James Madison Preview: The Game of Unknowns

West Virginia Mountaineers

vs

James Madison Dukes

Location: Morgantown, WV (Mountaineer Field)

Kickoff: 2:00 pm est

TV: AT&T Sportsnet

Stream: WVUSports.com

Announcers: Rob King (play by play), Rasheed Marshall (analyst), Meg Bulger (sideline)

Weather: 82º Partly Cloudy

Morgantown, WV -The 2019 season is finally upon and the West Virginia Football Program is beginning a new era under head coach Neal Brown. Most of the familiar faces that surrounded this program the last two years have moved on to the next level and it’s time for the next crop of players to make a name for themselves.

The running back room has the most experience. Martell Pettaway and Kennedy McKoy have been making plays since their freshman season. Leddie Brown made a name for himself last season as a downhill runner and Alec Sinkfield showed flashes early in the season before an injury during the Youngstown State game ended his year.

The receiving core has been depleted but TJ Simmons is a name that was called often during the 2018 and his move to slot shows he’s become a more all-around receiver. Tevin Bush showcased his big-play ability last season Sam James Jr has speed and has turned heads during spring and fall camp. Temple transfer Sean Ryan made an immediate impact at the beginning of fall camp and made his way into the lineup as the starting X receiver.

Oklahoma transfer Austin Kendall was named the starting quarterback last week. There hasn’t been enough of a sample size to evaluate the redshirt junior, however, Sooner head coach Lincoln Riley stated last season that Kendall pushed eventual Heisman winner Kyler Murray for the starting job and Sooner players confirmed it during Big 12 media days.

The offensive line lost some major pieces following the 2018 season, but Colton McKivitz and Josh Sills are primed to be all-conference linemen. Sills made the move to center in the middle of fall camp while McKivitz switched from right tackle to left tackle during the spring. Kelby Wickline played behind Yondy Cajuste last season and filled in nicely during the Texas win after Cajuste was ejected from the game. Chase Behrndt began fall camp as the starting center but has moved to right guard and will split time with newcomer John Hughes. Michael Brown has made a big impact at left guard and has impressed the coaching staff with his vast improvement since the beginning of spring ball.

On the other side of the ball, the defense will have a whole new look. A three-down linemen attack with a four-man front philosophy looks to cause havoc this season with its unfamiliar style of defense. Defensive coordinator Vic Koenning believes he has 7-9 quality D-linemen. This starts with Darius Stills, Reese Donahue, Dante Stills, and Taijh Alston. Then, Jeffrey Pooler, Brenon Thrift and Michigan transfer Rueben Jones.

Dylan Tonkery heads the linebacking unit and JoVanni Stewart gets the nod at the spear. Josh Chandler is a player that Koenning believes offenses will have to find as he’s geared up to have a big year along with Quondarius Qualls at the Bandit.

Some recognizable names are in the secondary, most notably Keith Washington. He had a pick-six at Texas Tech that sealed the game and had three interceptions on the season. Then Hakeem Bailey is at left corner, while Josh Norwood has made the move to free safety. However, WVU will have to rely on some freshmen at times as Nicktroy Fortune (RCB), Kerry Martin Jr (FS), Tykee Smith (CS) and Tae Mayo (LCB) are all in the two-deep.

James Madison

Curt Cignetti takes over one of the best FCS programs in the country. The Dukes have two national titles in the last 14 years. Cignetti spent 28 years as an assistant coach, primarily working with quarterbacks and most recently under Nick Saban at Alabama from 2007-10 before taking his first head coaching job at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He went 53-17 and captured two conference championships before taking over Elon the past two seasons.

This will be a return trip home for Cignetti. He graduated from Morgantown High School and played for WVU from 1979-82. His father, Frank, served as an assistant under Bobby Bowden before taking over from 1976-79.

James Madison returns 19 starters after a 9-4 campaign and comes into the season at No.2 in both FCS Polls and is the overwhelming favorite to win the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).

Seven Dukes made preseason All-American

Rashad Robinson (CB) – Had seven interceptions in 2017 but sat out last season due to injury

D’Angelo Amos (FS) – Known for his punt returns. Returned three for touchdowns and led the country with an average of 22.0 yards per return.

John Daka (DE) – Recorded 10 sacks last season and 17 tackles for a loss

Liam Fornadel (RT)

Ron’Dell Carter (DE) - Had 7.5 sacks last season and 13 tackles for a loss

Riley Stapleton (WR) – Suspended the first three games.

Dimitri Holloway (WLB) – Recorded 127 tackles last year averaging 9.8 per game.

The offense will be led by quarterback Ben DiNucci. A bit of a dual-threat quarterback throwing for 2,275 yards on 68.3% (211-309) passing and 16 touchdowns while rushing for 446 yards and a team-leading nine touchdowns. However, he did throw 12 interceptions on the year.

The Dukes ran for over 2,383 yards in 2018 and their top three running backs have moved on. Nonetheless, Percy Agyei-Obese is a big hitter. Limited to just 18 carries last year, he broke an 80-yard run for his only touchdown.

Although James Madison will be without their All-American Riley Stapleton, they still bring their other top two receivers in Kyndel Dean (47 rec/614 yards/ 5 TD) and Jake Brown (38 rec/455 yards/ 2TD).

It’s a game of opposites despite both programs having a new coaching staff. WVU’s only experience is coming from the running backs while JMU lost most of their production in the backfield.

West Virginia has been put on upset alert across many publications around the country due to the turnover in Morgantown. James Madison does have a history of taken FBS teams to their limits. They are 6-21 all-time against FBS schools and their most notable win came in 2010 in Blacksburg against the Virginia Tech Hokies. They also went into Raleigh last year and gave NC State a bit of a scare.

I expect the Mountaineers to use their size to their advantage. JMU average weight across the defensive line is 264.5 lbs while the WVU offensive line is at 319.2. On the flip side, the WVU defensive line averages 277.3 lbs and the JMU O-line is at 292.4.

West Virginia should be able to control both sides of the line of scrimmage and lean on the running game to help out first-year starter Austin Kendall.

An X-factor may be special-teams. It’s been a thorn in the Mountaineers side of the years and the hope is Neal Brown and his staff can become a bigger player in special teams after having one of the better units at his time at Troy. However, the Dukes having a great punt returner could swing momentum into their favor. How WVU responds may determine the outcome.

West Virginia has a lot of questions they will have to answer during the game. They may not answer them all in one game, but we’ll get a glimpse of how good this team is playing an experienced opponent.

Notes

West Virginia is 2-0 all-time versus James Madison. WVU won in 2004 45-10 in Morgantown (JMU won the National Championship that year) and beat the Dukes in 2012 42-12 at FedEx Field.

The Mountaineers are 19-0 all-time against FCS Schools.

West Virginia is 98-20-6 in season home openers and 34-4-1 at (new) Mountaineer Field (1980).