Weeks 0 and 1 in the FCS

[s--k]

Tarleton QB was injured and DNP 2H Saturday. Tarleton was AWFUL at QB without him. They basically just tried to escape with a win and they nearly did not (they were shut out 2H). Not necessarily and endorsement for Baylor - no idea what they are, but need to find extent of injury to starting Tarleton QB

 

[s--k]

SEMO QB also knocked out of game with shoulder sprain or dislocation or whatever, same injury that knocked him out for the season last year, but now it is nonthrowing shoulder I think, so maybe he can play? He's good QB. Their backup was fine. Mostly just relied on OL and ran the ball down UNA's throat and waited for UNA's O to make mistakes, which they did often. SEMO-NMSt could be a good game for FCS to win, have to look into it.

 

[s--k]

That Nicholls at LaTech line is lower than I thought. 8.5 LaTech usually hammers FCS teams and Nicholls hasn't faired too well vs FBS - only scored in single digits their last 4 games 2022-2023 vs FBS!

Brutal opening schedule for Nicholls. Reminds me of what Southeastern La had to face last year - 3 straight on the road to open including two FBS one of which is P5 and a road trip to a Big Sky '22 playoff team and then just like Southeastern La last year, come home in game 4 vs what looks like a gimmie and .... well we know what happened to SLU.

So yeah, Sonny Cumbie and LaTech. Don't know much about them, but somebody either has a low opinion of them or a high opinion of Nicholls for that line to be only 8.5.

 

[s--k]

That Nicholls at LaTech line is lower than I thought. 8.5 LaTech usually hammers FCS teams and Nicholls hasn't faired too well vs FBS - only scored in single digits their last 4 games 2022-2023 vs FBS!

Brutal opening schedule for Nicholls. Reminds me of what Southeastern La had to face last year - 3 straight on the road to open including two FBS one of which is P5 and a road trip to a Big Sky '22 playoff team and then just like Southeastern La last year, come home in game 4 vs what looks like a gimmie and .... well we know what happened to SLU.

So yeah, Sonny Cumbie and LaTech. Don't know much about them, but somebody either has a low opinion of them or a high opinion of Nicholls for that line to be only 8.5.

I know who we need here - @twinkie13

Nicholls - LaTech: any insight on either of these?

 

[KJ]

Central Arkansas has moved from I think it was 13.5, saw the move to 12.5 now it is 10.5 and think somebody, mabye BetRivers was at 9.5. I got burned in this game a couple years ago when Ark State finished 2-10 I think and they still blew UCA out of the water. No knowledge off hand of 2024 Ark State and haven't looked yet. UCA good on paper, but they seem to disappoint and I got gun shy on them.

Anyone have feel for Ark State this year?

Looking forward to this since ISU plays them week 3. Think they're Sunbelt? I suck with that conference like the MAC, usually we get a MAC team so I try to do a little research but Sunbelt is a new one.

 

[carolinablue]

Lembo at Buffalo is the x-factor in that game. I think he provides UB with more of a chance than they would otherwise have. Still going to be a difficult game for the Bulls - and from a Lafayette angle, I hate the fact that UB has lost 2 straight years to an FCS. 4.5 is probably too low for even me to take Lafayette

If it gets to 3 I will probably take Buffalo. Debating SJSU as well as there is a point where the line for me is too low to not take a shot especially at home.

 

[s--k]

If it gets to 3 I will probably take Buffalo. Debating SJSU as well as there is a point where the line for me is too low to not take a shot especially at home.

Sounds like the Sac State - Stanford game.

I did play over in this game. And one of our other members, Duck I think, mentioned that in the preseason thread

Listened to NDSU podcast - Bison AA former LB to outstanding safety Cole Wisniewski is OUT vs CU. Foot surgery from offseason and has not practiced. Seeing this was being speculated by FCS social media sources last week about his availability. Best defensive player for NDSU, one of the best in the country.

 

[s--k]

Recapping last week -

I was on McNeese and on that game's Over and some on the Tarleton ML. I'm not sure if McNeese was or was not the right side if the course of the game hadn't changed. They covered and they almost cameback to tie at the end and then who knows who wins the game. McNeese outgained them by over 100 yards. But the story is Tarleton State's QB being out after HT with his hand wrapped. They brought a backup who the announcers thought at first he was playing "as a reward because he had a really good camp". No it was because the starter Victor Gabalis was out and I don't know what his camp was like, but his play on the field Saturday was that of a very inexperienced and inaccurate QB. Jaden Pete 1 of 8 passing for 4 yards. Gabalis was 11 of 18 140y 1-0 in the 1H. That balance allowed their run game to break off good runs. Without the threat of the pass, the run game was stiffled. Some Pete's passes weren't close and while I'm sure he is athletic, he wasn't running. Tarleton saw a 26-7 HT lead and they were going to just get out of this game as quick as they could. McNeese had other plans. And with all McNeese's new players, it took them a while to come together, but very clearly they are going to be an improved team. 33 pts total pts at HT with an Over 58.5 seemed pretty good, it lost. Surely Tarleton would've scored a few more TDs in the 2H if they run their offense as they did in the 1H - and then maybe McNeese doesn't cover, so split is probably correct either way. And then with McNeese missing the game tying FG late, well that would've put the ML in jeopardy which I paid a pretty high price on you can imagine. So this is fine.

Montana State - New Mexico was crazy as I'm sure most saw. I was mostly on the Under here and had some investment in Montana State ML both pregame and live. I would bet this Under 55.5 again right now if they were going to play this Saturday. I actually kept betting some live Unders in this game too. Montana State's O struggled for most of 3+ quaters as I thought it could because of NM's D familiarity with the kind of system Bronco wants to run because it would be similar to what Rocky and Gonzalas ran. NM's O was better than I thought it would be, actually had no idea, I was just assuming it would be a typical NM O after an A-typical year last year. So that is good for them. But 14 of their 31 pts were defensive scores. Credit to NM D for forcing those fumbles and scoring, well done. Didn't think they would be that good. The way the game played, putting Montana State in catch-up mode, well the game goes Over. I don't think it should've. But as the game played out, if New Mexico was better, they should've close that game out and then I lose the Montana State ML which would've hurt for obvious reasons. So again, win 1 lose 1 and I guess I'll take that, but I am a little bitter this game went the way it did as I really felt good about the Under for reasons I had posted about in the Offseason thread. Montana State's offensive limitations were on full display for the world to see. Same thing that happened to them in the Montana game last year. They just are not an effecitve passing team and Tommy Mallot isn't an effective passer. It would've really been a black eye for Montana State and for FCS football if one of their national title contenders would've lost to the kind of team that New Mexico Lobo football as been. A lot of people might forget now as the season wears on that they came back to win, rather improbably.

I paid more attention to the SWAC-MEAC game than I did SEMO - UNA. SEMO scored first, but UNA led 8-7 due to a big 62y run and then a 2pt conversion. SEMO was in the RZ when DeLaurant scrambled and ran, trying to remember, but I think he kind of jumped into a defender, or hopped some how and a defender just totally whacked him. They threw a penalty flag because I guess it 'looked bad'. Thankfully they picked the flag up, but DeLaurent's day would be finished as he went to the locker room and came out with his shoulder in a sling. His backup then would fumble and a scramble for the ball saw UNA take possession at the 39 which led to a 15-7 lead not long after. A key possession with under 4min to go in the 1H. SEMO just had two penalties and would've been in 1st-20, but for some reason the UNA defender took down the SEMO QB after the play was over. On that play, the pass should've or could've been INT'd by UNA and maybe he thought his guy picked it off and he was blocking the QB instead? The pass was dropped and it was right in front of the ref and it really was a terrible penalty and it put UNA at the NA41 1st-10 instead of the ball being on the other side of the field 1st-20. Later SEMO converted a 3rd-17 and would go on for a TD with just :18 left. 15-13 after their 2pt was no good. This surely had a mental effect on the players entering the locker room - confidence for SEMO and disappointment for UNA given how that final possession went. SEMO's D stepped it up after HT. UNA punted on their first two possessions, were SOD, fumbled and threw an INT on succesive possessions. SEMO's O stepped it up as well, scoring on 4 straight possessions including 10 pts that came off of just 26y of offense following turnovers. UNA's new QB Patu from Stanford, he struggled: 50%, 4.3 ypa, 0-2 ratio and sacked 3x. His ineffectiveness was big. SEMO's backup was good and their running game just took over in the 2H. I had UNA and lost. All I can say is the right team won and covered.

I enjoyed the Florida A&M - Norfolk game. Felt bad for Norfolk players. I took the FAMU ML when the bottomed out at 12 and then played some ingame on Norfolk +pts. Always feels good when that works out, but it was an interesting ride. Richardson was off to start. I wondered if they would stick with him. Norfolk was gashing FAMU run D. They showed a stat 1Q or just into the 2Q that showed Norfolk had already rushed for more yards on FAMU's D than FAMU had allowed on average last year. Norfolk led 14-0! But Richardson got going, he had a 17y run, took a hit and that seems to wake everything up. He played rather well the rest of the game. Norfolk led 14-10 HT. Norfolk seemed to get away from their run game, it was 17-17 and then 24-17 FAMU 4Q. Norfolk really went on a nice drive and scored, but their xpt was blocked...FAMU was offsides though. So Norfolk coach decided to go for 2 and their QB was tackled short of the goal line on a QB read run play. 6 minutes left. FAMU killed the clock ending at the N9 before taking knees. Really tough loss for Norfolk, I felt bad for them, even though I had some FAMU ML I would've been fine losing that if it played out that way. But very happy with the 1 pt win for the bets.

The last game was Delaware State at Hawaii. A lot of people probably heard about the travel issues Delaware State had. They missed their flight. Then the team was broken up on random flights to get to Hawaii. Like 8 players arrived and were able to go to the luau. They had all kinds of stuff played for the team, tourist stuff, history stuff, but they weren't able to do it unfortunately as the when the team was all there together eventually there wasn't time. I guess I would say they played well but really it was about Hawaii playing poorly. It did start to rain lightly as the game started. The strugles were about playcalling and execution. Hawaii twice threw on 3rd-1 and twice went incomplete and then later they had a completion on 3rd down overtunred by replay. There was something like 600 yards of combined punting yards for both teams towards the end of the 1H! I had said that I wouldn't play this game...but you who can not bet a Hawaii night game? I decided UH 1Q -9.5 at Heritage and UH-24 1H at MGM were my best bets. Always fun when you get a miracle cover out of the grips of a sure loss... the game is 7-0 and Hawaii just punted with like 3min left in the 1Q, surely this 1Q bet is going to lose now. DSU, something happend on their 3rd down play that stopped the clock, maybe ran out of bounds or something, but anway they were going to be punting with like :20+ seconds left. I knew I had a chance, the chance that all bettors think they have when they know their bet is losing, but only if, only if this one thing could happen - and it did! Hawaii ran the punt back for a TD scoring with :10 left in the quarter. That was fun. But the rest of the game was not fun. I stuck around for a little bit into the 3Q and then had to call it a night. Not a good showing for Hawaii. Dont' know what I take from it for Delaware State. They aren't good. Hawaii really should've waxed them if only they could've stayed on the field in the 1H. DSU did get some offensive momemtum and confidence going in the middle part of the game. Their QB is an athlete, unsure what to do with their upcoming games.

 

[s--k]

FanDuel released about a half dozen more FCS v FCS games this morning. I only took Montana State at -21.5 after doing a crash course readup on Utah Tech while laying in bed at 6am.

I need to clean some things up for myself so I can see what I have and prepare for what I need. This thread is for me, almost as if I am talking to myself. It is how I work things out and see what is going on. I have always been the type that needs to write things down to remember them. I am very happy to present it in a way that others may like reading and I very much welcome and encourage any and all posts here - as we can all learn from one and other.

Thursday, of the games I already posted about

YSU - Villanova - post #30

I contemplated MLing Villanova when they were at -7.5, think it was -270 at the time. I didn't and now the line is 9.5. My only play would be to wait and see if it goes higher and maybe take YSU.

Wofford at Gardner-Webb - post #13

This line has not come out that I have seen yet. Wofford named Amari Odom the starter. He was TFr last year and started the finale, the win over Furman (50%, 92y, 0-1 ratio and sacked 3x) Even with that stat line, I think it is ok given the opponent and given it was his first start and as a true. Now he won the job out of fall camp. I think that is better for them then the other two options, I'm glad a 'new' guy won it, but yet he's also been there a full year now. The Phil Steele preview says of Odom "has the best size and talent". This is good. Everything else is in post #13. They ended the year 4-0 ATS. I am going to be playing Wofford to win this game so +pts and ML.

Jackson State at ULM - post #14

I have already played this at +7.5 and +225. See the ML has gone up a little bit to +235 and still +225 elsewhere. Irv Mulligan is out as he works back from last year's injury, kind of bummer. I'll assume other RBs can get it done similarly well. Was some rumors that Morgan might not be the starter, he is. I didn;t say much about ULM in my post because I don't know much about them. They are Sagarin's 161st ranked Dl team, only 4 FBS teams are ranked lower (Akron, Kent, Kennesaw and UMass). Jackson State is 209th. He projected this line to be higher at 12 than it opened and currently is, has not moved from 7.5 that I have seen. ULM has 2 starters back on O and threw a lot of transfers at it. 5 starters are back on D and again, a lot of transfers. It is game 1 of a new staff. They were 2-10 last year and only beat Lamar 24-14. Lamar ended up being a kind of decent Southland team, but just becaue the Southland was so bad last year. So JSU has never done this before and this team is a long way away from the Coach Prime years now, but I'm rolling with it still.

Lafayette at Buffalo - post #32

Lafayette can 100% win this game, but whatever the line briefly opned at, I think carolinablue said 7 or 7.5 and came back out at 4.5 and now 3.5, it is hard to play it there. I personally would not bet Buffalo because I think Lafayette is the superior team in their first line guys and chemestry and all that kind of stuff. But it is too hard for me to take the Leopards at +3.5. I think I would've at 7 had I seen it when it first came out. HC Lembo also scares me off this game a little for UB.

Fordham at Bowling Green - post #36

I did take a little +16.5 just to make sure I had some and was prepared to take a little more if it goes up. It did somewhere I saw to 17, some still have 16.5 and I haven't taken more yet, but probably will at the assumed better number. No further insight here.

Bryant at Delaware - post #22

I haven't checked up on storylines for this game again, but still am prepared to lay hopefully 14 or less with Delaware when it comes out.

North Dakota State at Colorado -

I touched on this game in the offseason thread and while a lot of attention will be on it, I really don't have anything on it. I would assume Colorado wins and I would also assume chances are better CU covers than they don't. Now, I might be the only person who is a college football fan who did not see Colorado play last year, I did not watch any, didn't need to or want to. So that might be good as I don't have any prejudice which exists on them, but also bad because I really don't have that first hand opinion to couple with things I can read. I will still go with North Dakota State is too limited offensively. If CU can't stop the run, more specifically the QB run, the CU is in trouble. But NDSU can't do much else. They lost their only weapon at WR to Iowa State via the portal after spring ball. It is not a vintage NDSU OL. Defensively, the Bison are pretty good, but without their AA S Wisniewski as I posted on yesterday, I'm not sure their pass D can hold up. They would need to force Sanders into making a lot of mistakes. That can happen, but I think CU probably shouldn't and therefore I don't see this being a good game for NDSU. I'm not betting this game except for maybe live.

Northwestern State at Tulsa - offseason thread post #9

This was a seed planted by bookieassassin in the offseason thread. I am not a tailer, would rather just do my own thing, but sometimes things just make sense on basic principle and this is one of them. I have played this game at a couple numbers some of which I bought to buy some points here or there to make me feel more comfortable. Hesitency is I'm not sure how good Tulsa is, but the fact is for this game they shouldn't have to be. It is hard to imagine they won't roll NW State in most any scenario. But Hawaii should've done this and should've done that and on and on vs Delware State too. So it may not happen the way it should, but Tulsa really should roll here.

Sacramento State at San Jose State - offseason thread post #13

I did get this at 7.5 last week, wish I would've taken more than I did. I also played the Over. Now this line, I think I saw it as low as 3 somewhere now. Same as Lafayette, I am kind of expecting Sac State to win this. Caveat here is that Sac State's D is a potential issue and San Jose might have some offense, if it clicks out the gate. Thus the Over as well.

Monmouth at Eastern Washington - post #15

This is another game I have not checked in on since I looked at it first go-around. I have not seen a line on it yet, but I want EWU -7 or less. Sagarin suggests higher, Massey put is at 6.5.

Friday

Colgate at Maine - post #27

This line came out today and I was suprised with the Colgate -1.5. This left me with no plays as Colgate was the side I wanted and I don't feel good laying it on the road with them. So I'm disappointed here as I was hoping it would be Colgate +6-ish

Lehigh at Army - post #37 thoughts on Lehigh

Sometimes there are just games I play because I want to. I was not expecting to think I would have Lehigh here and I have not yet assuming the line may go higher still. But I have liked what I read atleast on the Lehigh offense so I think Lehigh should be able to score...at least a little. 10? On a 5 TD line that might be good enough.

Saturday

Illinois State at Iowa - offseason thread post #23

Also asked around a bit on this game in the B1G thread. Not the best number from where I first saw it, 23.5, but I still like it. Assuming Iowa won't score 30 so Illinois State being a team I am high on, I am thinking they can hang in here. Now if Iowa actually fields a real offense for the first time since 2021 then this might lose. But I think Illinois State D has enough to limit them. We'll see. I actually can't remember right now if I played it yet. Pretty sure I took it for atleast a little of what I ultimately want on it. Doubt it is going back up so I should act tonight on the rest of it.

Davidson at Georgetown - buried within post #37

Will be waiting for this one. Not like betting a Pioneer team to beat even a mid-pack Patriot team is all that popular, Georgetown lines were very volatile in each direction last year so I will grab whatever comes out and then see where it moves. But will be on Davidson and some ML.

Towson at Cincinnati - thoughts on Over in post #28

I did play Over 53.5 which I think is still out there. Have seen 54.5 also.

ETSU at App State - post #10

I haven't played this yet, but if it goes higher I might just have to satisfy a curiousity.

North Dakota at Iowa State - post #31

I have this at -27 and -27.5. It is above 28 in some spots, but think 27s are still out there. I will be looking for 1H on this as well.

UC Davis at Cal - offseason thoughts post #23

Was assuming this line would go up once word of Tompkins injury got out, but this is FCS so maybe not. I did play some UC Davis and left room to take a little more.

Central Arkasnas at Arkansas State - post...I only touched on this and just decided to stay away from it

Holy Cross at Rhode Island - post # 35

One of the most interesting games of the weekend I think. Not sure how to play it though. Will see if the line tells me which way to go.

I think those are the games I have brainstormed on. And this tells me what I have left to do. I can't and won't try to analyze each game and now I'm running out of time to do it how I like to do it. I would spend 24 hours doing this if I could. Onward!

 

[oakas]

Great insight and write-ups s--k.

Thanks for posting.

 

[carolinablue]

Great stuff as always man! I thought about ya when I saw the 7.5 with Lafayette as I remember we were talking about what line we were both hoping for at open.

Also thought about ya when I briefly saw 17.5 with Fordham. I thought about it but will probably take the over and don’t like having side and total so passed on the 17.5 although I thought it was worth a second look.

I have a list of FCS lines I’ll be keeping an eye out for at BM later this week. I don’t use heritage anymore but dropped a ton out there today and I am using their lines as reference points, so you may want to check em out if you haven’t already.

Keep up the fantastic work!

 

[s--k]

Great stuff as always man! I thought about ya when I saw the 7.5 with Lafayette as I remember we were talking about what line we were both hoping for at open.

Also thought about ya when I briefly saw 17.5 with Fordham. I thought about it but will probably take the over and don’t like having side and total so passed on the 17.5 although I thought it was worth a second look.

I have a list of FCS lines I’ll be keeping an eye out for at BM later this week. I don’t use heritage anymore but dropped a ton out there today and I am using their lines as reference points, so you may want to check em out if you haven’t already.

Keep up the fantastic work!

I've kind of been going crazy checking for the lines at various places.

Ok, so you say that Heritage put out a bunch of lines today? Is that on their actual site or a odds tracker site? I don't see anything on their site other than NDSU-CU and that is under 'extra games'. Like I feel like I'm not looking in the right place or some places hide this shit and don't have drop down menus to get there.

 

[s--k]

The Texans led 26-7 at the break.

The second half was starkly different from the first half as Tarleton State lost its starting quarterback. Gabalis, who completed 11-of-18 for 140 yards and touchdown in the first half, suffered a thumb injury and didn’t return.

Tarleton’s offense couldn’t muster much in the second half, totaling 76 yards across seven drives. Texan backup quarterback Jaden Pete spelled Gabalis and finished 1-of-8 for four yards.

“Things got a little more difficult for us when we lost Vic at halftime, there was an injury to his thumb, I think he’ll be OK, I don’t know how long it will be, but he couldn’t grip the ball very well,” Whitten said. “So yeah, I think we were 1-of-8 throwing in the second half, so we couldn’t get anything going. They got a lot of opportunities, and our defense was on the field (for a long time). To overcome adversity like we did with the injury there, I was proud of our guys.”

I think I am zeroing in on playing Baylor. Gabalis wasn't able to grip the ball with the thumb injury. They were able to eek out the win last week with Pete. I am quite sure if Jaden Pete is going to be the starter short-term they will forumlate a gameplan that will look a lot different than what they tried to get away with in the 2H last week. Doesn't mean this Pete QB is good, but one would assume the coaches are going to have a plan in place at least rather than just throwing him out there in the fire. He's a former Dlll to JUCO and looked overwhelmed and McNeese was able to limit them defensively in ways they were unable to in the 1H without a the threat of any competent passing.

But they are playing Baylor this week. How good can they make it for this backup QB? This is assuming that Gabalis is out still. If he can't grip the ball well enough to throw it, can that improve enough in one week? And even if so, it's Baylor. Wouldn't it be better to save it, rest it and have him come back for the winnable games?

I don't want to overreact to how poorly Tarleton's O was last week in the 2H, but they are going to be run heavy anyway and I'm not sure how much success they can have? The line seems kind of low at -26? I am just now seeing that Baylor was bad last year. Seems like they should be much better this year?

Tarleton does have some offense, when Gabalis is the QB, but their D isn't very good. It wasn't very good last year and they lost a lot. As I said before, all 3 of their All Conference players are gone including #1 and #2 tacklers and they 2 other starters transfer out. They only return 5 of their top 14 tacklers. They didn't add much in the portal though. They did pick up a PFF AA S out of Miss Valley State. I see they only added a total of 2 defensive transfers in the portal. Statistically their D rankings are boosted by playing Moorehead State (allowed 113 TY), SW Baptist (allowed 231 TY), but if you look just at their UAC games on D, they allowed 426 ypg, 28ppg and 192 ypg on the ground (4.9) including allowing 200+ yard games vs North Alabama, EKU and SFA. What is Baylor going to run for? Last week vs McNeese they allowed 200y rushing (4.3).

It just seems that Tarleton is going to be limited on offense, albeit I expect them to put something together better than the 2H last week, but the competition level they are playing goes up a lot as well. And then defensively, I don't think they hold up there either. Last year Texas Tech beat them 41-6 in week 3. Tarleton went 3-and-out first 3 possessions, but ultimately did put up 342 yards (with Galabis at QB), but went 0-2 TDs in the RZ to be limited to single digits. Tech had 415 [5.8]

Without really knowing much on Baylor looks like a managable number for them to cover here. Right? Texas Tech was -36.5 in the game vs them last year. Will have to try and get update on who's playing QB for Tarleton, but right now I'm assuming it will be Pete.

 

[carolinablue]

I've kind of been going crazy checking for the lines at various places.

Ok, so you say that Heritage put out a bunch of lines today? Is that on their actual site or an odds tracker site? I don't see anything on their site other than NDSU-CU and that is under 'extra games'. Like I feel like I'm not looking in the right place or some places hide this shit and don't have drop down menus to get there.

Actual site…I don’t use any of the trackers. Heritage has the weird layout where you have to click “view more” then you will see extra games and fcs. Everything I am tracking is under extra games. About 58 or so listed last I checked. Have alternates, tram totals etc all there on each as well. I had some issues with them last season so not using them anymore but like to gauge lines and team totals there.

 

[JROCK1966]

@s--k tell me more about Eastern Illinois. Illinois QB Altmeyer was awful last year and this game came up in my "favorites coming off a losing season" query. Also have the in-state big-brother factor motivating E. Illinois. They were 8-3 last year....any chance of them pulling off a stunner?

 

[s--k]

@JROCK1966

What’s up brother? I have not looked into that game yet. Off the cuff I liked E ILL last year but their offense was limited in several games. I assumed that it would be hard for them here. And I don’t know anything on ILL, I just assumed they’d keep E ILL under wraps. I’ll see if I can come up with anything to contrubute later.

 

[twinkie13]

I know who we need here - @twinkie13

Nicholls - LaTech: any insight on either of these?

Tim Rebowe returns 19 starters for the Colonels. HUGE game for them, actually heard him on the radio talking about how they’ve eyed this one.
I like Sonny, and Tech lost close games last year and had some injuries.

Also, I believe Nicholls goes to Tiger Stadium the NEXT Saturday Night in Death Valley for home opener…..

lean the points and ML honestly. Just a hunch not a deep dive.


Was gonna ask you your thoughts on Tulane vs SELA? Once such a proud lil program has seen rough times. Sumrall’s first game but man Tulane has K State and Oklahoma right after Thursday night Uptown.

 

[s--k]

Was gonna ask you your thoughts on Tulane vs SELA? Once such a proud lil program has seen rough times. Sumrall’s first game but man Tulane has K State and Oklahoma right after Thursday night Uptown.

I've skipped over most of the Southland so far. I keep seeing that number and saying to myself "I need to look at that game". It's tomorrow, so getting crunched for time. But my assumption was that they would bounceback this year to a degree but I really don't know their roster yet. I'll look. Good to hear from you!

 

[s--k]

@s--k tell me more about Eastern Illinois. Illinois QB Altmeyer was awful last year and this game came up in my "favorites coming off a losing season" query. Also have the in-state big-brother factor motivating E. Illinois. They were 8-3 last year....any chance of them pulling off a stunner?

OK, so I hadn't pegged Eastern to be ready for this kind of game. They didn't face any playoff teams last year and in their only FBS game they failed to cover as a 17 pt dog at Bowling Green (week 2 when EIU was still developing). While Eastern finished 8-3, they were actually outgained in 3 of their 11 games. Some of those were close in yardage, but they failed to dominate any of their opponents last year. Even that Indiana State game, it was all turnover fueled. Their offense was held below 350 yards in 6 of 11 games.

Now, that was last year and the improvement 2022 to 2023 was a big jump for them - not in terms of offensive output, but in competent play AND the biggest thing was the defensive improvement. That was substantial going from allowing 31.2 ppg to 19.7, improving the rush D and getting more sacks.

Good news is the front 7 is all back and looks like it is going to continue on that trajectory. #1 scoring D in the league, ypc avg under 3.7 allowed, solid enough pass D although they didn't face many good QBs. You want them to be a little better considering the overall weakness of the Big South / OVC, but they improved a lot and should again. One concern is the secondary. You say that you don't like the Illinois QB, that helps. Only 1 starter comes back in S Mark Aitkin and they lose a 2nd Tm All American S and a 1st Tm All Big South/OVC CB. They added a 3rd Tm AA CB from Morehead St who had 6 INTs last year although he is currently listed 2nd string on the depth chart behind little used Houston/JC transfer. They shifted one of their undersized safeties to starting CB. They have another starting S from 2020 and 21 who is still here, but was a reserve the last 2 years. So we'll have to see how all that works out. I think defensively and against the run, they look in great shape personnel wise what they had last year and what they accomplished and who is back. Hopefully they can hold up to a Big Ten OL, they haven't seen a good FBS or P5 or P4 OL before - maybe Illinois isn't 'good' but I think you know what I mean. I'd say defensively, I am optimistic Eastern Illinois could be ok then.

Offensively, they have to take the next step. It just wasn't good enough last year. The good news is they should be in position to do so this season. Holley is back at QB and he is now entering year 3 as a starting QB, 2nd year here at Eastern. He was 2nd Tm All Big South/OVC last year and named Preseason O POY ....and.... he didn't try and transfer up again after last year to improve his exposure and profile. That is good sign. They found a terrific all-around RB last year in MJ Flowers, also 2nd Tm All League and was runner up for the Jerry Rice Award (most outstanding freshman in the country). Return 2 of the top 3 at WR one of which was All Conference WR. Houston transfer CJ Nelson has been turning heads in camp, but he isn;t on the depth chart. EIU has the pieces on offense to improve on last year's number. Now the OL. It's probably a question in a game like this. They do return 3 and from C out to LG and LT they should be better off. New players stepping in on the right side. I'm not sure how well they might play against ILL, but I see that the Illini did lose some big time players off their DL. That certainly helps.

All told, I think I do like EIU hanging in here. I heard that ESPN did a thing their projections and it gave EIU like a 2.2% chance to win. So there are 2.2% signs all around the facility during fall camp. HC is in year 3 and the team has progressed each year under him. Same DC. They do have a new OC. He was WR coach on staff previsouly, but was OC at when HC Wilkerson was at his prior stop Dlll. I like when an alumini, former player at the school comes back to be HC and is improving the team. I think it bodes well for continued success.

This is good. I will take the +28 and foresee a lower scoring game between these two. Now, @JROCK1966 you also asked about the outright win? I know ho you like to roll - it's possible really. EIU has the experince to do it and they were a playoff bubble team last year. Naturally they think they are a playoff team this year. I just haven't seen this bunch play up yet vs a Big Ten type team. But yeah, if Illinois isn't that strong and might get subpar QB play and lose some key pieces on their D - definitely could happen. Thanks and good luck my friend!

 

[M.W.]

In fact, it’s the first time in my life I can recall any games involving FCS teams being released earlier than the day of the game, I’ve never seen this before for this market, they also have Villanova -7.5 against Youngstown State

Maybe 9 or 10 years ago, and maybe more than one season, 5Dimes put them out for week one in July. And I think they always put them put before game day until they left the US market. They were all lined at -120 both ways, and the max was $60 to win $50. A $60 bet would move the line a point-and-a-half.

Heritage put them out for this week yesterday or the day before.

 

[twinkie13]

Tulane plans to play 3 QBs tonight

 

[s--k]

There are lines here and there, kind of hard to keep up with everyone has released so inconsistently and so differently than in the past. One book might have one game that nobody else has and then the other books will have games that the first book doesn't have. FCS vs FCS games burried among FBS vs FBS games, impartial lists....Crazy.

I am taking a bit of a blind shot on Dayton as a 10.5 pt home dog. This is only shown at Heritage at the moment and there is no ML listed.

Dayton is in the nonscholarship Pioneer and usually that league isn't good out of conference. They are playing St Francis who used to be good in 2022. But that was actually this head coaches only winning season over the past 6 seasons, so they are not a consistently good program. They fell back to 4-6 last year. Cole Doyle was the good QB for them. He didn't have a good year last year and they actually had another QB play ok, Nick Whitfield, and he is the starter now. I say 'blind' shot because I don't have a good grasp on what St Francis is this year yet. The Phil Steele preview STILL is incomplete missing NEC, SWAC, and 3 individual teams, St Francis is among those and with the lack of local news stories, fan forums, blogs, etc - right now it just takes me too much time to do my own deep research on a team from scratch.

I do know that Dayton isn't that bad. This is year 2 of the staff. Traditionally they are a pretty good team (5th best FCS winning percentage .711 since 2000). First year under HC they went 4-7 and closed out the year beating Marist (bad team) 35-6 and then won at Davidson (good) 45-14. 6 of their losses were in the Pioneer, yet they were only outgained on average of 39.8 ypg in those 6. They played a few QBs last year, but the guy starting VanVleet started 4 and was the starter for the home finale vs Marist (21-30-228-2-1). They have 17 starters back. Dayton had some bad losses last year because of turnovers, like -6 at San Diego, -4 vs St Thomas, lost 5 (-3 ratio) vs Morehead. They lost to Butler by 27 but were only outgained by 53 yards - Butler scored 17 pts off just 42 yards of offense in that one (field postion from turnovers and downs).

This line just seems way too high 10.5. Sagarin has it 3.97 while Massey had 13.5.

Might not be good to get off the season on two Pioneer teams in Dayton and Davidson, but I don't think their DD fav opponents are really justified to lay those pts vs them.

I want to play Delaware State getting like 9.5 at Sacred Heart as I know Sacred Heart lost some of their top skill players on O and they may have a QB who has never played at the Dl level starting. Just don't have much info on them to really know to pull the trigger. The travel back from Hawaii on the long trip and then going on the road again, makes for a tough week for Delaware State. Line just seems high for Sacred Heart to lay as they aren't necessarily good either.

Some varied lines out there. Wofford at Garnder Webb can be had anywhere from 6.5 to 9.5. Eastern Washington at 7.5 or 8.5, Heritage only has ML no spread. Delaware 14.5 to 15.5. Fordham is down to 15/14.5 some places. Think I saw San Jose -2.5 at one shop. Montana State has really surged up the last 2 days from 21.5 to 27.5. Tulsa steaming (37.5), Jackson State crashing (5.5) Game day and action is coming in! Lots of stuff going on. Busy morning. I made a mistake and put my entire bonus at one book on Delaware, so let's say that is a big one now!

 

[s--k]

Tim Rebowe returns 19 starters for the Colonels. HUGE game for them, actually heard him on the radio talking about how they’ve eyed this one.
I like Sonny, and Tech lost close games last year and had some injuries.

Also, I believe Nicholls goes to Tiger Stadium the NEXT Saturday Night in Death Valley for home opener…..

lean the points and ML honestly. Just a hunch not a deep dive.


Was gonna ask you your thoughts on Tulane vs SELA? Once such a proud lil program has seen rough times. Sumrall’s first game but man Tulane has K State and Oklahoma right after Thursday night Uptown.

I am probably not doing anything on Tulane - Southeastern La so I'm not going to spend the time looking at Tulane.

But for SELA, man, their D is going to be up against it tonight. DL has just 2 of top 7 back while at LB they lose their top 2 and at DB 6 of top 7 gone! 3 starters back total for their D. Haven't check the camp updates or news outlets. Looking at transfers, they brought in 4 FBS guys, but only 1 on D. Nick Turner from Toledo who has played with some decent stats and I would've assumed he'd be stepping in to start, but he is not listed on the weekly 2-deep. They do have Calligan starting at CB who has played real snaps at ULM and Jackson State. Louis, another DB transfered in from Robert Morris, he's not on the 2-deep either. But I really don't see any other defensive transfers so they must've liked their depth to let those guys to step in rather than targeting immediate newcomers. Hard to have faith in the D. Maybe it is good they aren't returning defensive guys? They allowed 5 Southland offenses to average 6.0-7.5 ypp on them! It isn't exactly like SELA has done well lately vs FBS either. 1-3 ATS the last 2 years. Did cover vs South Bama last year, losing by 17 catching 23.

I don't see anything here and I just am not getting into Tulane right now to know more.

Might check out that Nicholls situation though.

 

[s--k]

@twinkie13 Nicholls looks like they have a nice team coming back and I think this could be a good spot for them.

Don't like what La Tech has at QB. Jack Turner looks unimpressive and I remember Keys at USM, equally underwhelming and the receivers don't stand out. Sonny Cumbie is supposed to be this offensive guy, but where is the O? Not like CUSA has good Ds does it? They only hit 30 pts twice last year! Cumbie has had back-to-back 3-9 seasons! Wow. Now, I do know that the new DC Jeremiah Johnson is respected in the FCS world for his years at UNI.

This looks like a winnable game for FCS vs FBS.

Nicholls were 5-1-1 ATS as dogs, but 3 of those were 3 TD+ lines. 2-1-1 when dogs of 2 TDs or less and both covers were outright wins. The ugly playoff loss - but Southern Illinois had an awsome defense last year and that was a tough spot for Nicholls with the colder weather in late November. Losing 35-0 looks bad, because it is, but that is not indicative of how the D played overall. Twice they were put on short fields after INTs leading to SIU TDs. And Nicholls was actually in the RZ 3x last year, but scored 0! I tend to not hold the final score against them to the full extent, but clearly they were the lesser team by a good bit still.

I like what Nicholls has back. QB will be entering 3rd full year of starting if you count the 2022 JUCO year + 1st year starting here all of last season. Both RBs were named 1st Tm Southland last year and are back. One of those 3 guys were named Southland O POW 4x last year and RB Spears was O POY! Their Center enters his 5th year starting. They do lose the SLC OL POY, but have 6 of their 7 OL who started last year back. TE is good and Spears has a big role in the passing game, but they are down at WR it appears. #3 and #5 returning receivers are back with the #5 guy Mathews being a big play threat. RFr listed as other starter. They actually had the 10th best 3rd down O in the ncaa last year!

Pretty good looking D. Cut 10 ppg allowed down to mid 20s last year while improving the run D as well. They were top 20, top 15, top 10 in several defensive catagories. Need to do better creating negative plays. 9 starters on D are back. 2 of 3 All SLC DL back with 5 of top 7 back there overall, top 3 LB starters back, and 2 of 3 All SLC DBs back wth 7 of top 9 back there overall! Seasoned staff for HC Rebowe, both OC and DC enter year 9.

Nicholls has lost their last 9 vs FBS (last win 2018 Kansas) and LaTech is 4-0 against them, but this is an upset alert! A weak offense in LaTech vs an experienced Nicholls team looking to make some history with an FBS scalp vs an instate school. This is officially on the play list!

 

[twinkie13]

And same on Tulane vs SELA…..just can’t play it. Was supposed to take my boys, but let em go with friends lol. I’ll take em to K State next weekend.

Officially now SELA will be playing 3 QBs as well, so we may see 6 QBs total. It’s rained all day here but is clearing now….

 

[twinkie13]

Going to really try and help this year with FCS locally here in the thread.

 

[s--k]

Here is a weak favorite, Hampton who plays Morgan State.

Hampton was 0-2 ATS as a favorite last year and that includes an upset loss to Norfolk as a 13.5 fav and a 2 pt win vs North Carolina A&T as a 3 pt home fav. They did occasionally have some offense and sometimes a strong running game because of a pretty decent dual threat QB Zellous, good RBs and an experienced OL. Zellous throws lots of picks though (13-14 ratio last year). Zellous and their good RBs are back this year, the story on offense in this matchup I think is they lose all 5 OL starters this year including 3 that started 10+ games. They have one OL who is coming back with multiple years of starting experience and then are trying to fill in the other spots with some transfers who haven't ever started a game.

This is a huge problem because of the team they are playing in Morgan State. Morgan State can flat out play some defenses last year. Shame for them their offense was one of the worst. But on D, they had the 23rd scoring D (21.4ppg), 16th Total D (308.5 ypg) only allowed 128.1 ypg rushing ranking 36th, ranked 16th in turnovers forced (23) and 23rd in sacks (2.5 per game). The last 2 years they have only given up 3.5 and 3.4 ypc on the ground. It was basically first one to 20 won their games last year, if anyone hit 20. 7 or 8 starters return this year depending how it's counted. They returns the 2022 MEAC D POY and 2023 1st Tm MEAC DE Eligah Williams - he's a late round potential NFL draft guy. They are supposed to return 1 of their 2 All MEAC LBs, but Erick Hunter is not on the 2-deep this week - he is another draft prospect. This is a concern because they did lose their other LB and the NB last year. In the secondary they return both their CBs, but lose their S. Despite the loses, and the possible absence of LB Hunter, it is a respected defensive unit with a DL that causes problems for opposing offenses. If they can repeat what they did last year, they should be making things difficult for Zellous and perhaps force him into some turnovers he is known for.

Now for Morgan's O, it was really bad last year. Their D kept them in just about every game if only offense produced more they would've surely finished with a winning record as they held 5 opponents to 17 or fewer points, but only won 3 of those. Smith has the most upside and he played as a True Fr last year. He started the last 4 but only hit on 41% completions. He was the team's 3rd leading rusher. Naturally they have a new OC after the offense ineptitude last year and there are 7 starters back to work with.

Morgan's HC enters year #3. The program was in a bad way when he took over and winning 4 games each of his first 2 years isn't good, but they won a total of 5 games 2019/2021 prior to hiring him. And they have figured out one side of the ball atleast with the D.

Hampton changed coaches in May and went through some other staff changes thereafter as well. The new offense will be "up tempo" as they promoted their WR coach to be OC. The Hampton D was quite bad last year, allowing over 35 ppg and over 400 ypg. They will run more 4 man DL this year with more depth. Last year they ran 3-4 out of necessity. They have 2 starters back on DL this year, but it is the LBs that lose 3 starters from last year - their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd leading tacklers. The secondary allowed over 60% completions with a 28-7 ratio. They lose their #4 tackler who was a S. Overall 6 starters are back on the Hampton D. It should be the kind of D an offense that struggled in the past would want to face.

Morgan was 5-1-1 ATS last year as dogs.

 

[s--k]

With this Elon number climbing to 25 or slightly higher at some places, I am starting to get tempted on them at Duke.

Elon returns Downing who I believe is a 7th year Sr. He started 9, played in 10 last year and finished excellent with 294 ypg and a 12-0 ratio in his final 4 games after not topping 200y in any of his first 6 games. That 4 game stretch included Delaware and Richmond who both made the playoffs. The game he missed was Villanova (team passed for 46y and 38% that game without him). Downing will be the first QB to start back-to-back season openers for Elon since 2019. They do lose some receivers, notably a 1st Tm TE. But bring back their #1 WR Brayboy who was named the 4th most explosive player by Stat Perform/The Analyst. Their #4 receiver Dalton was tied for team lead 5 TDs. Their #2 TE is back who started 3x last year and they added a Maryland/Stony Brook TE who has a few hundred receiving yards to his name through the years. The best thing for Elon really is their OL, they return 118 career starts among 4 players! 3 of those 4 have 30+ career starts a piece! RB is a question now that Hampton and his near 2000 rushing yards are gone from the last two years. They added a decent RB from Bucknell in the portal who has accumulated 1359 yards over 3 seasons. But this is kind of an unknown position for the offense.

Defense, they have an outstanding set of LBs and Safeties. They run a 4-2-5 and both of last year's starting LBs are back who have previously been named Fr AAs in their careers and they get a former LB starter back Veloz who has been injured each of the last 2 years. They have two AA at the Spur/Ban/FS position with Caleb Curtain and also via transfer Baker from NCCU who was an AA in 2022 and the Aeneas Williams winner that year (best HBCU DB). He's played 37 career games. They do lose both their primary starters at CB. Tucker started 8 as a Fr in 2021 but has been injured most of the last two years. He started 1 and played in 5 last year and the other CB is set to be Hamilton who played in 9 as a TFr - he had his best game vs Nova with 5 tkl and an INT. But CB is bit of an issue overall. And DL had 3 starters back but it isn't necessarily viewed as a strength - it is not a big DL. Elon did allow some awfully bad rushing games last year like 235 (6.0) vs Richmond and 440 (7.0) vs Villanova and 307 (5.8) vs William and Mary. They did win the W&M game despite that. So run D and pass coverage are a little iffy going in here.

Fortunately one thing that Duke does not have is a good OL, at least it does not project to be good. They only have 37 career starts back and reportedly had to go through spring practices with only 5 OL on the roster. Mabye this helps a smaller and quicker Elon DL that returns 51 carerr starts spread across 5 players? But that is going to be a tough matchup for Elon. Duke's OL will be big they just haven't played much together. The Duke DL is down their top 5 from last year. So Elon's experienced OL may have more success than they otherwise would vs an FBS and ACC DL. I really don't know much about Duke beyond the coaching change and the fact they lost a lot of players in the offseason, just 4 starters back on each side of the ball. Looks like they are going with Murphy at QB who played a little at Texas (3-3 ratio, 56% completions). I expect him to be a runner, but maybe most likely to make some mistakes on throws and reads than Loftis.

It's one of those games that Duke is less experienced and are going through a staff change with a new QB vs a fairly veteran Elon team with coaching consistency who was in the playoffs in 2022 and could make a playoff push this year as well. And maybe seeing Western Carolina hang with NC State last night for 3 quarters makes me more willing to give it a go. Elon did lose at Wake 17-37 last year and trailed 0-24 1H but that Elon team only had 3 starters back on D and Downing barely played (just 3-of-7 passing). This Elon team is definitely in better position to try and compete with an ACC team this go around than last year.

On the other hand, the other game I was looking at Lehigh + vs Army has gone down a few points.

 

[s--k]

Just saw on X where Whitten stated Gabalis is out three weeks with the third being a bye. He talked about Pete and Greek playing but didn’t state who would start.

From message board indicating the status of Tarleton's QB. If they go with Greek over Pete that would be better for them based off of what we saw out of Pete and really, his resume is pretty weak to even be their back up. Greek was recruited to be at Miss State when Leach was there. Very low expectations for Tarleton's offense if Pete is their QB.

 

[s--k]

So far FBS teams are 18-5 ATS vs the FCS weeks 0 - Thursday/Friday of week 1. The ACC is actually 0-3 ATS vs FCS. Some of the final margins were close to various spreads so depending on lines the win-loss record might be different by a game or two if different spreads were factored. Rutgers, Army and Elon all scored in the final seconds to get their respective covers, there could've been some late scores determining covers that I'm not aware of. Tulsa scored fairly late to get ahead of the spread and NDSU may or may not have been covering a late closing number when they trailed by 11 before scoring with 2min left to cut it to 5.

Off hand I do know that a few FCS teams covered the 1H who failed to cover the game. Howard, Sac State and Lehigh all covered their 1H numbers, but failed to cover the full games.

 

[s--k]

Wonder if books are lining West Georgia this year? They play a full FCS schedule with just two Dll opponents.

 

[s--k]

Tennessee Tech as a pretty big dog could be one to watch at Middle Tennessee State. Tech had a very poor offense last year, but they did have a pretty good D. So they'll have to muddy the game up and keep it low scoring to have a chance. Not that I like their QBs, but they do have their QBs coming back - plus a JUCO who is supposed to play. They add transfers from other FCS schools who were on the field for their former teams last year and should step in right away (RB Cumby from Delaware, WRs from UNH and WIU). They only lose 1 full time starter on OL and return 3 full time starters there. The best quality of Tenn Tech is their D and 4 of their 5 All Big South/OVC players returned, otherwise they must replace the other 7 starters on D and transfers are being plugged in. It was a pretty good D last year, can't know if that will carryover now with some of the new players and the new coaching staff. It is ole Bobby Wilder from ODU here now, and the OC and DC have good resumes, each had those titles at their last schools UNH and GW respectively with good results. GW D led the country in TFLs last year and some of the playmakers on TT's D are capable of producing in that way, TT's D led their league in sacks and were top 10 nationally in TFLs themselves. So that seems like a good fit.

New coach for MTSU also. It's Derek Mason. Sorry, but the first thing I thought of was that Derek Mason lost his first ever game at Vandy to Temple.

MTSU only has 4 starters back on O, lose 4 of 5 OL starters. They do return the QB some RBs and the #1 receiver, but that is about it. The D has 3 starters back, none on the DL. Supposedly they are going to be a more run oriented team now, when they typically had been a spread offense with a QB running around and making throws. Will be interesting to see how this QB adapts to that style O and can the OL pull it off even vs an FCS OL? Tenn Tech's Defensive strength is the DL.

Tenn Tech did pull off 4 outright upsets last year and nearly pulled the biggest shocker losing to UT Martin by 3 in OT as a 16pt dog.

Seems like the possible ways this game unfolds are many. This is actually a historic rivalry that isn't played much now, but they've played like 80 some times prior.

 

[CPA-hole]

Davidson is +7 and +210 at MyBookie

 

[s--k]

Thanks, I did get it at Fan Duel a few days ago. Fan Duel leading the way for FCS. Will see if that remains the case.

Split MLs so far winning Wofford and losing Jackson State.

Wofford was interesting, first of all, they had a real offense and if it were not for so many dropped balls the game may not have been so close. As it was with about 1-1/2 min left, Wofford had the ball near midfield with a 1pt lead and 4th-1. Gardner Webb had no timeouts. So Wofford elects to go for the 4th down and seal the win with a first down. They run QB sneak, the conventional type, not the Eagles type. QB is mostly stonewalled at the LOS, but the RB comes in and shoves him forward at which point the QBs helmet comes off. He eventually ends up on the ground past the first down marker, BUT, the refs are going to mark the ball where his helmet came off at because the play is dead there. It ended up they got the first down by about an inch or two instead of a full yard. Made for some suspense. GW would've been in position for the win had that not happened.

Last night Maine fumbled up 3 with under 1min left. Colgate got the ball back and was working their way down the field, no timeouts but were getting first downs each time just about. Brescia has this real high looping type throw that looks like the ball is sailing out of bounds and then it drops in near or to the receiver. He had several throws like that. Well, he did it one too many times and a Maine DB was waiting for it on his 4th pass and picked it off. This line closed at 3 most places, but there were 2.5s and 3.5s to be had.

 

[s--k]

So far today MLs I am playing are Davidson, Dayton, Morgan St, Tenn Tech, Nicholls and McNeese (favorite). Tempted to take Delaware St at Sacred Heart. SHU is still a mystery to me. Travel back from Hawaii and jet lag for Delaware St probably not ideal for Hornets. QB can make plays though and seems like SHU lost several of their good players to the portal.

they may have a QB who has never played at the Dl level starting.

edit - this is true. The kid atop the depth chart is a Soph with his only career stat being a tackle, presumably on special teams. The backup is a JUCO from Sierra CA where he was 56% for 1718y -15-13 ratio in 8 games there last year. He does run. What is funny is that the SHU Game Notes do not talk about these guys at all. Usually there is the 'hey here's are new QBs, here is some background on them' - it's just a couple unknown guys we're throwing out there. Delaware St does have a pretty good athlete at QB, Adams, he was named a 2nd Tm Fr AA by SI.com last year.

 

[s--k]

WHEN: Saturday, 6 p.m.
WHERE: Campus Field (3.334), Fairfield, Conn.
TV: ESPN-plus.
LIVE STATS: Sacred Heart University - Official Athletics Website.
COACHES: DSU — Lee Hull (1-11, 2nd season at DSU; 13-23, 4th season overall); Sacred Heart — Mark Nofri (69-62, 13th season).
SERIES: Sacred Heart leads, 1-0.
LAST MEETING: Sacred Heart won, 10-7, in 2014.
LAST WEEK: Delaware State lost at Hawaii, 35-14; Sacred Heart was off.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “They really bonded and came together even closer because of the experience. We spent some long hours in a hotel and also in the airport. ... The guys really responded to the travel stuff — just being focused once we got to Hawaii. ... Hopeully we’ve figured some things out and what our identity is going to be,” — DSU coach Lee Hull.
KEYS TO THE GAME: Delaware State did a lot of good things in last week’s loss at Hawaii. Now is the Hornets’ chance to show they can compete for a win against an FCS program. Sacred Heart was just 2-9 a year ago and DSU has the edge of having played a game already. ... DSU quarterback Marqui Adams showed he could run the ball a year ago. But he looked even more dangerous with his legs in last weeks’ game. Running back Jaden Sutton also had a big impact on last week’s contest, carrying the ball 12 times for 56 yards and a TD while catching three passes for 43 more yards. ... It’s difficult to imagine that the Hornets’ 21-hour roundtrip flight to Hawaii last week won’t have some lingering effects on them. On the other hand, DelState’s coaches knew what the situation would be and did some early game-planning for the Pioneers over the summer and on last week’s trip home. If the Hornets left their jet lag behind them, they should have a chance to be competitive.
NOTES: The Hornets stopped off at the NFL’s MetLife Stadium on their way to Connecticut on Friday. ... DSU punter Nathan Wilson got the chance to kick 11 times last week, averaging 40.5 yards with a long punt of 62 yards. The left-footer also put three kicks inside the 20.

 

[s--k]

Heritage still has Montana St at -23.5 when Fan Duel opened it Tuesday morning at 21.5 and has since gone to 27.5

 

[s--k]

Illinois State has come back up. See a +24 -115 now at Bet Rivers. Couple other US books 24 and offshores 23.5 probably heading that way

 

[s--k]

Surprised at the line movement this week on Missouri State at Montana. I had thought I might play Missouri State if the line were high enough. It was maybe 16.5 at one point and has been bet down below 2 TDs. Guess the unknown at QB is creating some unknown for Griz? Don't think Mizzou St is awful, play tough competition in the MVFC.

 

[s--k]

Wonder if books are lining West Georgia this year? They play a full FCS schedule with just two Dll opponents.

Answer is yes. At MyBookie; Samford -18 on the road for West Georgia's FCS debut. Steep number. I would rather have Samford, but can't lay that.

 

[s--k]

Line moving upward on Central Ark at Ark State now. Bottomed out at 9.5 I think it was. Seeing some 11.5s and 12.5s. They might bait me into UCA if it goes a little higher.

 

[s--k]

Oklahoma State really steaming up.

 

[carolinablue]

Hey man was thinking of taking team total over with Abilene Christian. Any random thoughts?

 

[s--k]

Hey man was thinking of taking team total over with Abilene Christian. Any random thoughts?

I'm sorry no I didn't look into their team yet.

 

[s--k]

Davidson muffed the opening KO fair catch, they got it back but couldn't advance it. Then they had a snap go over the QBs head down to the 1. Then they were tackled in the EZ for a safety. 3 of the first 4 plays were a total clown show

 

[s--k]

St Francis got off to a similarly poor start. Dayton converted 2 4th downs eventually going for TD on their opening possession after St Francis QB fumbled a snap. Then they punted down to the 1 and tackled St Francis in the EZ for a safety. 9-0 but St Francis looks significantly faster than Dayton.

 

[s--k]

Illinois State All American RB hurt on first carry I think. ILL ST already turned it over twice, but only down 0-3. That's Iowa football though. Punt ret TD called back for Iowa.

 

[s--k]

Bovada has live action for St Francis - Dayton. St Francis ranging between +6.5 +7.5

 

[s--k]

My Bookie has Upper Iowa - Butler live betting!

 

[carolinablue]

My Bookie has Upper Iowa - Butler live betting!

Last season after I started taking advantage of their UTR stuff they limited me to low double digits so I saw myself out