College football. Week 5. JMU vs. Texas State.
It was an all-around great weekend for anyone who followed my college football betting advice and an all-around terrible weekend for anyone who spent the majority of the weekend outside.
Let’s talk about it.
Awful Weather
Let’s address the obvious up front. The weather this weekend was awful.
The Shenandoah Valley is known for temperate weather, and the first weekend of October is typically picture-perfect football weather. Surely, that’s what my girlfriend and her two closest friends – roommates from her Hoffman Hall days, in the mid-2000s — thought when picking out this day for us to make a collective pilgrimage back to the ‘Burg.
By mid-week, though, it became clear that Hurricane Ian was spinning around and coming back for more east coast mayhem, taking after this latest iteration of Michael Myers.
I’m not sure we ever got hit with any actual part of Ian. It was mostly just remnant storms that swirled and gushed throughout our corner of western Virginia. But I had to laugh when I went to the bathroom and heard the in-house radio feed say over the PA system that “a light mist was still falling in Harrisonburg.”
It was the second half, and we’d been out in P-Lot since before 11 a.m. By that point, a light mist would have been welcome.
Good Tailgate Scene
A full weekend of getting rained on has very few silver linings. Literally.
Here’s one, of the metaphorical variety: It’s a good measuring stick to see how motivated the football crew is.
As some of you may know, I used to live in a house next to the practice field while I was covering the team during the Mike Houston era. Several hours before a game was scheduled to start, I would walk through campus to feel the calm before a kickoff. And the striking part was that there was a calm. It was not uncommon for campus to be quiet at 9 or 10 a.m. if the game was scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m.
And if there was bad weather? Or cold weather? Forget about it.
It seems that the JMU fan base is continuing to develop an edge, though, and it’s one that will serve the community well at this level. It’s becoming a fan base that increasingly resembles a big-time, successful FBS football school. As someone that tries to measure the broader evolution of the program, that’s definitely a positive trend to witness.
Holy Turnovers, Batman
You’ll notice that I haven’t said anything about the actual game yet, and that’s because… well, what is there to say? It was a slopfest. The teams combined for seven conventional turnovers and also went a combined 0-for-3 on fourth down. It was a total mess.
I’m not sure who benefited from this ultra-wet style of game. It was clear early on that Texas State’s game plan was to stack the box and make JMU throw the ball in the bathtub. Early on, it didn’t seem like Cignetti & Co. were all that willing to put the ball in the air, so the first half was a tough watch. Three yards and a cloud of dihydrogen monoxide.
It was only after Jailin Walker’s excellent interception and touchdown return that JMU really began to feel in command of the game.
Walker Is a Star
JMU has had its share of stars on offense, but it’s the defensive playmakers that have really pushed the Dukes to national excellence over the past six seasons. Every year, it feels like one or two new names emerge as avatars of the unit.
“Jailin Walker’s a guy that we were always very high on,” Cignetti said after Saturday’s game. “And all he needed was an opportunity.”
Walker – a local Virginia standout, from Varina High School – got that opportunity when former JMU star Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey transferred to Texas this past offseason. That created an opening in the starting rotation at weak-side linebacker, and Walker has taken advantage.
More, from my friend Wayne at RTD:
A Truly Horrific Beat
A quick note at the end here on the game odds. Because of the weather and JMU’s outstanding defense, I recommended the under to several bettors. That bet felt great at halftime, as the score was a perfectly lifeless 19-0.
There were five touchdowns after the break, though, including Texas State’s garbage-time score with all zeroes on the clock. Ouch.
Let’s just say you should expect to see this one on SportsCenter later tonight.
Chase Kiddy is a staff writer for The Roar by BetMGM. If you liked this, you might also like his explanation of the current Heisman betting favorites.
