Weber State at James Madison, Friday 7:00
Weber State won their First Round game at home against Western Illinois, 21-19. In the Second Round, they went to Southern Utah and won 30-13. Holding the Thunderbirds to 4-17 on third down, the Wildcats did a great job getting their defense off the field. Of course, it didn’t all come easy, as Southern Utah jumped out to a 10-0 lead after the opening quarter. At that point, QB Stefan Cantwell took over the game. Rushing for 105 yards and passing for another 344 will count as a great performance in just about anyone’s book. The Big Sky’s best defense showed up big but will need an even bigger showing to spring the upset next week.
James Madison started their title defense 2017 against fellow CAA member, Stony Brook, winning 26-7. QB Bryan Schor was on point, going 26-35 for 255 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The Dukes rushing game was virtually non-existent and 49 yards on 38 rushes probably won’t cut it going forward. The Seawolves may have shown the blueprint to making the Dukes one dimensional. Unfortunately for Stony Brook, the Dukes defense was as good as advertised, picking off five passes and not allowing a score until the fourth quarter, when the game was totally in hand.
If Weber State can make the Dukes totally dependent on the passing game, they have the defense to stay in it, keep it close and win at the end. The bigger question to solve will be if the Wildcats can get anything going against this unreal, stout Duke defense. Going to be a full crowd in Harrisonburg and very, very few of them will be traveling from the Ogden, Utah area.
Projected Score: James Madison 20, Weber State 10
