Dukes feeling homesick

HARRISONBURG -- Face down on the ground after the second of his two fumbles, James Madison quarterback Justin Thorpe buried his helmet in the turf and slammed his hands down.

The gesture summed up the day and perhaps the season for Thorpe and the 16th-ranked Dukes, whose offensive troubles were front and center in a 27-0 Colonial Athletic Association loss to sixth-ranked Villanova yesterday.

JMU had 260 yards of offense, but it crossed midfield only twice. JMU coach Mickey Matthews called the Dukes' first shutout loss at home since 1990 and its first shutout loss overall since a 43-0 defeat to Virginia Tech in 2003 in Blacksburg "an embarrassment offensively."

"We're just so bad on offense right now we're not giving ourselves a chance," said Matthews, whose team hadn't lost back-to-back home games since 2002. "We cannot move the ball. Until we get better offensively, it's going to be a rough year."

Time is running out for JMU to find answers. The Dukes fell to 0-3 in the CAA -- the first time they have lost three consecutive CAA games since 2005 -- and 2-4 overall with a trip to seventh-ranked William and Mary next.

James Madison will have to win out to have a chance at the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs.

Thorpe is a 6-1, 215-pound redshirt freshman from Varina High who had been splitting time with junior Drew Dudzik. He became the fulltime quarterback when Dudzik fractured his foot last week.

There likely will be plenty of good days for Thorpe -- Villanova coach Andy Talley called him "a time bomb waiting to happen" -- but yesterday was not one of them.

Villanova (3-1, 6-1) went after Thorpe throughout the game with blitzes. He was 13 of 32 for 144 yards passing and had 65 yards on 18 carries. But fumbles on consecutive possessions in the second quarter led to 10 Villanova points.

Thorpe also fumbled at the Richmond 6-yard line in the final minute of a 21-17 loss to the top-ranked Spiders last week.

"Basically, it was just careless errors once again," Thorpe said. "I wasn't protecting the football."

JMU's deepest foray into Villanova territory was the 22. That came at the end of the first half and resulted in a missed 39-yard field goal.

"We're very frustrated because we know what we're capable of," JMU offensive guard Dorian Brooks (Highland Springs) said.

Villanova, on the other hand, "played about as good a game as we can play at this juncture," Talley said.

Quarterback Chris Whitney, at about 80 percent because of a bruised thigh, had 97 yards rushing and 93 passing (11 of 16). He threw three touchdowns, two to Matt Szczur.

Matthews said it could have been worse had it not been for a stout effort by JMU's defense.

"I feel legitimately bad for the defense," tight end Mike Caussin said, "because they are doing everything they can the last few games, and we can't do anything."

Villanova ------------------------- 7 13 7 0--27
James Madison ------------------------- 0 0 0 0-- 0
First Quarter

V--Canci 4 pass from Whitney (Yako kick), 11:32.
Second Quarter

V--FG Yako 42, 14:22.

V--Szczur 30 pass from Whitney (Yako kick), 6:16.

V--FG Yako 32, 1:42.
Third Quarter

V--Szczur 22 pass from Whitney (Yako kick), 6:59.

A--16,037.
 Vill

JMU
First downs-------------------------17

15
Return yards-------------------------32

(-4)
Punts-Avg.-------------------------5-39.8

7-37.3
Rushes-yards-------------------------47-225

35-116
Passing yards-------------------------93

144
Comp-Att-Int-------------------------11-16-0

13-32-0
Fumbles-lost-------------------------0-0

3-2
Penalties-yards-------------------------3-35

2-20
Time of possession-------------------------33:38

26:22
RUSHING

Villanova (47-225) , Whitney 18-97, Szczur 8-76, Ball 15-41, Doss 3-9, Reynolds 0-5, Team 3-(minus 3). JMU (35-116) , Thorpe 18-65, Sullivan 13-33, Yancey 3-10, Noble 1-8.
PASSING

Villanova (11-16-0-93) , Whitney 11-16-0-93. JMU (13-32-0 -144 ) , Thorpe 13-32-0-144.
RECEIVING

Villanova , Szczur 4-53, Harvey 2-16, Reynolds 2-13, Babbaro 2-7, Canci 1-4. JMU , Acker 4-50, McCarter 3-49, Noble 3-20, Caussin 1-19, B.Williams 1-7, Yancey 1-(minus 1).