[indio]

COLGATE +200

Colgate hosts James Madison in the Div 1AA playoff Rd 16 game at 1pm EST tomorrow.

No goofy guarantees of a lock winner or anything, just letting you know that I've followed Colgate a bit this year, watched them play, and they are REALLY GOOD. Defensively, they are incredibly solid and hit really hard (especially their top linebacker). While not flashy on offense, they do have a decent running back, and a QB that handles the team well with some capable receivers.

Why do you get such a generous price of +200 ML or +6?
Well, for starters, Colgate plays in a powder puff conference with the likes of Lehigh, Lafayette, and Holy Cross among others, whereas James Madison comes from a powerhouse conference, and has made the 1-AA title game the last 2 years including winning it all 2 years ago (and beating mighty five time defending champ North Dakota St. in North Dakota on the way). HOWEVER ........................................ ...............................

James Madison is nowhere near as good this year as they were the last 2 years. Former offensive stars Bryan Schor (QB) and Marcus Marshall (RB)are gone,and their QB this year is Ben DiNucci. If you're wondering where you heard that name before, it's because he used to stink up the field playing QB at Pitt the last couple of years. And while Colgate has 6 lousy teams in their conference, they did beat all 6 by a combined score of 223-26. Colgate's only loss this year was at Army (who is a very good Div1 team this year) and actually held their own for much of the game.

Any common opponents this year?
Yes, there were 2. While common opponents are somewhat meaningless, they did both shut out William & Mary, and while Colgate went to New Hampshire and beat them 10-3, James Madison went to New Hampshire later in the year and suffered a 24-35 loss (6 turnovers probably had something to do with that).

Personally, I would have made Colgate -1, and expected anywhere from -3 to +3. James Madison opened at -1.5, shot up to -7.5, and came back to -6. Obviously, not much money is needed to move lines on games like this. With James Madison's past success and their playoff experience against a program that hasn't seen big games in a long time, it's understandable why many back James Madison, but the reality is, in my humble opinion, this years Colgate team is just as good, and perhaps even a little better then this years James Madison team.

In summary, I expect Colgate to play real hard and real tough in front of their 1,500 rabid home fans in somewhat chilly upstate NY, and while I have all the respect in the world for James Madison, and their program, I think Colgate is solid enough on both sides of the ball to give you a very competitive football game at a dynamite betting price. Hope I'm right and at least get a great game, no matter how it pans out in the end.

And oh by the way, if we (Colgate) beat James Madison tomorrow, we get to travel to North Dakota St. next week to try the #1 ranked and defending champ Bisons.

[MasterPmasterP]

Do you know if the starting qb is playing?

COLGATE +200

Colgate hosts James Madison in the Div 1AA playoff Rd 16 game at 1pm EST tomorrow.

No goofy guarantees of a lock winner or anything, just letting you know that I've followed Colgate a bit this year, watched them play, and they are REALLY GOOD. Defensively, they are incredibly solid and hit really hard (especially their top linebacker). While not flashy on offense, they do have a decent running back, and a QB that handles the team well with some capable receivers.

Why do you get such a generous price of +200 ML or +6?
Well, for starters, Colgate plays in a powder puff conference with the likes of Lehigh, Lafayette, and Holy Cross among others, whereas James Madison comes from a powerhouse conference, and has made the 1-AA title game the last 2 years including winning it all 2 years ago (and beating mighty five time defending champ North Dakota St. in North Dakota on the way). HOWEVER ........................................ ...............................

James Madison is nowhere near as good this year as they were the last 2 years. Former offensive stars Bryan Schor (QB) and Marcus Marshall (RB)are gone,and their QB this year is Ben DiNucci. If you're wondering where you heard that name before, it's because he used to stink up the field playing QB at Pitt the last couple of years. And while Colgate has 6 lousy teams in their conference, they did beat all 6 by a combined score of 223-26. Colgate's only loss this year was at Army (who is a very good Div1 team this year) and actually held their own for much of the game.

Any common opponents this year?
Yes, there were 2. While common opponents are somewhat meaningless, they did both shut out William & Mary, and while Colgate went to New Hampshire and beat them 10-3, James Madison went to New Hampshire later in the year and suffered a 24-35 loss (6 turnovers probably had something to do with that).

Personally, I would have made Colgate -1, and expected anywhere from -3 to +3. James Madison opened at -1.5, shot up to -7.5, and came back to -6. Obviously, not much money is needed to move lines on games like this. With James Madison's past success and their playoff experience against a program that hasn't seen big games in a long time, it's understandable why many back James Madison, but the reality is, in my humble opinion, this years Colgate team is just as good, and perhaps even a little better then this years James Madison team.

In summary, I expect Colgate to play real hard and real tough in front of their 1,500 rabid home fans in somewhat chilly upstate NY, and while I have all the respect in the world for James Madison, and their program, I think Colgate is solid enough on both sides of the ball to give you a very competitive football game at a dynamite betting price. Hope I'm right and at least get a great game, no matter how it pans out in the end.

And oh by the way, if we (Colgate) beat James Madison tomorrow, we get to travel to North Dakota St. next week to try the #1 ranked and defending champ Bisons.

[jtoler]

gonna play colgate too. dinucci must have gotten injured early against n.h. he only threw 2 passes backup played the remainder of the game

[indio]

Do you know if the starting qb is playing?

The best I can tell you is a quote from the local newspaper near Colgate U. yesterday where they said " Quarterback Grant Breneman will likely return after sitting out two games with injury". More good news is that yesterday, Colgate head coach Dan Hunt signed a five year extension (always positive news for the troops), whereas the James Madison head coach has already confirmed recently he's fielding offers from Div 1 schools.

I'm surprised I didn't mention on my post that 3 years ago, Colgate went to James Madison in the first round of the playoffs and won as an underdog, and the then freshman running back James Holland ran for 165 yards and 2 TD, and is of course now a senior with 1083 yrds and 12 TD this year.

[indio]

RAIDERS WIN !!!

It wasn't pretty, but we'll take it. Clutch FG on the last play gives us a 23-20 win. Thankfully, the offense woke up just enough in the 3rd quarter to get a couple of TD's, and James Madison QB DiNucci played just like the disease I remembered him being at Pitt with 5 INT's today.

Golden comment by one of the announcers in the 4rth quarter when he said "Other than the 4 interceptions, DiNucci's been pretty accurate with his passes" Classic line. I love 1-AA football. So nice to watch a football game without tons of commercials, replay's, etc..

Some shops had Colgate +240 near game time, hope a few of you out there made a few bucks on the game.

Colgate moves on to North Dakota St., and they better play a lot better than they did today if they want even a sliver of a chance, but it will be a fun challenge to try and play with the best.

[Seattle Slew]

Great call on Colgate, these FCS games are real good betting opportunities. I find the lines way off.

In this game, I was leaning JM, thinking they might be -3. No way was I laying 6.5. Maine was another odd line, getting 3 at home and crushing Jax State.

Wofford +9 was a gift, losing 13-10, and Northen Iowa +8 was another bad line. Although NI was lucky to cover in that one.

[Seattle Slew]

I know, these announcers are pretty bad. The play by play guys are OK, but the color guys are awful. In the NI game, the guy was ripping the QB for not doing a hard count on every 3rd and less than 5, "gotta try and get them offside" "can't believe they are not using the hard count." Wow.

Golden comment by one of the announcers in the 4rth quarter when he said "Other than the 4 interceptions, DiNucci's been pretty accurate with his passes" Classic line. I love 1-AA football. So nice to watch a football game without tons of commercials, replay's, etc..
Some shops had Colgate +240 near game time, hope a few of you out there made a few bucks on the game.

Colgate moves on to North Dakota St., and they better play a lot better than they did today if they want even a sliver of a chance, but it will be a fun challenge to try and play with the best.