Everything was set up perfectly for James Madison on Saturday. A perfect 10-0 record, College Game Day on campus and everyone from Pat McAfee to their head coach to Virginia legislators piling pressure on the NCAA to grant a waiver allowing them to compete for a championship in the second year of their FCS transition.
On top of that, there was a sellout crowd on hand at Bridgeforth Stadium and a JMU team well worthy of the #18 ranking they entered with. As a team, the Dukes lead the NCAA in rushing defense and sacks, complemented by an efficient offense that rarely makes mistakes.
In the face of all that, the Mountaineers never blinked. Points were always going to be at a premium and the App State defense was up to the task. Jordan McCloud and the JMU offense was out of sync all day, as the App defense racked 11 tackles for loss, five sacks, six pass break-ups, three forced fumbles and an interception.
The Dukes' run defense lived up to the billing, limiting the Apps to just 48 yards on 27 carries. However, the black and gold matched that effort in limiting JMU to 61 yards on 33 carries, an identical average of 1.8 yards per rush.
Not surprisingly, the success of both offenses was dictated in large part by quarterback play and Joey Aguilar won that battle. He completed 28 of 46 passes and was the first quarterback this season to throw three touchdowns against this JMU defense. Just as importantly, the Dukes' vaunted pass rush managed only one sack.
To their credit, after falling behind 17-5 in the fourth quarter, JMU stood tall and made a furious rally down the stretch to force overtime. Both scoring drives covered 75 yards and included a miraculous 4th and 18 conversion. The Mountaineer defense did not fall back into prevent or miss assignments, it was simply a stretch of great plays by McCloud and his receivers, namely Elijah Sarratt who acrobatically caught both the touchdown and 2-point conversion that sent the game into overtime.
In a fitting end to the game, the story in overtime was the Mountaineer defense. The Dukes gained 18 yards on the first play of overtime, once again from McCloud to Sarratt. Now facing first and goal from the seven yard line with all the momentum in JMU's corner, the App defense clamped down to force three straight incompletions and the Dukes had to settle for a field goal.
With one final possession, Shawn Clark confirmed after the game that a field goal was never an option for the Mountaineers. The drive started similarly to JMU's, with a 17-yard strike from Aguilar to Dalton Stroman then two incompletions. However, on third down, Aguilar found Kaedin Robinson on a short crossing route and he did the rest, shaking off three defenders to push the ball across the goal line just seconds before it was punched loose.
Once sitting at 3-4 with even bowl eligibility seeming largely in question, the Apps have run off four straight wins, now sitting at 7-4 overall and more importantly, 5-2 in the Sun Belt. If JMU defeats Coastal and the Mountaineers win on Saturday, they will win the East in what would easily be the program's most unlikely conference championship game appearance.
Standing in the way is Georgia Southern, who comes to Boone on Black Saturday looking to spoil the party just as the Apps did last week. A year ago, the Eagles kept the Mountaineers out of the postseason and they would love nothing more than to end their title hopes this season.
For as great as the new-look Sun Belt is with regional rivalry games seemingly every week, this match-up remains second to none. There would be no sweeter way to clinch a divisional title than with a win over our old friends from Statesboro, with a debt to repay from last year's double overtime loss.
This one should be easy... right?
Coming into the final week of the season, the Mountaineers are as hot as anyone in the conference, having won four straight games including two impressive road wins in consecutive weeks. On the other sideline, Georgia Southern has stumbled through three straight losses after a 6-2 start, falling out of contention for a Sun Belt championship after a walk-off 20-17 home loss to Old Dominion.
These two teams could not be trending in more opposite directions, it is Senior Day for the Mountaineers and they come in as 9-point favorites. Should be a comfortable, stress-free victory to close out the regular season, no?
If this rivalry has proven anything over the years, it is that it would be wise to expect a tight one. The Mountaineers fielded their two best teams of the FBS era in 2018 and 2019, both of which entered as double-digit favorites over Southern with no business losing to them. Both teams did.
Going back to the FCS days, the story was much the same. Over a ten year period, the #1 ranked team in the country played in this rivalry and lost four separate times. The old "throw out the records" mantra is a rivalry cliche but it rings as true in this series as any other out there.
For a period of time, particularly in those 2018 and 2019 contests, it frankly seemed that the rivalry just meant more to Georgia Southern than it did to the Mountaineers. After a bitter season-ending loss and with championship aspirations on the line, I find it hard to believe that will be the case on Saturday.
Nobody understands the importance of this rivalry more than Shawn Clark and despite how both sides have looked in the last month, the team will need to match that intensity to come out on top.
One more test for the App State defense
It is no secret that the Mountaineers' turnaround has been fueled by a resurgent defense. A unit that was picked apart by ULM, Coastal and for three quarters by Southern Miss has been nothing short of dominant the last three weeks.
The players and coaches have adjusted to lining up primarily in the 'Star' package and the numbers speak for themselves:
To do that at any time would be impressive, even more so when considering it occurred during one of the most difficult stretches of the Apps' schedule. While Georgia Southern certainly does not have the overall resume of JMU, their pass-happy offense does present some unique challenges.
The Eagles enter the contest leading the Sun Belt in passing yards per game (300.2) and fourth in both total yards (428.2 YPG) and scoring (31.3 PPG). Davis Brin, who transferred to Southern after four years at Tulsa, is an experienced signal-caller who has eclipsed 3,000 passing yards this season for the second time in his career.
What still seems foreign to anyone who has followed this rivalry over the years is that the Eagles are 13th in the conference in rushing at just 128 yards per game. However, that does not mean the GS ground game can be ignored.
Jalen White is the seventh leading rusher in the conference with 891 yards, with nine touchdowns and a healthy 5.6 yards per carry. He is nothing if not consistent as interestingly enough, he has averaged exactly 5.6 yards per rush each of the last three seasons.
With veterans Khaleb Hood (84 catches, 822 yards, 4 TD) and Derwin Burgess Jr. (65 catches, 674 yards, 5 TD) anchoring the receiving corps, Brin has no shortage of playmakers around him. As they always seem to be, the Eagles are fast and athletic at the skill positions with big play capability.
Two things that have stood out in the Mountaineers' current run of defensive form is an improvement in open-field tackling, much improved run fits and the ability to bring pressure from multiple positions. Those will all be once again put to the test against the Eagles.
At their best, App State should send their seniors off as winners this weekend but make no mistake, Georgia Southern has the ability to capitalize if the Mountaineers do not play a clean game.