None of my buddies from college were surprised JMU beat UNC.
James Madison head coach Bob Chesney (1st year) is one the best young up and coming coaches out there. He was a finalist for the Syracuse job and I'm glad he didn't get it because there is a good chance he would of made them an ACC contender pretty quickly. I don't doubt the Syracuse coach they ultimately hired (from Georgia) is a better recruiter but he has no head coaching experience. Maybe he ends up being a decent coach but who knows. Assistant coach hires seem like such a crap shoot.
13 players from James Madison followed Curt Cignetti to Indiana. So even though James Madison had a really good team and staff last year they are almost all gone. Despite this, I (and most of my college buddies) fully anticipated JMU either beating UNC or giving them a really tough game (despite the talent disparity). Chesney proved at his previous spot (Holy Cross/FCS level, partial scholarships) to be able to consistently beat or almost beat FBS schools each year he was there. And now that he has even better talent at the FBS level, he is even better equipped to punch up in weight against power 5 schools.
Also, the JMU QB (Alonzo Barnett) is a first year starter but he is really good. Equally good runner and passer. Fits perfectly with the offense style Chesney has run. He's a tad short (listed at 6'0 but he's more like 5'10) or otherwise he's probably playing at a power 5 school.
All this said, I don't think the UNC loss to JMU is as bad as it looks. Maybe giving up 70 was, but anyone who's followed Chesney's career expected them to compete or beat UNC.
I think the key for Pitt against UNC is Holstein taking care of the football and making enough big plays to win. UNC is going to get yards and score.
James Madison head coach Bob Chesney (1st year) is one the best young up and coming coaches out there. He was a finalist for the Syracuse job and I'm glad he didn't get it because there is a good chance he would of made them an ACC contender pretty quickly. I don't doubt the Syracuse coach they ultimately hired (from Georgia) is a better recruiter but he has no head coaching experience. Maybe he ends up being a decent coach but who knows. Assistant coach hires seem like such a crap shoot.
13 players from James Madison followed Curt Cignetti to Indiana. So even though James Madison had a really good team and staff last year they are almost all gone. Despite this, I (and most of my college buddies) fully anticipated JMU either beating UNC or giving them a really tough game (despite the talent disparity). Chesney proved at his previous spot (Holy Cross/FCS level, partial scholarships) to be able to consistently beat or almost beat FBS schools each year he was there. And now that he has even better talent at the FBS level, he is even better equipped to punch up in weight against power 5 schools.
Also, the JMU QB (Alonzo Barnett) is a first year starter but he is really good. Equally good runner and passer. Fits perfectly with the offense style Chesney has run. He's a tad short (listed at 6'0 but he's more like 5'10) or otherwise he's probably playing at a power 5 school.
All this said, I don't think the UNC loss to JMU is as bad as it looks. Maybe giving up 70 was, but anyone who's followed Chesney's career expected them to compete or beat UNC.
I think the key for Pitt against UNC is Holstein taking care of the football and making enough big plays to win. UNC is going to get yards and score.
