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Duck fans! I just wanted to drop in from the other coast and give some insight on the JMU squad if anyone is interested. I'll preface this by saying (clearly and confidently) that 98% of JMU fans expect a convincing loss. We know there's program disparity in a wide range of areas. Anyway, here are some players to note and some general thoughts on what I think will unfold. OFFENSE - QB: Alonza Barnett III has tons of raw talent. But has struggled with consistency. Some of that is WRs just dropping passes, but there's been more than a handful of times where he looks panicky and makes poor decisions. That being said, the dude can ball if he gets in a groove. Strong runner and his arm is better than most of our fans give him credit for. He actually won the starting job his R-Fr season during Cignetti's last year at JMU, but they pulled the plug at halftime of the first game. Also, don't be shocked if you see some packages for Matt Sluka. I'm sure we'll throw everything at the Oregon defense. RB: Wayne Knight you probably have heard of and don't need much detail there. He's a genuine P4-quality RB. He's small, but he breaks tackles pretty well regardless. We might have Jordan Fuller back also, who is more of a power back and will help in the 20 or so 3rd and short scenarios we'll face. Oregon-born Jobi Malary is also a solid runner with a lot of power. TE: Lacota Dippre is the ONLY TE in the nation that's clearly better than Sadiq....crap, I forgot no trolling...but actually, he's a solid receiver and a very good blocker at the position. He's made a handful of great catches and plays in the seam. He's not a future pro, but he can make plays. OL: Simmons (LT) is pretty good. He'd be a rotational piece on a P4. Same with McMurtrie (RT) and MAYBE Sweazie (LG). Riley Robell is an undersized (RG), but the guy was a state champion wrestler in high school. He plays bigger than he is. This will be the key to how close this game is. If the OL doesn't get bulldozed, there's a shot this game is closer at half than expected. WR: Landon Ellis and Nick DeGennaro are the guys to watch for big plays (DeGennaro) or for moving the chains (Ellis). Sanchez is a good possession receiver in the Sun Belt. Overall, WR is our least talented position overall on offense. DEFENSE - DL: We need Immanuel Bush (6'1" 348 lbs) back and healthy. He was in a boot during the CCG, but word is he's hoping to play...whatever that means. He's a run stopper though. Lockett and McMullin are also solid interior DL. DE: Sahir West is the guy to watch. It'll be a minor miracle if he isn't on an SEC or B1G roster next season. Aiden Gobaira is a Notre Dame transfer who's mostly worked off the let edge. Other than those 2, we do rotate Xavier Holmes and Amar Thomas on the edge with minimal drop-off. LB: Trent Hendrick will play on Sundays. He's been the anchor for our defense the last 2 seasons. Gannon Weathersby is undersized, but fast. Spinogatti is a Holy Cross transfer who has improved some, but I worry he doesn't have the speed for this match up. S/Nickel: The homer in me says DJ Barksdale would be an NFL draft pick if he was 3 inches taller. He closes fast and tackles well. But Jacob Thomas will be the key back there. CB: You all will likely hate Elijah Culp. He plays with a lot of emotion and gets flagged for it more than we wish he did. But he's sticky at the G5 level, so I'm eager to see him match up with a different class of WR. Justin Eaglin on the other side is just a solid G5 corner. He's played well this year, but he relies on safety help a lot. ST: We won't attempt a kick over 45 most likely. Suarez is just okay. He's been better as the season has gone on. We have a good amount of speed on our punt block team, so don't be surprised if we sell out for a block or 2 throughout the game. Our return game is good, but nothing special. Wayne Knight returns punts. ALL that being said...and I don't blame anyone if they ignore this...we're f***ing stoked to be in this position. I know it would have been a sexier matchup against a P4, but I'm confident you all will walk away from a (very likely) solid win impressed by what JMU is building over here. And if you haven't seen the bond forming on twitter between our fanbases, it's worth the annoyance of having to use Elon's app. Homer prediction: Ducks 24-20 Unbiased prediction: Ducks 35-10 Oh yea! Almost forgot...Huskies are stupid.

Not really apples to apples since the CFP expanded from 4 to 12 teams, but contrast ND's behavior now with Oregon's after the 2023 PAC12 CG game where the Ducks missed the playoffs by 3 points. Oregon went to the Fiesta Bowl to play Liberty and Bo Nix stayed on to see the season to the end. No entitlement or whining. An opportunity for an extra month of practice and building a team that one year later went 13-0 and won the B1G. The Domers are taking a short term view, as are several other programs declining bowl berths. The coaching carousel is a pretty weak excuse for taking a pass on an additional game. Yes, this may be the harbinger of the death of traditional bowl games. Expansion of the CFP to 16 (or more) may obviate this kind of petulance with the entitlement of old school bluebloods. But who is being penalized here? The CFP committee? The individual bowls not in the CFP? Or just the players, and their fans, that want to travel for an earned post season contest.

JMU is ranked as high as USC and UW, and they realize this is a once in a program opportunity and will bring their best effort. We will have to earn the win, but any thoughts of a beauty contest are in the past! Just win and let the haters deal with their personal issues themselves.

In the Army we would would say that the Irish defecated in their own mess kit.

When I was in high school we called girls who went around with their noses in the air thinking they were better than everyone else "stuck up". Notre Dame thinks they are better than everyone else and that they deserve special treatment. Like the "stuck up" high school girls, the Irish well be left out of the really important events. They have sullied their only conference landing spot and have no prom to attend, so they will sit home alone.

Seriously? Oregon's Dan Lanning Shockingly Snubbed From Coaching AwardThe Oregon Ducks are 11-1 and headed to the College Football Playoff for the second straight season. Despite this, Oregon coach Dan Lanning was not named as one of the 12 finalists for the Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award. The 12 finalists for the 2025 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year Award are: Bob Chesney, James Madison Dukes Curt Cignetti, Indiana Hoosiers Ryan Day, Ohio State Buckeyes Mike Elko, Texas A&M Aggies Tony Elliot, Virginia Cavaliers Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame Fighting Irish Clark Lea, Vanderbilt Commodores Jerry Mack, Kennesaw State Owls Joey McGuire, Texas Tech Red Raiders Jim Mora, UConn Huskies Jon Sumrall, Tulane Green Wave Kirby Smart, Georgia Bulldogs Does Lanning deserve to be on this list? Taking into account the amount of players he’s had to replace on both sides of the ball and Oregon having won 11 games, there is certainly a strong argument. Oregon Ducks On SIOregon's Dan Lanning Shockingly Snubbed From Coaching AwardFor the second straight season, the Oregon Ducks will be in the College Football Playoff. Oregon coach Dan Lanning now has a career record of 46-7 in his four y

The coaching merrigoround has to be a distraction for both teams. I suspect that JMU losing its head coach to UCLA and having a failed coach from Florida coming in will create more turmoil than OBD losing its successful coordinators and them being replaced from within. Loupoi and Stein will be working with the same staffs that they know well. Everybody already knows the drill. Napier will be working with strangers who are probably not likely pay a lot of attention to him. Even so, I'm guessing he will be more of a minus than a plus.

How much will Billy Napier help James Madison prepare for Oregon and his former colleagues?oregonliveHow much will Billy Napier help JMU prepare for Oregon an...There are no restrictions on incoming coaches in their roles with teams participating in the playoff.

This is what happens when the big head follows the little head around.

Thanks for this nugget. Three teams on the ND schedule had winning records this season: Miami, SMU, and USC. The only road game the Irish play against a 2025-ranked opponent is the last game of the season trip to LA. 😧 SC, please do your part to stop this SCAM. Other programs ticked off about the PO committee deal that will have a top-12-ranked ND automatically qualifying next season are threatening to stop playing ND. Hypocritical? ND chastised Tony Petitti's PO plan for having automatic qualifiers. PO Poohbahs - Knute Rockne and the Gipper left the building about 100 years ago. 🤬

On the Jim Rome Show, Dan Lanning claps back on teams whining about the CFPAutzen ZooOn the Jim Rome Show, Dan Lanning claps back on teams whi...Dan Lanning had the perfect answer to coaches and athletic directors wheedling for inclusion in the College Football Playoff.

As predicted by Darren and others, the Last LA Bowl will be played for the last time on Saturday, ABC, 5 PM Pacific, between UWho and (never, ever, schedule) Boise State. 'Prominent Bowl?' WOOF! Prominent college football bowl game is being canceled

The Real Reason Oregon Can Win the College Football Playoff

You left out the best part of Notre Dame’s schedule next season - they only play 3 true road games! All the rest are at home or at neutral sites. https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/notre-dames-2026-football-schedule-141110074.html

The politics of college football is exhausting. Now that we have a CFP there will always be teams on the bubble that have legitimate arguments for being included. Bowl games outside of the CFP are a risk for injury in meaningless games. Eliminating bowl games, and expanding the CFP makes the most economic sense to me. However, agreeing on an expanded format simply shows the chaos of what management by committee is all about.

How significant is the Stephen Daly knee/leg injury for Indiana's pass D? He appeared to do significant damage celebrating with fans post CCG.

It's sad when you look at your supposed "lil' bro", and suspectyour parents lied... He's not even one of the little Sisters of the Poor.

Lots of great input as always. Thanks, Jon!

I like the setup, but I will confess I think many are underestimating Texas Tech because they aren't a traditional power. They have a loaded roster (#2 in NIL spending behind only Texas is what you read, and something like $28m compared to Oregon's $23m or so). They're defensive front is considered by many to be the best in college football (and is where they've spend a lot of NIL money). BYU and Utah (I live in Utah) may not be in the top tier of teams, but they are good, and Utah has a very highly regarded offensive line, but neither team belonged on the same field as Texas Tech and neither could handle Tech's front 7. They had the Utah QB on the run consistently. Its that match-up that I hope we game plan for. We saw against Indiana (with a similar ability to get after the QB) that when under pressure, Dante sometimes hurries things and doesn't see receivers down field. With Texas Tech and then Indiana in our path, I'm hoping we scheme some things up to help there. Having some receivers back will certainly help too.

The best way to put ND in their place is for the P4 schools to quit scheduling games with them. The domer double-standard has always peaved me no end, but this latest whine fest is just over-the-top entitlement. Yes the CFP committee was afraid to bump Bama even after their unimpressive showing in the SEC championship game, but if YOU would have beaten Miami then this would be a non-issue. Get even by destroying your bowl opponent, not by crying foul in a system where you get preferential treatment anyway. YOU put yourself in a position to let the CFP decide your fate and they did.

USC's Trojans Wire calls out ND. Setting the stage to cancel the series? https://trojanswire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/trojans/football/2025/12/10/notre-dame-whines-eliminated-cfp-usc-football-rivalry/87701817007/?utm_source=smg-trojanswire-strada&utm_medium=email

Agree, and will probably happen in the early 2030s when the conference television contracts are up. And bye bye bowls, you had a great century plus run.

Thanks, Charles I would prefer a 14 team playoff with 2 byes. It gives the ultra no-brainers soemthing to play for down the stretch. But, what do i know. A conversation for another day. Along with having the quarters as home games, fans will get fatigue in a couple years with all the travel once the "newness" of the playoff wears off. Oh, and adios to the conference title games.

And how bout when they made the title game in 2012 when the Ducks were clearly better. Go away, ND!

And correct me if i'm wrong, but the conference will get more money to distribute, while ND would take all of the post-season cash. Of course the ACC is going to want Miami. This is the price you pay, ND, for not fully committing to the conference. Go fly a kite!!! (keeping it PG)