FCS PLAYOFFS ROUND 4

[JBB]

*************FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE************
GAM Labs Publishing 12/15/2019

Just now. Off the wire. Game forecasts from GAM Labs for Round 4:

Montana State @ NDSU*
GAM: NDSU -4; O/U 46; Mythical Score NDSU 25-21

5 Dimes: NDSU -16.5; O/U 46.5
12/20: NDSU -17.5; O/U 47

Weber State @ James Madison University
GAM: JMU -11; O/U 43; Mythical Score JMU 27-16

5 Dimes: JMU -14.5; O/U 51
12/20: JMU -16.5; O/U 47

[JBB]

Checked tickets this morning for NDSU game at gobison.com. there were a few on tbe 50 and others in the end zones, corners and near top. Not many less than 300. A lot of those are gone now. here is the link. They have a good online buying system that shows you your seat, not the view though.

https://ev7.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerc ... =FBHG&cgc=

[JBB]

TWITTER VERSION: Can MSU beat The Bison?

FULL VERSION FROM MORNING COFFEE:

Nobody knows why The Bison seem to be struggling. Is it the flu? Over-confidence? Injuries? Probably not. The FCS at least at this level is getting better. Don’t know about the Delaware’s, Portland States and other also-rans but at this level it’s better, both coaches and players.

The quality of the Play off games so far is the best proof we have. The worst: how many players are headed to the NFL. The in-between would be how many players are going on to successful lives?

Like the value of many degrees now offered you have to question is the athletic experience worth it? Is the college experience worth it?

These were once valid endeavors but today the value of much of what universities offer is highly questionable and as such far less valuable. We end up with things like common core, declining standards, crushing student debt encouraged by the gov and worthless degrees to pay for it all. Is athletics being affected the same way? Participation trophy thinking is certainly not helping the strong or weak.

Schools aren’t being regularly shot-up because their value to society and the student is so great. E-sports aren’t packing them in because it has no value to its fans and football in general isn’t seeing its attendance grow or even stabilize because of its value to university life.

Top level football is rare. The best are at the top day-in and day-out. Others simply quit. The common core will always be filling in behind.

Right now Montana State is at the top of their game. They can pass, run and tackle with the best.

The Bison are in rarefied territory. As they break the “ sound-barrier” past 35 consecutive wins the best in the division have been stepping up to end the streak. The best teams are figuring things out and the Bison have a ways to go to top this list:

NDSU is Working on consecutive win #36 the top 5 are

• Toledo 35. Spoiler Tampa run 1969-1972
  Yale 37 Spoiler Princeton 1890-1893
  Yale 37 again Spoiler Princeton 1887-1889
  Washington 40. Spoiler Oregon State 1908-1914
  OK 45 Spoiler Notre Dame 1953-1957

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_N ... ng_streaks

For all the teams that struggled, all the upsets and tough losses, for our family and friends, count our blessings and raise your glass:

Let's drink to the hard working people
Let's think of the lowly of birth
Spare a thought for the rag taggy people
Let's drink to the salt of the earth
Let's drink to the hard working people
Let's drink to the salt of the earth
Let's drink to the two thousand million
Let's think of the humble of birth - The Rolling Stones

After we have had a few we can sing this one

You say you got a friend, that she's wilder than you
Why don't you bring her upstairs
If she's so wild then she can join in too
It's no hanging matter
It's no capital crime
Oh yeah, you're a strange stray cat
Oh yeah, don'tcha scratch like that
Oh yeah, you're a strange stray cat
I bet you mama don't know you can bite like that
I'll bet she never saw you scratch my back

Enough partying. Time to get to work. There is a GAM for the stock market too.

Would that common core instructor please check the spelling? Thank you.

[JBB]

We are looking at MSU +16.5. Juice is holding us back. Last week they cut the juice 50% but odds changed too.

[Gil Dobie]

Checked tickets this morning for NDSU game at gobison.com. there were a few on tbe 50 and others in the end zones, corners and near top. Not many less than 300. A lot of those are gone now. here is the link. They have a good online buying system that shows you your seat, not the view though.

https://ev7.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerc ... =FBHG&cgc=

I am hearing a lot of Montana State fans are buying up tickets in the Fargodome.

[JBB]

somebodies buying them. There are only 17 seats left in the SE Corner. These are from NDSU and will cost under $50. There were several hundred a few days ago including 8 seats on the 50.

This is going to be one heck of a game.

MSU +16.5 was a gift and is no longer available. Now its 12.5 The GAM has no potential forecast with a spread beyond 7. It's unlikely NDSU covers.

The GAM has spreads in excess of available points at 5 Dimes. Its highly likely JMU covers.

Would that common-core guy please check my spelling. Thank you.

[SACCAT]

The 16 1/2 point spread must partially be because of last years Bizon beatdown of the Cats in the second round, but this Cats team is WAY different. We have 3 very good pass rushers on our front 4, and a secondary that is playing the way we thought they would all year... CB's still worry me a bit. The Cats croud should be pretty good at the game... The MSU allotment for tickets were sold out in about 2 hours ( some say 250 tickets, others say 1500). There is at least one fan charter flight that is sold out, and maybe another being put together. If I were a betting man, I would jump all over MSU and the points. I would also jump all over the Under on this one.

[JBB]

************FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**********

Montana State University @ North Dakota State University

GAM Labs has accepted the 5 Dimes proposition

• MSU +12.5 120 gets 100

[Gil Dobie]

The 16 1/2 point spread must partially be because of last years Bizon beatdown of the Cats in the second round, but this Cats team is WAY different. We have 3 very good pass rushers on our front 4, and a secondary that is playing the way we thought they would all year... CB's still worry me a bit. The Cats croud should be pretty good at the game... The MSU allotment for tickets were sold out in about 2 hours ( some say 250 tickets, others say 1500). There is at least one fan charter flight that is sold out, and maybe another being put together. If I were a betting man, I would jump all over MSU and the points. I would also jump all over the Under on this one.

That is a huge point spread from what most thing the final result will be. Probably should be less than 10.

[JBB]

5 Dimes is also offering 100 gets 850 for an MSU straight out win.

[JBB]

They have been very good at the over/under this year. Personally I like the under myself but the GAM says it should be extremely close to 46.5 but under by .5.

[JBB]

My favorite Bobcat music video:

phpBB [video]

[JBB]

took a look at the lines while on break from landscaping, it's now MSU -14.5 and the straight up on MSU winning is 100 gets you 415. The line is as active as any I have seen all year.

Tickets are also on the move. NDSU keeps adding. There are now 45 tickets in the SE corner. Otherwise it looks sold out.

It's almost like an impending doom coming in from Montana, a huge storm headed to Fargo. The Herd is braced for the onslaught. In a position of strength in their fortress, the Fabulous Fargo Dome, they are waiting. They are studying the game plan. They are preparing mentally for what appears now to be the biggest test to come their way since probably Iowa. Its all on the line Saturday. I have a feeling if the Herd breaks through with the win they will roll through Frisco and on to Oregon.

[JBB]

************FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**********

Montana State University @ North Dakota State University

GAM Labs has accepted the 5 Dimes proposition

• MSU +14.5 120 gets 100

[JBB]

THE FABULOUS FARGO DOME HAS SOLD OUT!!

Montana State
Event Date: Sat, Dec-21-2019
Event Time: 1:00 pm

SORRY, TICKETS ARE CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE FOR THIS EVENT
Unclaimed season tickets will go on sale at 7:00am on Wednesday, December 18th.
A limited number of standing room tickets will also become available once reserved seating is sold out.

[JBB]

Tickets for the Semi-final game in Fargo are only available on the secondary market. There are a lot of them so the resale market is hot. 233 people were viewing the event when I looked:

https://www.stubhub.com/north-dakota-st ... =price+asc

Highest price I saw was $279. Low prices started at about $60. The tickets NDSU just sold out were $30 & $40

This game is probably the biggest in Fargo in a long time for a lot of reasons. It is a hot ticket. I have to laugh when I think the suckers at UND paid Bison Fans up to $500 to get seats.

The Montana fans are doing a lot better for themselves and of course are always welcome in Fargo.

[JBB]

MSU 12. UND 16
NDSU 38. UND 7.



You beat MSU by passing. UND beat the Cats with 256 yds passing and 1 TD.

NDSU holds Robinson from ISU to 95/yds. He had over 500 in the previous 2 games.

NDSU plays great defense.

UND top price pd to get into the Fabulious Fargo Dome. $500.
MSU top price $279

[JBB]

Bison -13.5 now. they have shaved the Over/Under to 44.5

straight-up is narrowing considerably to 100 gets 385.

They have shaved a half point off the Weber @ JMU game to 14. they also jacked the Over/Under to 47.5

[JBB]

1.738 million viewers for the ILS @ NDSU game on ESPN Saturday.

Here's the list with viewer #s

https://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/daily ... c-14-2019/

[JBB]

MSU is now +17 110 gets 100.

Checking the balance its 1985.

we have 240 on MSU +12.5 & 14.5

[JBB]

Montana State head coach bemoans Bison dominance. Says playoffs should be at neutral stadiums not the Fabulous Fargo Dome.

Montana State head coach Jeff Choate believes North Dakota State's decade-long run of dominance in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision isn't good for the college game. He's also advocating to play semifinal playoff games at a neutral site to take away the home-crowd advantage a stadium like the Fargodome can offer.

Other than that, the coach's weekly press conference was pretty vanilla.

https://www.inforum.com/bison-media-zon ... e-football

That isn’t anywhere near the chronic UND whining and complaint level on all things NDSU.

[JBB]

Montana State played NDSU in the Fargodome last year in a second-round playoff game. The Bison won 52-10 in an utterly one-sided game, beginning another playoff run to another national championship. NDSU has won seven of the last eight national titles, is 126-8 since the start of the 2011 season and is currently on an FCS-record, 35-game winning streak. The Bison also had a 33-game winning streak from 2012-14.

Is that game influencing the odds? Did last years Bobcat team see a lot of turn over in personnel?

The Bison held Robinson to under 100 yds. Great running backs haven’t had great success against the Herd.

Will NDSU open up the passing game. Is MSU +17 a sucker bet? Could be.

[JBB]

According to Coach Choate it is about money.

The Bobcats play in the 13-team Big Sky Conference. Choate said he didn't know of any Big Sky football program that offers full cost of attendance.

"If you have one group that's offering $3,334 a year cash to these kids and another group isn't, the scholarship isn't apples to apples," Choate said. "So are we really playing on the same level?"

Choate is correct in that offering full cost of attendance is an edge for a school like NDSU. It's not an uncommon refrain for other schools to grumble about NDSU's advantage in what coaches refer to as "resources." That's coachspeak for money. South Dakota State's John Stiegelmeier raised the point earlier this season when he said the Bison have a $1 million advantage over the Jackrabbits. Youngstown State's Bo Pelini also brought up "resources" when asked about NDSU's dominance.

Does Coach Choate know JMU spends over 50 mill and NDSU is only half that? Does Coach know what the budget is at Iowa, Kansas State etc? Does Coach know it’s not how much you spend but how well it’s spent? Does Coach know that is the secret to college football.

Schools good at football spend less and win more. NDSU, by that measure, is the best program in the history of college football.

Will NDSU get kicked out?

[JBB]

Old North Central Conference ( NCC) member rival of The Bison, UNI, SDSU, USD and others, The Morningside College Mustangs (the old Maroon Chiefs) are playing Marion college in the NAIA national championship Saturday. They are -2 favorites

Another old NCC member Minnesota State (Mankato) is -7 over West Central Florida in the D2 National Championship.

The FCS playoffs had 4 old NCC teams compete: NDSU, UNI, SDSU, UND. NDSU is still in the running for the national title.

Wouldn't it be something if all 3 national titles: NAIA, D2 and FCS were held by North Central Conference Alum!!

this is a classic example of highly effective programs scaling themselves properly for success. The old NCC was a great incubator for building strong effective and efficient athletic programs. I believe NDSU is almost scaled for the FBS, not yet but in the near term, over the next few years it could happen and they could be ready.

[JBB]

Another old NCC member on the rise: Saint Thomas.

Oct 20th, 1928 – NDAC (NDSU) vs. St. Thomas (View looking SE with Ceres Hall in the distance) Courtesy: NDSU Institute for Regional Studies