JMU to force so many three-and-outs in 2023. That defense was unbelievable in its ability to immediately get off the field. JMU’s defense struggled to get off the field consistently against an average FCS foe Saturday, even if it didn’t allow a lot of points.

Dukes Not Focused

During the week, head coach Bob Chesney said the game was just as much JMU’s Super Bowl as it was Gardner-Webb’s Super Bowl. Chesney essentially said he told the Dukes they can’t focus on anything but the game in front of them, and that they needed to treat the game with an FCS opponent as if it were the most important game of the season.

After the game, Cole Potts and Jacob Dobbs both suggested the Dukes overlooked Gardner-Webb.

“I don’t think we played hard in that first half, and that’s embarrassing,” Dobbs said.

“We underestimated them a little bit,” Potts said. “We were loafing a little bit.”

Huh?

Many aspects of this game confused me, but nothing confused me more than that disconnect. Why would JMU overlook any opponents in Week 2 with so many new players and coaches? The Dukes haven’t proved anything as a team yet.

Chesney’s resume speaks for itself. The dude is a winner, and JMU is 2-0. But it’s a team filled with so many transfers. Are they actually buying into his message every week or is there a disconnect across the roster?

Are there really players who overlooked Gardner-Webb, even though it was the home opener and there’s a bye next week? Were they looking ahead to a game multiple weeks in the future?? If so, it’ll be up to team leaders like Dobbs and Potts to make sure the Dukes are aligned with their goals going into the meeting with UNC.

JMU can’t afford a lack of focus in its preparation for a solid ACC team, if it wants any shot at winning. The Dukes need to play inspired in two weeks, fully buying into whatever message Chesney tells them during the bye week.

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications