Delaware at James Madison
The Blue Hens are finally back to the playoffs and their fans can breathe a little easier. They stumbled in their last two games after a 7-2 start, where they looked poised to become a national seed. Delaware seems to like keeping games under control. The offense is not overly explosive. Neither leading rusher, Kani Kane, or leading receiver, Joe Walker, crossed even 600 yards at their craft over the season. It’s a more spread it out mentality. Defensively, the unit only gives up about 21 per game. Overall, the entire team is very disciplined and one of the lesser penalized teams in FCS, so they’re unlikely to beat themselves.
James Madison came into the season as the likely second banana to North Dakota State. The rebuild after last season’s senior class was a smidge tougher than imagined. The rest of the CAA also improved. That’s not to say the Dukes weren’t still the class of the conference because they probably were top to bottom, even with a hiccup here or there. The defense was almost as stingy as last year, surrendering only 14.6 per game. Totals like that make it pretty easy to be successful. One very telling stat is 3rd down efficiency. JMU is in the top 15 at keeping drives moving and the top 20 at getting their opponent off.
The last stat will likely be the biggest factor into whether Delaware can pull the upset here. If the Dukes continue like they have most of the season, this game could get very ugly. Being who they are, JMU gets everybody’s best shot every week. They’ll not be afraid, intimidated or worried about anything. Would never say Delaware would be either - there just might be less they can do about it.
Prediction: James Madison 31, Delaware 21
