MISS IT ALREADY

Today should’ve been the day another season commenced.

F-Lot, G-Lot and P-Lot packed prior to kickoff on a warm-and-sunny afternoon with purple-and-gold clad tailgaters everywhere dreaming of this campaign concluding in Frisco, too.

Had the schedule never been interrupted James Madison would’ve held a season-opening game at Bridgeforth Stadium for the first time in four years. The Dukes kicked off recent seasons with FBS matchups at East Carolina, N.C. State and West Virginia in each of the past three.

And JMU would’ve returned home with its fans, players and coaches all equally eager to put the 2019 national championship game loss behind them in order to officially embark and embrace the start of a new season with goals to get back to the title bout and hoist the trophy this time.

The Dukes, too, were slated to start 2020 like they’ve never done before in their history – with a conference contest. Delaware was due in Harrisonburg, and whatever team took the game would’ve had a jump in the standings on the rest of the Colonial Athletic Association.

Unfortunately, none of it will happen since coronavirus concerns forced the CAA in July to scrap its fall season. JMU tried to put together an independent fall schedule, but was ultimately unsuccessful. So the conference and the Dukes like most of the FCS will wait until the spring to play football.

But since it’s difficult not to imagine all of those great feelings a first game of a new season brings, here are just a few of the storylines the showdown between JMU and Delaware would’ve lent itself to:

Whether it was fifth-year senior Cole Johnson or fourth-year junior Gage Moloney, JMU would’ve been breaking in a new quarterback.

Before the season was officially moved to the spring, Dukes coach Curt Cignetti said he had confidence in both signal-callers and that JMU could win with either one.

Moloney displayed tough running during a scoring drive against North Dakota State in the championship game in January and has always been viewed as a future starting quarterback for the program. But Johnson, who served as the No. 2 quarterback behind past starters Bryan Schor and Ben DiNucci, has experience and was eager to prove he deserved the job.

“It gives me a lot of confidence going into this last season,” Johnson said this past May. “I’ve had so much experience these past four years, so I feel good going into this season and I just want to get on the same page as everyone else.”

Earlier this summer, Delaware coach Danny Rocco acknowledged the heightened urgency players must have in the lead up to and during a season-starting conference game.

“A more veteran team might be more ready to play that opening conference game,” Rocco said, “because they already know what conference football is all about.”

Each side would’ve had to have reliable veterans push them through a grueling conference game to avoid falling to 0-1 on the year.

For JMU, senior defensive tackle Mike Greene and senior offensive tackle Liam Fornadel were candidates for that job. For Delaware, senior defensive back Tim Poindexter and senior linebacker Colby Reeder could’ve filled that role.

The Dukes feature a running back group most FBS programs would be jealous of, and Cignetti could’ve used this game to figure out how to showcase his rushers right away.

Seniors Percy Agyei-Obese and Jawon Hamilton were All-CAA choices last fall. Bruising sophomore Latrele Palmer had no problem bullying defenders as a freshman. Fellow sophomore Solomon Vanhorse scored touchdowns also in 2019.

“Depth is a good thing and it’s never a problem,” Cignetti said earlier this summer.

Considering Delaware ranked second worst in the conference for rushing defense a year ago, it’s safe to say the Dukes, who topped the CAA in rushing offense last year, would’ve tried to exploit that weakness.

Delaware went 5-7 overall and 3-5 in the CAA last fall, so the Blue Hens would’ve been looking for positive signs that a bounce back campaign was on the horizon.

Even if they didn’t come away with a win against the Dukes, who captured the CAA crown outright in three of the last four years, a strong showing might’ve gone a long way for a program with desire to return to the postseason.

Lastly, the opener would’ve brought JMU alum and former Dukes assistant coach Bryan Stinespring back to Harrisonburg.

Rocco hired Stinespring as the Blue Hens’ offensive line coach earlier this offseason.

“I got a few guys on my staff that have spent some years in this league at other programs and understand the competition,” Rocco said, “the matchup and have ideas about how to attack or defend and I think that’s important. And at the end of the day he’s a quality coach and we’re really glad he’s on our staff.”

Stinespring, a former longtime assistant for Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech, played for the Dukes from 1982 through 1985 and was on ex-coach Mike Houston’s staff in 2016 and 2017. He was the tight ends coach and run-game coordinator for JMU’s 2016 national-championship winning squad.