Dukes heading to Lehigh for first round

Sunday afternoon, ESPN anchor Bill Pidto broke the news JMU football has been waiting to hear since 1999.

The Dukes are heading to the playoffs.

JMU earned an at-large bid to the Division I-AA postseason and will play the Lehigh University Mountain Hawks Saturday in Bethlehem Pa.

"We’re glad to be in," coach Mickey Matthews said. "I can’t emphasize that enough."

JMU held an open viewing of the ESPN selection broadcast at the College Center Sunday afternoon. The Dukes were part of the final bracket announced.

"I knew we were in," Matthews said. "I just didn’t know where we were going."

Senior linebacker Trey Townsend said it was disappointing not to receive a home game, but that getting into the playoffs was first priority.

"It’s great," Townsend said. "Since I’ve been here we haven’t gone to the playoffs at all. I think we’ll be playing really hard just because we haven’t had this chance in a long time."

Redshirt sophomore quarterback Justin Rascati said the Dukes would be prepared to go on the road and win.

"We’d have liked to have been at home but we’ll be fine," Rascati said. "Any team can go on the road and win, we’ll go get ready for them. We’re just glad to be in."

Spectators filled the first half of the College Center’s Grand Ballroom for the event. Townsend said another large pro-JMU crowd could be expected at Lehigh.

"I think we’ll have a lot of fans come out," Townsend said.

The game will feature two teams with 9-2 overall records. Matthews believes the Dukes will be favored, despite Lehigh’s dominant home record.

"I’m sure we will be favored in the game," Matthews said. "But it’s a difficult assignment. I don’t think many teams have beaten them up there in the last three or four years."

But the Dukes have made a habit of upsetting teams on the road.

"I don’t know if anyone else went on the road like us, and won at other peoples places when they were ranked," Matthews said of his team’s road success. "Look at Villanova when they were ranked. Look at Maine and where they were when we beat them. We beat some good football teams on the road."

Kickoff for Saturday’s game has not yet been determined.