Dukes set for A-10 showdown

Photo courtesy of JMU sports media relations Senior comeback Cortez Thompson and JMU take on the Blue Hens of Delaware Saturday, in a battle for first place in the Atlantic 10. The Dukes enter the game 7-1 overall and 5-0 in conference. The Blue Hens are 6-2 and 5-0.

No question, coach Mickey Matthews said. Saturday’s game pitting the Dukes against the University of Delaware Blue Hens is the biggest regular season game he’s coached at JMU.

The Dukes host the defending national champions in a game pitting the last two undefeated teams in Atlantic 10 conference play.

JMU, ranked No. 7 in both the SportsNetwork and ESPN/USA Today polls, enters the contest at 7-1 and 5-0 in the A-10. Delaware, ranked No. 6 in both polls, is 6-2 (5-0).

"This is what makes college football the great game it is," Matthews said. "You have two teams that think they’re going to win."

The Dukes have been fighting the injury bug in recent weeks. Redshirt sophomore tailback Maurice Fenner left last week’s game against the Virginia Military Institute with a shoulder injury and will not be available for Saturday’s game against the Blue Hens.

In his stead, Matthews plans to go with redshirt junior Raymond Hines and redshirt freshman Antoinne Bolton in the backfield. Both backs possess a running style well suited for Bridgeforth Stadium.

"On AstroTurf, smaller, quicker backs have an advantage," Matthews said. "Raymond and Bolton are both very capable players."

There also is the possibility of redshirt senior safety Rondell Bradley seeing some time in the backfield. Bradley last played tailback in 2002, when he led the Dukes with 737 yards rushing.

"We’re going to move Rondell to tailback," Matthews said. "We’ll see how he progresses."

The Dukes will look to their passing game to take pressure off the backfield. Matthews said the goal is to have an efficient air attack, which starts with the offensive line.

"We always believe our offensive line is very good," Matthews said. "They’ll be tested because Delaware has an excellent defensive line. We really need to throw the ball more effectively given our shortage at running back."

The offensive line also will look to neutralize Delaware defensive lineman Chris Mooney and linebacker Mondoe Davis.

"No. 92 [Mooney] is their best defensive player," Matthews said. "The middle linebacker Mondoe Davis is a very good defensive player as well. Those two guys against our offensive line will be interesting."

The Dukes come to the table with the best team defense in the A-10, yielding 16.2 points per game. One key to this game, Matthews said, will be how well the JMU secondary contains Delaware’s receivers, notably Justin Long and David Boler.

"They have two good receivers, Long and Boler, who both tied the school record for receptions in a game," Matthews said. "If we do not play better in the secondary against Delaware than we did against VMI, it’s going to be a long afternoon."

With both teams being fairly balanced, Matthews said a large, pro-JMU contingent might give the Dukes an advantage.

"The home field advantage is in the crowd," Matthews said. "The football field being in Harrisonburg is not going to give us an advantage because it’s 100 yards long whether it’s in Harrisonburg or Delaware. We need to get our crowd into it as much as we can."

Matthews referred to the game as a contest between the champion and the challenger. Delaware, as the defending conference and national champion, possesses the hardware and titles that JMU wants.

"We’re striving to be conference champions and national champions," Matthews said. "They have what we want and they do not want to give it up — that’s why this has all the marks of a great game."

Saturday’s battle for A-10 supremacy kicks off at 1:30 p.m.