Some other fun predictions for this glorious 1st day of October.
Patriot League:
Marist at Bucknell. Poor Bison. 2 QBs and their best RB out before Marist comes to town, and - again - they look like they will struggle to put points on the board. Heck, DB Dante Ross has been playing QB for them, and this week the injury list is no better. Unfortunately, a tragic season will continue with another loss. Marist 19, Bucknell 16.
Cornell at Colgate. Always a big rivalry game, the Big Red have to be licking their chops after watching the Raiders be so up-and-down. But this game puts the Raiders at an important crossroads. My bet is the Raiders pour it on Cornell's porous pass defense and get a big "W" before conference play. Colgate 28, Cornell 17.
Holy Cross at Yale. Another team at the crossroads, Holy Cross may be, just may be, a legitimate contender in the Patriot title race. With only losses at nationally-ranked Delaware and Harvard, a lot of eyes will be on the Crusaders in this game. Yale isn't an easy place to play, but I think the Crusaders make a long-awaited statement that they're back. HC 38, Yale 34.
Lafayette at Georgetown. No trap game here for the Leopards. They took care of business with Fordham, and I can't see them not taking the Hoyas seriously. Lafayette 42, G'town 6.
Top 25:
Villanova at #1 New Hampshire. The "curse of the #1 team" lives today. Villanova is the worst kind of unranked team - a team which is better than you think. Everyone thinks UNH is invincible, Talley is trying to get their egos on overdrive through effuse praise - 'Nova has the upset in the bag. Villanova 41, UNH 34.
#2 Western Kentucky at Indiana St. The "curse of the #2 team" lives today. Indiana St. is... a really awful team. What, you thought I would take the Sycamores? Get real. WKU 54, ISU 0.
#3 Delaware at Towson. Delaware fans are worried that their 3-0 team isn't as dominating as they should be. This is kind of like the Brazilian National Soccer team complaining that they didn't score enough goals in their 5th World Cup victory. Hey, enjoy the wins. JMU's coming soon enough. Delaware 45, Towson 27.
Weber St. at #4 Montana. Montana won't struggle either in this clash. Montana 31, Weber St. 7.
Missouri St. at #5 Southern Illinois. Hum de dum. If only they all were this easy to pick. SIU 56, MS 7.
#6 Northern Iowa at Western Illinois. Another upset special here. A rivalry game outside the friendly confines of the Panthers' UNI-Dome, the Leathernecks, despite their recent struggles, have the capactiy to pull off the upset, and I'm beting they do here. WIU 31, NIU 28.
#7 James Madison at #23 Hofstra. Hofstra enters the latest game in their 'stretch of hell', as they take on the defending national champions. The Pride at home, coming off a tough double-OT loss to Furman, will be sharp, while the (relatively) untested Dukes already have a loss to Coastal Carolina. I think the Pride's deadly 1-2-3 combination of QB Clarkson, WR Colson and WR Ellis will make mincemeat of the national champs, who may not even know what hit them. Hofstra 51, JMU 24.
Gardner-Webb at #8 Furman. A classic trap game, Furman should still win this easily, but it won't be *that* easy. Furman 34, GWU 21.
#9 Cal Poly at Northern Colorado. The 'Stangs are for real. The NoCo Bears may be renamed the NoSco Bears after today. Cal Poly 29, NoCo 0.
Nicholls St. at #10 North Dakota St. 2 hurricanes and 2 cancelled home games, and then you're asked to travel to Fargo, ND for a road game. Life is cruel indeed for the Colonels. Here's hoping they put up a spirited battle. NDSU 30, NSU 17.
#24 Portland St. at #11 Eastern Washington. I was so tempted to take the Vikings here. But, geez. Not at home against an angry Eagles team. This won't be an easy win, but the Eagles have got to prevail here. EWU 29, PSU 20.
Delaware St. at #13 Hampton. My new game is: Guess how many points Hampton will win by this week. Will it be 30? Will it be 10? Will it be 10, but it should be 30? Only the Shadow knows for sure, and he sure as hell ain't telling me. Hampton 30, DSU 10.
Idaho St. at #16 Montana St. Everyone's favorite Big Sky darlings, the unheralded Idaho State Bengals, will come crashing down to earth once they actually play a game outdoors. Against a nationally-ranked team that could be the best in the Big Sky. Sayonara. MSU 38, ISU 10.
Coastal Carolina at #17 South Carolina St. Another upset special. The Chants will need this game to have any shot at the I-AA postseason (which they desperately want), while the Bulldogs are largely unproven early in the year. I think the Chants play as if their lives depended on it, and they get the win here. CCU 31, SCSU 27.
The Citadel at #19 Western Carolina. I'm dying to take the Catamounts as an upset special. However, this game simply ain't it. WCU 27, The Citadel 10.
South Dakota St. at #21 Texas St. The Bobcats, I hate to say, are proving to be the class of the Southland, and they ain't going to lose this one at home. TSU 35, SDSU 18.
#25 Wofford at Chattanooga. How I want to take Chatty here. Wofford is such a flawed team, like so many middle-ranking SoCon teams. But I just can't. Wofford 21, Chatty 18.
Patriot League:
Marist at Bucknell. Poor Bison. 2 QBs and their best RB out before Marist comes to town, and - again - they look like they will struggle to put points on the board. Heck, DB Dante Ross has been playing QB for them, and this week the injury list is no better. Unfortunately, a tragic season will continue with another loss. Marist 19, Bucknell 16.
Cornell at Colgate. Always a big rivalry game, the Big Red have to be licking their chops after watching the Raiders be so up-and-down. But this game puts the Raiders at an important crossroads. My bet is the Raiders pour it on Cornell's porous pass defense and get a big "W" before conference play. Colgate 28, Cornell 17.
Holy Cross at Yale. Another team at the crossroads, Holy Cross may be, just may be, a legitimate contender in the Patriot title race. With only losses at nationally-ranked Delaware and Harvard, a lot of eyes will be on the Crusaders in this game. Yale isn't an easy place to play, but I think the Crusaders make a long-awaited statement that they're back. HC 38, Yale 34.
Lafayette at Georgetown. No trap game here for the Leopards. They took care of business with Fordham, and I can't see them not taking the Hoyas seriously. Lafayette 42, G'town 6.
Top 25:
Villanova at #1 New Hampshire. The "curse of the #1 team" lives today. Villanova is the worst kind of unranked team - a team which is better than you think. Everyone thinks UNH is invincible, Talley is trying to get their egos on overdrive through effuse praise - 'Nova has the upset in the bag. Villanova 41, UNH 34.
#2 Western Kentucky at Indiana St. The "curse of the #2 team" lives today. Indiana St. is... a really awful team. What, you thought I would take the Sycamores? Get real. WKU 54, ISU 0.
#3 Delaware at Towson. Delaware fans are worried that their 3-0 team isn't as dominating as they should be. This is kind of like the Brazilian National Soccer team complaining that they didn't score enough goals in their 5th World Cup victory. Hey, enjoy the wins. JMU's coming soon enough. Delaware 45, Towson 27.
Weber St. at #4 Montana. Montana won't struggle either in this clash. Montana 31, Weber St. 7.
Missouri St. at #5 Southern Illinois. Hum de dum. If only they all were this easy to pick. SIU 56, MS 7.
#6 Northern Iowa at Western Illinois. Another upset special here. A rivalry game outside the friendly confines of the Panthers' UNI-Dome, the Leathernecks, despite their recent struggles, have the capactiy to pull off the upset, and I'm beting they do here. WIU 31, NIU 28.
#7 James Madison at #23 Hofstra. Hofstra enters the latest game in their 'stretch of hell', as they take on the defending national champions. The Pride at home, coming off a tough double-OT loss to Furman, will be sharp, while the (relatively) untested Dukes already have a loss to Coastal Carolina. I think the Pride's deadly 1-2-3 combination of QB Clarkson, WR Colson and WR Ellis will make mincemeat of the national champs, who may not even know what hit them. Hofstra 51, JMU 24.
Gardner-Webb at #8 Furman. A classic trap game, Furman should still win this easily, but it won't be *that* easy. Furman 34, GWU 21.
#9 Cal Poly at Northern Colorado. The 'Stangs are for real. The NoCo Bears may be renamed the NoSco Bears after today. Cal Poly 29, NoCo 0.
Nicholls St. at #10 North Dakota St. 2 hurricanes and 2 cancelled home games, and then you're asked to travel to Fargo, ND for a road game. Life is cruel indeed for the Colonels. Here's hoping they put up a spirited battle. NDSU 30, NSU 17.
#24 Portland St. at #11 Eastern Washington. I was so tempted to take the Vikings here. But, geez. Not at home against an angry Eagles team. This won't be an easy win, but the Eagles have got to prevail here. EWU 29, PSU 20.
Delaware St. at #13 Hampton. My new game is: Guess how many points Hampton will win by this week. Will it be 30? Will it be 10? Will it be 10, but it should be 30? Only the Shadow knows for sure, and he sure as hell ain't telling me. Hampton 30, DSU 10.
Idaho St. at #16 Montana St. Everyone's favorite Big Sky darlings, the unheralded Idaho State Bengals, will come crashing down to earth once they actually play a game outdoors. Against a nationally-ranked team that could be the best in the Big Sky. Sayonara. MSU 38, ISU 10.
Coastal Carolina at #17 South Carolina St. Another upset special. The Chants will need this game to have any shot at the I-AA postseason (which they desperately want), while the Bulldogs are largely unproven early in the year. I think the Chants play as if their lives depended on it, and they get the win here. CCU 31, SCSU 27.
The Citadel at #19 Western Carolina. I'm dying to take the Catamounts as an upset special. However, this game simply ain't it. WCU 27, The Citadel 10.
South Dakota St. at #21 Texas St. The Bobcats, I hate to say, are proving to be the class of the Southland, and they ain't going to lose this one at home. TSU 35, SDSU 18.
#25 Wofford at Chattanooga. How I want to take Chatty here. Wofford is such a flawed team, like so many middle-ranking SoCon teams. But I just can't. Wofford 21, Chatty 18.
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