TOM'S 21-6 ATS NCAA SUN BELT ELITE BEST BET
- Handicapper
- Tom Stryker
- League
- NCAAF
- Competition
- Troy vs James Madison
- Release Date
- 10/29/2026 07:52 AM
- Event Date
- 10/29/2026 07:30 PM
- Bet Type
- Point Spread
- Pick
-
James Madison -19 (-110)
(BetMGM)
- Outcome
- Loss
- Analysis
- #112 JAMES MADISON (-) over Troy at 7:30 PM EST
Off the three-point road loss in overtime at App State and with a pair of games at Southern Miss and UConn on deck, James Madison will make the most of this home game against Troy. The Trojans enter this Sun Belt Championship rematch on a dismal 1-4 SU and 2-3 ATS run and head coach Gerard Parker and his kids will have all kinds of problems inside Bridgeforth Stadium.
If you plan on fading the Dukes, you better have a darn good reason. In its last 51 games, JMU owns a tremendous 42-9 SU and 30-17 ATS record including an elite 24-2 SU and 19-7 ATS provided its opponent arrives without confidence off a straight up loss. If head coach Billy Napier and his crew are lined up against a foe that slides in off two or more straight up losses, this angle tightens up to a spectacular 11-1 SU and 10-2 ATS. Also, as long as the Dukes are not taking the field of battle off a SU and ATS win, James Madison owns a solid 21-6 ATS mark.
In the middle of a 15-19 SU and 16-15 ATS run, Troy has been nothing more than an average football team over its last 34 games including a woeful 2-8 SU and 4-6 ATS provided the Trojans are stepping up in class and fighting a foe that owns a team won/loss percentage of .650 or better. To make matters worse, college football road dogs priced heavily at +17 or more own a woeful 48-74 ATS mark provided they check in off back-to-back SU and ATS losses and were favored in their last game. If our "play against" side is competing against a foe that holds a team won/loss percentage of .700 or better, this angle falls to a weak 29-48 ATS. That spells trouble for Coach Parker and his men.
The Dukes are resting comfortably in the top spot of the Sun Belt Conference standings with a 4-1 SU record and their home turf (11-0 SU over the past two seasons averaging 43.7 ppg and holding a margin of victory of 29.2 ppg) will be too much for the Trojans to handle. Take James Madison. Thanks, and best of luck, Tom.
