Wk 4 HSF, FCS and FBS Sept 27-28

[Riff-Raff]

Couple of plays:

4 pm West Bloomfield 38
Lake Orion pk

Lake Orion Dragons sit at 4-0 and are quite a surprise OAA Red considering last year's squad was 5-5 and the program hasn't had more than 5 wins in a season since 2013. Dragons did manage to squeak into last year's playoffs, but were quickly shown the exit. Team has some vet leadership but replaced 4 of 5 O-Linemen which doesn't usually bode well for the offense. Team has a bunch of no name athletes that are surviving on grit, execution, and chemistry.... But without any heavily recruited athletes, seem to be playing with a chip on their shoulder. This is the 1st time the Dragons have started 4-0 in 7 years.

Enter the Pre-Season #1 pick West Bloomfield Lakers who come to town with several Div 1 Blue Chip talent and has beaten Lake Orion 5 straight times. Last year, Lakers stomped on Lake Orion 42-21 and with a returning cast of 13 starters (8 Def/5 Off) and one of the top RBs in the State in Jr Donovan Edward's, a Sr QB CJ Harris (Ohio bound), and the leading tackler Cornell Wheeler (Michigan) it's hard to imagine that Lakers won't out man Dragons here.

Dragons are running with a 3rd year starter at QB Blaze Lauer has been the focal point in the 35 ppg the team has put up. The Defense is playing lights out by holding opponents to a TD or less in 3 of 4 games. When your QB has a name like Blaze, you have to like the dual threat to get things done on name alone. I should note that Dragons were pushed to OT 2 weeks ago and won 36-31.......

Bloomfield lost to a region power Groves in week 2 and certainly hasn't played to their potential, but man for man, the team has better athletes throughout and even though Lake Orion handled the one common opponent Southfield Arts & Tech a 37-7 pounding while Lakers skid by 17-8, I still like my chances backing West Bloomfield to hand Dragons their first loss and at a pick em, the price is certainly right.

I was thinking on betting the Under until I saw the line @ 38 and looking back at the 5 previous scores between these two, 63 points scored last year, 70 the year before, and 44 in 2016, I decided I liked the Over in this one better.

2 Units on West Bloomfield pk

2 units on the Over 38

Gluck

 

[Riff-Raff]

Some early FCS:

LIU/Wagner Under 39.......4 u

Bethune Cookman/Howard Under 58...... 10 u *Until Howard shows me that it's offense actually works, this is way too high

Colombia/Georgetown Over 47......5 u

Furman/ETSU Over 51'........7 u

Cornell/Yale Under 47....... 6 u

Duquesne/New Hampshire Over 41....10 u

Wofford/VMI Under 58......10 u *See explanation for Howard

JMU/Elon Over 51........10 u

Elon +13......5 u

 

[Riff-Raff]

FBS Friday:

Penn St/Maryland Under 58'........10 u

Duke/Virginia Tech Over 52......10 u

 

[Riff-Raff]

4:30 Byrnes -7'
Gaffney 52

This is a huge rivalry game and the winner usually has the best road going into the playoffs. Even the Coaches agree that their troops get up for this game more than any other on the schedule. Bragging rights, pride, tradition is what this one's about.

Here's the thing though, rumors floating around several key players may be hurt, including Gaffney QB Undre Lindsay, who is a dual threat nightmare. Both teams are a combined 7-1 and if I knew more about the injury situation on Byrnes I would have no problem backing them as the Rebels are 4-0 and really haven't been tested in 4 games. Gaffney, besides dropping a game to Mallard Creek (27-20) were lucky to have won last week against Mauldin (33-23) but were losing going into the 4th q........ Indians and Rebels have had scores for 48, 49, 38, and 75 in last 4. Rebels have outscored opponents 158-18.

Considering the impact of possible starters being out on both sides, and the fact that this one is always a hard hitting defensive game, I have no problem in backing the Under here.

2 Units on the Under 52'......gl

 

[Musca]

4:30 Byrnes -7'
Gaffney 52

This is a huge rivalry game and the winner usually has the best road going into the playoffs. Even the Coaches agree that their troops get up for this game more than any other on the schedule. Bragging rights, pride, tradition is what this one's about.

Here's the thing though, rumors floating around several key players may be hurt, including Gaffney QB Undre Lindsay, who is a dual threat nightmare. Both teams are a combined 7-1 and if I knew more about the injury situation on Byrnes I would have no problem backing them as the Rebels are 4-0 and really haven't been tested in 4 games. Gaffney, besides dropping a game to Mallard Creek (27-20) were lucky to have won last week against Mauldin (33-23) but were losing going into the 4th q........ Indians and Rebels have had scores for 48, 49, 38, and 75 in last 4. Rebels have outscored opponents 158-18.

Considering the impact of possible starters being out on both sides, and the fact that this one is always a hard hitting defensive game, I have no problem in backing the Under here.

2 Units on the Under 52'......gl

I like the high school plays you posted. Colquitt still battling huge injuries and last weeks game vs WR is a bit of a throw away as WR did not have qb1 and they ran a gimmicky defense so... I really like Graysona and over tonight. I could definitely see a 28-27 type game. Should be lots of fun.

NBl- I am way behind on the week so likely not many FCS plays from me.

 

[Spalding]

Howard's QB just quit team I believe.

 

[Riff-Raff]

I like the high school plays you posted. Colquitt still battling huge injuries and last weeks game vs WR is a bit of a throw away as WR did not have qb1 and they ran a gimmicky defense so... I really like Graysona and over tonight. I could definitely see a 28-27 type game. Should be lots of fun.

NBl- I am way behind on the week so likely not many FCS plays from me.

1 unit on the Over 46
*Yeah, this injury info has me a bit spooked on this game but 46 points isn't much, and last week's Warner Robins game should've gone over but lacking the starting QB cost the Over..... I didnt see anything regarding that injury, so it caught me off guard.

Grayson is the current #1 team in 7A and has a little score to settle after last year's loss to CC 26-14....... I actually like Grayson to get the job done with the +2' however, if I could get a +3 I would be on it.... Both teams are fav to hoist the 7A State Title belt and teams are currently ranked Rams #1 vs Packers #5 by Georgia High School media.. Since 2010, these two have faced off 5 times with CC winning 3 of the 5.....Interestingly, these two rank #1 and #2 in victories for Class 7A in last decade. Colquitt is 106-21 while Grayson 100-21. Both have 2 State Championships in the last decade....

Grayson squeezed in to the Nationally Top 25 when it upset Marietta two weeks ago (28-12). Grayson graduated a Georgia State Record 12 major Div 1 athletes from last years team. You might be wondering then why the hell didn't they take home the trophy, but you may have remembered me last year talking about all the controversy surrounding the program, as several media sources reported that players walked out of practice in a form of boycott due to the alleged abuse by the coaching staff and no water breaks. The story really never gained momentum because Players and Coaches denied it and managed to keep a pretty tight lid on the story... So kudos to the program for refusing to air dirty laundry to the US, and kept it in-house where imo it belonged.

Not to say that that Colquitt Co didn't have its own issues last year as 11 year HC Rush Probst was shown the door after several allegations that he had given players pills, or something of that nature but nothing was ever proven, although he did admit to giving players Advil (which in today's climate is a huge no-no but c'mon it wasn't like he was feeding kids Vicadin and Lortabs or Xanax bars.... Probst compiled a pretty healthy win record and took Colquitt to several State Title games, winning 2 State Champ in that time. I have commented on Rush Probst before, as he was the former HC at Hoover (Alabama) where he won 110 games to only 16 losses. Say what you want about the guy but he knew how to win, and Hoover became a National power under Probst with MTV shooting a series called 2-A-Days which followed the program from start to finish each year. He was canned at Hoover too though under more controversy and would end up resurfacing in Colquitt County, Georgia.

So 2 HC gone in the same year under controversy and here we are with 2 programs under new HC so these two are nearly identical in all facets. Colquitt has 1 loss to state power Valdosta (50-49)....CC last won the 7A crown in 2015....Colquitt lost a lot of talent to graduation too, but Sr QB Jaycee Harden (6'1" 185) returns and has accumulated 3,803 yards w/37 career TDs (He's already passed for 1,216 yards w/14 TDs in first 4 games) *He passed for 333 yards last week against Warner Robins **He's on pace to set new all time pass records at the school. Another stud is Sr RB Daijun Edward's who has amassed 3,771 career rush yards and is only 16 yards shy of the Schools All time rushing leader.

Both teams have relatively young and inexperienced O-Linemen so this is still something to pay attention to. Graysons RB Phil Mafah (Clemson) is supposedly out. Sr QB CJ Dixon is a man among boys at (6'4" 215 lbs) (Illinois).... Also I hear the leading WR Ryan King is out too..???

Who knows exactly how these injuries play out tonight but not worth much really to find out.

 

[Riff-Raff]

Howard's QB just quit team I believe.

I had heard rumblings but thanx for the update... Good stuff

 

[Riff-Raff]

7 pm Lake Oswego -6'
Tigard 63'

Apologies so late and due to kick off in a few minutes...

2 units on Tigard +6'

*I jumped on the 6' mainly because of the history between these two. Both Oregon squads are coming off 3-0 and Lake Oswego has the #1 6A ranking, but Tigard always seems to have their number. Lakers have Sr RB Casey Filkins who is the reigning 6A Off POY and has already rushed for 573 yards w/9 TDs.... So Tigers must find way to slow him down.

Game is at Tigard and is led by 3rd year Starting QB Drew Carter who has passed for 548 yards w/7 TDs....

Weird scheduling snafu had these two missing each other last year in the their league but looking at past results it appears decent value on home team... Gl

 

[Riff-Raff]

FBS Plays... Sat

10 Unit Specials

Baylor Bears +3.. *Hmmm last I checked Bears were 3-0 and have looked decent... Cyclones two wins weren't all that impressive (La-Monroe and No Iowa(which only won by 3) So give me some home cooking with points to boot. Besides this is Cyclones first trip on the road.

Texas St +4...*Bobcats haven't done much to date, however, disaster HC E Withers was fired at the end of the season and this years version is much improved on the Defense side of ball. No way a FCS school should be favored on the road to FBS team with twice as many full ride scholarships.

Virginia +10' *I was all over the Irish last week with the points against Georgia, but can't back them here in this spot especially since Cavs are looking like a good football team again, and could get a W here.

Oregon St +4'*A long time ago, I went to Corvallis back when Dennis Erickson had made Beavers relevant and by doing so the crime rate went up in the city in direct coorelation to his recruiting. Trees aren't a great football team by any measure and that win over Northwestern doesn't get me very excited now... Beavers have the coolest field on the west coast, I equate it to a cardboard turf and Trees shouldn't be a 4 PT fav.

Ole Miss/Bama Over 62

Georgia Tech/Temple Under 49.5

Minnesota/Purdue Over 54

Vanderbilt -6

Kentucky/So Carolina Under 54.5

9 Units Almosts

*C Fla/UConn Over 64

*NC St +6.5

Pittsburgh -26

Nebraska/Ohio St Over 66

Buffalo +3

Kansas St +4'

8 Units

**UNLV/Wyoming Under 51

**Iowa -24

**Michigan -26

**UCLA/Arizona Under 71.5

**Northwestern/Wiscy Under 45

**Towson +39

Gl

 

[Riff-Raff]

FCS Extravaganza

10 Unit Specials

Maine/Villanova Over 55'

Penn/Lafayette Over 47'

Tenn Tech +3'... *Going to keep riding this train until it falls off the track

Colgate/Dartmouth Over 41....*Raiders simply aren't the same D and while Dartmouth has a top Defense in the Ivy and FCS, they could get here themselves.

9 Unit Plays

*Jax St -6

*Idaho -9'

*Kentucky St/Jackson St Under 38..*My buddy and I talked about this one for quite awhile... Kentucky St has a HC that is a disciple of Air Force Triple Option (where HC Charlie Jackson played) Thoroughbreds hadn't won more than 4 games since 2013....Thorobreds have beat Robert Morris (13-7) and dropped a decision to Tuskegee (7-13)...Jackson is known for being a Defensive guru and has made secret that he wants to control the clock and keep the other teams Offense off the field. Despite passing for a TD last week in the 2nd Q and having a 7-0 score going into the locker room at halftime, Kentucky St gave up a late score that cost them the game. Thorobreds currently rank 2nd Nationally holding the ball 36:56 behind #1 Eastern New Mexico (37:38) in time of possession. Give me the Under.

No Arizona +17'

Princeton/Bucknell Over 43

8 Units

**W Carolina/UT Chattanooga Under 49'

**Prairie View -3

**Morgan St/No Carolina Cent Under 47

**Tenn Tech/E Illinois Under 55

**No Arizona +11'

Hopefully will add a few later games around noon... Gl All

 

[LordofBalls]

as always,

Thanks for posting Riff! G'luck this wknd :0074

 

[Riff-Raff]

2nd Half Play:

Baylor/Iowa St Over 25......10 u

 

[Riff-Raff]

FCS Afternoon:

Food for thought...

Tenn St/E Kentucky Over 47......6 u.. *Tenn St avr 462 ypg & 31.8 ppg is up against one of the OVR best Defense but Tenn St is miles ahead of Presbyterian and 47 is a reasonable number.

Alabama A&M -30 over Central St... 5 u *AAMU QB A Glass has already compiled 1121 pass yards and RB Jordan Bentley is a man child... Central isn't a good football team by any stretch, only avr 12.3 ppg while allowing 441.3 ypg (SIAC worse).. Bulldogs roll here.

Youngstown St -25......*Because it's Robby Morris

SE Louisiana -13 over Northwestern St... 8 u *Almost a max play but always a concern with these in State rivalries... I've been following this team fairly closely because I wanted to know how the QB situation played out when former Razorback Cole Kelley (actually started 6 games for Razorbacks so you might remember him) He received a ton of hoopla as one of the highest rated transfers coming into the FCS. Northwestern St (0-4) is heading in the right direction, but this game doesn't match up well on stats alone. QB for NWST is a pretty decent passers (he has over 5,200 career pass yards) but 2 of those years were in Juco ball. SE Louisiana Starting QB C Virgil was a highly recruited 4 Star talent and has passed for 9,000 yards..... I was looking at the Over here but hate betting high totals in rivalry games, so I'll stick with the side.

Alcorn St/Miss Valley St Over 45.....10 u *Major props to 2nd year HC Dancy on the fairly quick turn around of perennial bottom dweller Miss Valley St...... They are playing good Defense but are clearly in a rebuilding mode as the Delta Devils had 46 newcomers to the roster. Actually DD has the #1 best scoring D in the SWAC.... I expected big things from Air McNair this year but for whatever reason, Alcorn has started slow out of the gates and lost to Mcneese recently in a Ho-hum nailbiter...... Injury to starting QB Noah Johnson is pause for concern but backup Felix Harper had good stats last week in the 45-41 win over Prairie View..... Also, I hear RB D Waller might not play, but even the backup talent is better than what MVS will put on the field... 45 is very doable and I expect Alcorn to make a run here.

Lamar -10 over Stephen F Austin (0-4)..7 u ....Lamar should win this by 21+

Houston Baptist -14' over Texas Southern.... 7 u *HB is a machine and leads nation in first downs (111) and ranks 3rd in pass yards per game (356.3) and total offense (541.3)...No way Texas South can keep up

Gl

 

[lowell]

Great call on over Baylor second half

 

[Sportz333]

Great call on over Baylor second half

Agree ... great add and thanks for sharing Riff!!! Not to mention some awesome FCS totals, a few that went over at or just after halftime. You do great work and your sharing is most appreciated.