Last I heard JMU was +18 and Appy +25, so both are big underdogs.
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Beamer stirs bad memories with JMU video
BLACKSBURG —— Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer is an old school guy.
He still prefers the old Division I-A and I-AA distinctions to the long-winded Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision tags. The way he sees it there isn't much difference in the two subdivisions anyway. He came a little closer to that realization last season when Tech lost 21-16 at home to FCS foe James Madison.
With that embarrassing defeat fresh in his mind, and a meeting Saturday in Blacksburg on tap with established FCS power Appalachian State for No. 13 Tech's season-opener, he flipped on video last week in a team meeting that depicted the late stages of the JMU game.
Just a not-so subtle reminder from Beamer that bad things can happen to good teams that don't prepare the right way for the guys at the less prestigious level.
"I think sometimes you kind of assume things with the level," Beamer said. "It's not that. Appalachian State has a lot of good players, as did James Madison last year. It's what you do on the field that counts. I thought that was a perfect example of a team coming in and beating us. … It's not what should happen, or what you think is going to happen, or what levels are these teams, it's how you play on Saturday."
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If the video represented something of a scare tactic, it worked. Images of JMU's offense burning the last few seconds off the Lane Stadium clock, and Dukes players and coaches streaming onto the field after sealing the upset, conjured horrific memories for Tech, which would go on to win 11 consecutive games after the JMU game.
"(The video) was definitely pretty disturbing," said cornerback Kyle Fuller, who was a true freshman last season when he and his Tech teammates fell to an unexpected 0-2 after the JMU loss. "It just made us feel like we didn't want that to happen again."
While some of Tech's darkest moments center around that game, Appalachian State's players need only refer to one recent game against an FBS opponent to show what it's capable of doing against the giants.
In the 2007 season-opener, Appalachian State traveled to Michigan Stadium and upset No. 5 Michigan 34-32. It was the first win by an FCS team against a ranked FBS team since NCAA football split into two divisions in 1978. JMU's win against then-No. 13 ranked Tech was the second such victory for an FCS team.
There's no doubt Tech's loss to JMU was stunning, even though the Dukes are an established program that went to the FCS playoffs five times and won the '04 FCS national championship in coach Mickey Matthews' first 12 seasons.
Losing that game may wind up being the best wake-up call of all for Tech heading into the game against Appalachian State, which enters this weekend No. 2 in the FCS rankings. Appalachian State won the '05, '06 and '07 FCS national titles under Jerry Moore, who is entering his 23rd season as the Mountaineers' coach.
"I don't think we're going to underestimate anybody," said Tech quarterback Logan Thomas, who will be making his first career start. "We underestimated James Madison last year, and we had that feeling. It was a terrible feeling, and we don't want to have that feeling ever, ever again. We're taking everything like we're playing for the national championship."
For some of Tech's players, the JMU video wasn't required viewing to dredge up ugly feelings from the past. The game is still a prominent part of senior wide receiver Danny Coale's thought process when he thinks about his career at Tech. Avoiding a repeat of those nightmares this weekend is Coale's primary ambition.
"We were walking off (the field after the JMU game), and — that look in everybody's eyes," Coale said. "It was just that feeling of disappointment.
"I think it kind of refreshes everybody's memory. I don't think we really need that refreshment. … I'm going to remember a lot of games we've won here, but I think when I leave I'll remember some of the losses, and that'll be one of them for sure.""
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