Game Day Preview: App State at No. 18 JMU

By Bret Strelow | App State Athletics

BOONE, N.C. — A ranked opponent, with ring implications, following ESPN College GameDay's return to James Madison.
 
The challenge and the stakes are clear to App State, which takes a three-game winning streak as well as still-alive hopes of reaching the Sun Belt Championship Game with it to Harrisonburg, Va., to face unbeaten and 18th-ranked JMU.
 
After GameDay concludes on the quad in front of Wilson Hall at noon, a sold-out Bridgeforth Stadium will host a Sun Belt showdown between the Dukes (10-0, 6-0) and Mountaineers (6-4, 4-2) at 2 p.m. on ESPN+. To stay in the hunt to represent the East Division in the Dec. 2 title game, App State must defeat a JMU squad that, bolstered by a dynamic quarterback and run-stuffing defense, is ineligible for a Dec. 2 appearance as it completes Year 2 of its FCS-to-FBS transition.
 
College GameDay made its Boone debut last year after the Mountaineers won at Texas A&M, and an unforgettable Saturday in the High Country concluded with a Hail Mary victory against eventual league champion Troy. A week later, the Mountaineers forced two turnovers deep in JMU territory to build a 28-3 lead before the Dukes rallied to win 32-28 in their first Sun Belt game.
 
JMU is 18-3 since the start of last season with coach Curt Cignetti directing a transition that, like App State's, has been highly successful.
 
"We have a great opportunity this week, and the last three weeks, we've really cashed in on those games," App State head coach Shawn Clark said. "Any time you can go on the road and play a nationally ranked team, that's huge. You add College GameDay into it, it's a sold-out crowd, and we're used to playing in front of sold-out crowds here at The Rock. I know our kids have blocked all the noise out and we're very focused … When you're in the hunt for a conference championship, you have to be focused."
 
With its high-powered offense, App State averages 34.8 points per game, helped by an average of 273.0 yards through the air from quarterback Joey Aguilar, and JMU ranks No. 1 nationally by allowing just 61.6 rushing yards per game a year after it ranked No. 2 behind only Georgia in that category. The Mountaineers were limited to 63 rushing yards on 34 attempts last season, with four sacks contributing to that total.
 
National sacks leader Jalen Green (15.5 through nine games) suffered a season-ending injury in the Nov. 14 victory at Georgia State — by a 42-14 score that matches App State's winning total from last weekend in Atlanta — but the Dukes were again dominant on defense in a 44-6 victory against UConn with Green unavailable.
 
"They're coached very well," Clark said. "Coach Cignetti does a very good job with their schemes on both offense and defense, and they have great players. Their defense reminds me of an Iowa defense when I was in the Big Ten. They're simplistic in some ways with how they line up, but they do it so well and do the same thing over and over and over again without making mistakes."
 
Five different App State receivers have had a single game with at least 93 yards plus a touchdown this season, so Aguilar has been spreading the ball around, and Nate Noel showed off some of his early season burst with a 61-yard touchdown run in the first quarter of the Georgia State victory. The Mountaineers' offensive line protected Aguilar well and paved the way for a season-high 254 rushing yards.
 
"I've said this all along and stand by this statement: We have a very good football team," Clark said. "The ball didn't bounce our way early in the season, and now we're playing better and getting a few more breaks. The more you play, the better you get."
 
App State's defense has put together two stellar games in a row, holding Marshall to 252 yards in a 31-9 in and Georgia State to 260 yards in the 42-14 victory. Each of those teams had mobile, dual-threat quarterbacks, just like the Dukes, but JMU has one of the nation's most prolific passes in Jordan McCloud.
 
Last season, Todd Centeio was the Sun Belt's Offensive Player of the Year as a JMU newcomer who had played previously at Temple and Colorado State. McCloud, who played previously at USF and Arizona, arrived in Harrisonburg before this season and has 26 touchdowns compared to just seven interceptions — numbers that match Aguilar's.
 
"He can throw the deep ball, throw the intermediate pass, throw it from hash to hash," Clark said. "When you cover and don't account for the quarterback, he can pull it and run. He plays within the system and plays at a very high level."
 
Averaging 280.0 passing yards per game, McCloud competed 28 of 36 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns at Georgia State before completing 33 of 37 passes for 457 yards with four touchdowns against UConn. He has two highly productive receivers in 6-foot-2, 207-pound Elijah Sarratt (60 catches, 841 yards, four touchdowns) and 6-foot-1, 195-pound Reggie Brown (45 catches, 903 yards, eight touchdowns).
 
On the ground, McCloud has rushed for six touchdowns to complement the work of backs Kaelon Black (53.1 yards per game) and Ty Son Lawson (45.8 yards per game).
 
App State has made significant improvement since relying more on a "Star" package with five defensive backs, highlighted by the strong showings against Marshall (108 rushing yards on 25 attempts) and Georgia State (139 rushing yards on 47 attempts).
  
Acting in a hybrid safety/linebacker role, EJ Jackson has made 25 stops during the team's three-game winning streak, while inside linebacker Andrew Parker Jr. has capitalized on strong defensive line play up front from the likes of tackles Santana Hopper and Montez Kelley to post two games in the last three weeks with 13-plus tackles.

"Our kids on defense are playing with confidence right now," Clark said. "We switched our scheme in some ways in the Southern Miss game, and it was a little rocky for the first three quarters, but the fourth quarter, they settled down, and the last two games, those guys are playing fast."
 
The Mountaineers have forced opening-drive punts in five of the last seven games, including each of the last two games, as Marshall and Georgia State didn't score in the first quarter. That's important on both sides against a fast-starting JMU team, especially considering that App State has punted to end its opening drive in five straight games.
 
"We'll have our work cut out for us," Clark said, "but we're excited for the challenge."