Something new: Columbia University football going without fat guys on O-line

[Small Town Guy]

Traditional football powerhouse Columbia University opens its season tomorrow (I'll be there. Will you?).

They have a new coach but will probably have the same old losing season. But as noted by the blog devoted to Columbia football -- yes it exists, yes it is pretty interesting for the 25 people who follow Columbia football -- they're completely going against the trend with the offensive line. The average weight? 255. The right guard is 227.

http://www.culions.blogspot.com/

As the writer notes, weight with players is a huge health issue, although it isn't quite as publicized as concussions (although there have been several good stories about it). You almost think eventually guys on the line will have to get smaller again. They can't keep getting bigger, can they? And it's certainly not just an issue in the NFL. Any level of college, it basically seems the hogs will weigh 300 or damn close.

So what will happen? Tomorrow I'll probably watch a bunch of skinny linemen get tossed around in upper Manhattan and that will be that.

 

[LanceyHoward]

I read the blog and see Colombia is favored by one over Marist. Do you think the Lions can cover at home?

 

[Small Town Guy]

I read the blog and see Colombia is favored by one over Marist. Do you think the Lions can cover at home?

Betting our savings on it.

 

[LanceyHoward]

I read the blog and see Colombia is favored by one over Marist. Do you think the Lions can cover at home?

Betting our savings on it.

Does that statement reflect your confidence in the Lions or are you just a pauper like me?

 

[Oggiedoggie]

The lineman won't be able to buy the big sugary sodas that they need to keep their weight up.

 

[LanceyHoward]

Traditional football powerhouse Columbia University opens its season tomorrow (I'll be there. Will you?).

They have a new coach but will probably have the same old losing season. But as noted by the blog devoted to Columbia football -- yes it exists, yes it is pretty interesting for the 25 people who follow Columbia football -- they're completely going against the trend with the offensive line. The average weight? 255. The right guard is 227.

http://www.culions.blogspot.com/

As the writer notes, weight with players is a huge health issue, although it isn't quite as publicized as concussions (although there have been several good stories about it). You almost think eventually guys on the line will have to get smaller again. They can't keep getting bigger, can they? And it's certainly not just an issue in the NFL. Any level of college, it basically seems the hogs will weigh 300 or damn close.

So what will happen? Tomorrow I'll probably watch a bunch of skinny linemen get tossed around in upper Manhattan and that will be that.

At the risk of threadjacking the size of lineman in football today is the reason that I am glad my pudgy, 6'5" son passed on football. I look at those college lineman who are over 300 and wonder what the extra weight will do to their future lifestyle and life expectancy.

I remember in the 80's when the Cleveland Browns had a rule that all their O-lineman had to be under 265. But the rules allowing offensive lineman to extend their arms reduced the need for athleticism and increased the need for size. Now Colombia O-line is not much smaller than the those teams.

 

[Big Circus]

My high school girlfriend went to Columbia. That's all I've got.

 

[cjericho]

I read the blog and see Colombia is favored by one over Marist. Do you think the Lions can cover at home?

Betting our savings on it.

Does that statement reflect your confidence in the Lions or are you just a pauper like me?

I used to hang with a few degenates who'd bet on ants racing on the sidewalk but I don't think even they'd have any action on this game.

 

[YGBFKM]

Would any of them wager on snorting the ants?

 

[cjericho]

Many of them snorted other stuff.

 

[Batman]

I read the blog and see Colombia is favored by one over Marist. Do you think the Lions can cover at home?

Betting our savings on it.

Does that statement reflect your confidence in the Lions or are you just a pauper like me?

I used to hang with a few degenates who'd bet on ants racing on the sidewalk but I don't think even they'd have any action on this game.

I think it's been mentioned before, but there are guys in Vegas who make an absolute killing betting stuff like Ivy League football and Patriot League basketball.
The lines are often out of whack because even the sports books don't know a damn thing about it. If you do your homework, throw yourself into a league and figure it out, you can do quite well for yourself.

 

[ColdCat]

It's innovation like that which is going to help the Lions end their 78 year bowl drought

 

[cyclingwriter]

Vince Lombardi approves of this.

 

[micropolitan guy]

It's innovation like that which is going to help the Lions end their 78 year bowl drought

Well obviously that won't happen since Columbia is an FCS school but it continues to amaze me that some ex-Ivy FB player/lawyer hasn't sued the league on behalf of football players who are denied the chance to compete in the postseason, unlike Ivy athletes from every other sport.

Pretty clear-cut case of discrimination. You could even make a Title IX case out of it, since males are not receiving equal opportunity.

Not saying they'd ever win the title, but they could easily win a couple games. The upper-level Ivy League teams can play a little bit and it would be fun to see a p-layoff game from Harvard Stadium.

 

[KYSportsWriter]

It's innovation like that which is going to help the Lions end their 78 year bowl drought

Well obviously that won't happen since Columbia is an FCS school but it continues to amaze me that some ex-Ivy FB player/lawyer hasn't sued the league on behalf of football players who are denied the chance to compete in the postseason, unlike Ivy athletes from every other sport.

Methinks coldcat wasn't being serious ...

 

[Brooklyn Bridge]

I read the blog and see Colombia is favored by one over Marist. Do you think the Lions can cover at home?

Betting our savings on it.

Does that statement reflect your confidence in the Lions or are you just a pauper like me?

I used to hang with a few degenates who'd bet on ants racing on the sidewalk but I don't think even they'd have any action on this game.

I think it's been mentioned before, but there are guys in Vegas who make an absolute killing betting stuff like Ivy League football and Patriot League basketball.
The lines are often out of whack because even the sports books don't know a damn thing about it. If you do your homework, throw yourself into a league and figure it out, you can do quite well for yourself.

A former buddy of mine would do just that....Ivy League, NEC, Patriot League. There are a number of lesser conferences he would bet.

 

[jackfinarelli]

I read the blog and see Colombia is favored by one over Marist. Do you think the Lions can cover at home?

Betting our savings on it.

Does that statement reflect your confidence in the Lions or are you just a pauper like me?

I used to hang with a few degenates who'd bet on ants racing on the sidewalk but I don't think even they'd have any action on this game.

I think it's been mentioned before, but there are guys in Vegas who make an absolute killing betting stuff like Ivy League football and Patriot League basketball.
The lines are often out of whack because even the sports books don't know a damn thing about it. If you do your homework, throw yourself into a league and figure it out, you can do quite well for yourself.

None - - and I mean not a single one - - of the sportsbooks that I have frequented in Las Vegas over the past 20 years or so has ever had a line on an Ivy League football game or a Patriot League game. In fact, if for some goofy reason Yale was playing Texas one weekend, that game would not be on the board either in the places I have visited.

The majority of my time in Las Vegas has been in casinos/sportsbooks on The Strip or down on Freemont Street. I have no knowledge of the small casinos that exist outside those two areas.

Where are these sportsbooks in Las Vegas that offer wagering on Ivy and Patriot league games?

 

[Batman]

I read the blog and see Colombia is favored by one over Marist. Do you think the Lions can cover at home?

Betting our savings on it.

Does that statement reflect your confidence in the Lions or are you just a pauper like me?

I used to hang with a few degenates who'd bet on ants racing on the sidewalk but I don't think even they'd have any action on this game.

I think it's been mentioned before, but there are guys in Vegas who make an absolute killing betting stuff like Ivy League football and Patriot League basketball.
The lines are often out of whack because even the sports books don't know a damn thing about it. If you do your homework, throw yourself into a league and figure it out, you can do quite well for yourself.

None - - and I mean not a single one - - of the sportsbooks that I have frequented in Las Vegas over the past 20 years or so has ever had a line on an Ivy League football game or a Patriot League game. In fact, if for some goofy reason Yale was playing Texas one weekend, that game would not be on the board either in the places I have visited.

The majority of my time in Las Vegas has been in casinos/sportsbooks on The Strip or down on Freemont Street. I have no knowledge of the small casinos that exist outside those two areas.

Where are these sportsbooks in Las Vegas that offer wagering on Ivy and Patriot league games?

Interesting. I'd have figured that somewhere in Vegas you could find action on two cockroaches racing across the kitchen floor at Circus Circus. Surely Harvard-Yale, at the very least, has a line each year? Seems like there would be some interest in that one.
Anyway, replace "Ivy League" with Sun Belt, WAC, MAC or a couple of the other smaller FBS conferences. The strategy is the same. And it's more prevalent in basketball, where you have twice as many games and three times as many teams and leagues.

 

[Small Town Guy]

For anyone who did bet on this game, Columbia won by...a point. 10-9.

 

[micropolitan guy]

Methinks coldcat wasn't being serious ...

yeah, duh. I think I caught that too.