Monmouth at James Madison
For those who’ve never heard the name Pete Guerriero, listen up - he’s good. Real good. 1668 yards in the regular season and 220 yards in his first playoff game good. Monmouth had little trouble with Holy Cross. Sure, they gave up 27 points, but the result of the game was never really in question as the Hawks jumped up 23-0 before the Crusaders ever dented the scoreboard. Kenji Bahar threw for a very workmanlike 249 yards and a touchdown. It was the defense which starred this game though, picking off three Holy Cross passes.
James Madison sat at home, digesting their Thursday bird, watching the next “bird” they look to devour. The Dukes have a balanced offensive attack. Very balanced. They average 236 yards rushing and 230 yards passing per game. That equates to a #10 offense overall. The defense ranks #5 overall, giving up a ridiculous 69.1 ypg on the ground. So something will have to give with Mr. Guerriero coming to town. And when someone decides passing is the way to go, John Daka and his 12.5 sacks will surely be breathing down your neck.
James Madison is the real deal and very experienced. A large percentage of their starters are juniors and seniors. With that, you know they’re not going to beat themselves very often. It’s going to take a mammoth effort from Monmouth to win this game. They do have some really good pieces, but it looks like the Dukes have too many to overcome.
Prediction: James Madison 35, Monmouth 17
