Tigers are last obstacle for Dukes before playoffs
No.7 JMU travels to No. 24 Towson for regular-season finale
By John Galle, sports editor
Posted on November 16, 2006

The JMU football team lit up the scoreboard at home against Towson 55-14 in its final game last season.  This season both the Dukes (8-2, 6-1 Atlantic 10) and the Tigers (7-3, 4-3) hope this won’t be their final game as they attempt to qualify for the postseason.

The game will feature the league’s top passing team in Towson and the league’s No. 1 rushing offense in JMU.

“We consider this a playoff game,” JMU junior defensive tackle John Baranowsky said. “It doesn’t matter what it is for them, all that matters is what it is for us. We don’t want to put ourselves in that position where if you lose, you have to leave it up to a committee.”

While JMU is trying to shake off its first conference loss to Villanova, Towson is coming off a 31-7 win against Richmond in which its defense didn’t allow an offensive score. Towson’s safety Drew Mack earned Player of the Week honors for his seven tackles and pair of interceptions — one of which he took 49 yards for a touchdown.

“One thing is they have excellent team speed on defense,” JMU coach Mickey Matthews said. “They’re very athletic and we’ll be challenged to have a good offensive game against them.”

Offensively, the Dukes had a number of miscues and some costly penalties last week and like the Wildcats, the Tigers will be no pushover.

“They’re a very explosive football team,” Matthews said. “They can make a good football team look bad in a hurry.”

And that explosiveness starts with Towson’s passing game in quarterback Sean Schaefer. He has thrown the ball 346 times, averaging 315 yards per game. This season he has 2,839 yards passing, a 68.8 completion percentage, 19 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Matthews said: “Everything they do is based on one thing: how well they protect their quarterback.”

With that in mind, JMU will rely on its pass rush to keep Schaefer uncomfortable and help the Dukes’ defensive backs, which may be without sophomore cornerback Evan McCollough for the second consecutive week due to a nagging hamstring injury.

“The best pass coverage is a pass rush,” JMU senior defensive end Kevin Winston said.

With the win over the Spiders, the Tigers finished their road schedule undefeated at 5-0 for the third time in school history.

“It really doesn’t matter,” JMU senior running back Alvin Banks said. “They’re playing at home. So, 5-0 on the road really doesn’t mean anything. If you really want to look at it, we are 5-0 at home. It doesn’t make a difference now where you play at. The playoffs are about to start. Everybody’s got to win regardless.”

Like Villanova last week, Towson will be looking to carry momentum into the game Saturday against JMU.

“It’s going to be a tough environment,” Winston said. “If we lose, we’ll both have the same record and they’ll have a tie-breaker over us. So, I think it’s a must win for both teams. We’re playing like our backs are against the wall too.”

On paper, however, Madison will finish with the best record in the A-10 South, regardless of the outcome of the game.

“It remains to be seen whether we have to win this game to make the playoffs,” Matthews said. “But I think Towson does have to win it to get into the playoffs. So both teams are going to bring their A-game. It’s going to be a heck of a game.”

JMU is ranked No. 7 in the nation, falling from No. 4, while Towson made the top 25 list, at No. 24.

The Dukes are set to kick off against the Tigers at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Md.