James Madison will take to Bridgeforth Stadium one last time this season on Saturday when the Dukes host the Semifinals round of the 2017 FCS Playoffs and welcome in the South Dakota State Jackrabbits for a clash to decide who gets a trip to Frisco and the FCS National Championship.
[divider]COMPARE: JMU vs. SDSU | Bryan Schor vs. Taryn Christion[divider]
The Dukes and Jackrabbits present one of the most exciting matchups we've seen yet in the playoffs. SDSU boasts two draft prospects in Jake Wieneke and Dallas Goedert in the offensive attack and a QB in Taryn Christion who can attack with his legs and his arm. JMU's defense has been incredibly stingy this season and will present those talented players a unique challenge.
MORE: JMU vs. SDSU in the Semifinals
LISTEN: Bryan Schor Joins the HERO Sports FCS Podcast
How do our experts see this matchup playing out? Let's find out:
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Brian McLaughlin
Man, oh man … just when you thought you couldn't see a game on the level of the Weber State-JMU quarterfinal last Friday, this game presents itself. This one has all the trappings of a barn burner, again.
Keep in mind though, SDSU star tight end and top FCS pro prospect Dallas Goedert left last weekend's game with a muscle injury in his leg, and his coach — John Stiegelmeier — said Goedert was 'doubtful' for JMU on his Monday radio show. We'll soon see if that holds up, and if so, what kind of effect that has, but SDSU has plenty of offensive weapons.
Then again, JMU's defense is stellar. Then again, my eyes are crossed because I think the stat matchups can all be thrown out in the playoffs — as we saw last week with JMU-Weber.
JMU: 28
SDSU: 21
MORE: See Brian's Predictions For NDSU-SHSU
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Bennett Conlin
With just over three minutes left last week, it seemed like JMU's perfect season was all but over. Then, the Dukes reeled off 11 unanswered points to stun Weber State. Despite the miraculous comeback, the Dukes left too many points on the field against Weber State's 10th-ranked red zone defense.
Fortunately for JMU, South Dakota State ranks 43rd in red zone defense. With a slightly easier defensive opponent this week, I see the Dukes turning field goals into touchdowns and punching their ticket to Frisco.
JMU: 31
SDSU: 21
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Brian Hansen
We are at the point of the season where predictions seem mostly meaningless since the very narrow margins between the four teams will likely be decided by things like injuries or fumble luck. That being said, the whole point of this exercise is to predict a winner, so here goes.
Like last week, I don't know a ton about South Dakota State outside of the fact that they are really good. So, I'm going to lean of the fact that JMU gets an extra day of rest and gets to play at home in my prediction of the game.
Last week, Weber State became the first team in over a year to hang over 20 points on the Dukes and was the first team this year to have more than 14 points. I don't think this is some harbinger of a decline in the Madison defense, rather it is just a signal that Weber State was really good. With that in mind, I'm predicting the JMU defense comes away with a big turnover and the Dukes also make a big play on special teams to win this one.
JMU: 24
SDSU: 16
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Jeffrey Gimpel
The Dukes are coming off their toughest game of the year so far, how will they respond? To be honest, I'm really not sure, but what I do know is that there are two legitimate, first- or second-round NFL prospects playing on the opposing team's offense this week.
For as good as this JMU defense has been all year, they were exposed in some areas last week and SDSU's offense might be the perfect fit to finally knock off JMU and end their 25-game win streak. The Jackrabbits have the two essential pieces needed to defeat a defense of JMU's caliber, a dual-threat QB and a top tier TE.
Taryn Christion will be able to break down the Dukes coverages with his legs, and with the talent he has out there catching passes from him, this SDSU team should scare fans of the Dukes. JMU's defense hasn't quite looked the same in recent weeks either. The Dukes have not recorded a sack since the Elon game. A lack of QB pressure, plus a really good offense does not bode week for JMU. I believe the Jackrabbits will pull off the upset this week over the Dukes.
SDSU: 30
JMU: 27
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NEXT: FCS Playoffs: SDSU vs. JMU Q&A with JMU Sports Blog
