Fordham at William & Mary
Fordham (0‑3) at William & Mary (2‑1) — no line posted yet, but the model favors William & Mary (86%).
How they got here
Last three games
Fordham · 0-3
Picked #244 in the preseason · now #255.
Three straight losses.
L 7–45 @ Coastal Carolina #190 of 669
lost by 38 as a 36.5-point underdog
L 0–38 @ North Dakota State #80 of 669
lost by 38 as a 41.5-point underdog
L 14–24 vs Colgate #211 of 669
lost by 10 as a 8.5-point underdog
Last three games
William & Mary · 2-1
Picked #183 in the preseason · now #183 — about right.
2-1 in its last three, capped by a 3-point win over Villanova as a 12.5-point underdog.
L 20–44 @ Lehigh #135 of 669
lost by 24 as a 13.5-point underdog
W 22–15 vs Delaware State #189 of 669
won by 7 as a 9.5-point favorite
W 35–32 @ Villanova #146 of 669
won by 3 as a 12.5-point underdog
What’s at stake
Fordham
- Fordham needs 6 more wins in the final 8 to reach bowl eligibility.
- Fordham is still shaking off a 38-point loss.
William & Mary
- William & Mary is 2 games back in Patriot with 6 left to make it up.
- William & Mary is still shaking off a 24-point loss.
Face-off
What each fanbase carries into this one.
Fordham
The chipFans here believe no chip — Fordham owns the guilt. The program hasn't recaptured the era when the Rams and Rose Hill (the campus) were known nationally. The question isn't what happened to us; it's whether we can become anything again.
What this game touches
The 2025 collapse to 1-11 and the pattern of football instability. After three consecutive winning seasons in the early 2020s, Fordham collapsed to 1-11 (1-6 Patriot League) in 2025 under coach Joe Conlin. The wound runs deeper: the Seven Blocks legacy (Vince Lombardi on the 1936 line) is impossible to carry in modern Patriot League football. Fordham football is caught between a legendary past and a struggling present.
William & Mary
The chipThe program had to overcome the ghost of Jimmye Laycock—not a villain exactly, but a shadow so long and so successful that every coach who followed had to prove they weren't a step down. London has done that. Now the chip is proving it can stick.
What this game touches
The Laycock succession challenge. After 39 years (1980–2018) under one legendary coach, the program had to prove that the winning formula wasn't Laycock alone. The first years under London tested whether the culture would hold. By 2024, with a No. 10 ranking, the fanbase had its answer.
Conditions
87°F · 5 mph wind
William & Mary is worth +7.8 points (±9.9) more at home than on the road since 2018 — top tenth of FBS, 96th percentile.
33% at home, 10% on the road against FBS opponents (1–2 home, 1–9 away).
Our model gives every stadium the same flat 2.3-point home edge (why); the books use about 3. Against the closing line this stadium reads +3.8 at home vs. away over 50 games — inside the ±8.0 noise, so the flat number is the honest one here.
Night kickoff — historically worth about half a point more to the home side against the number, and not much more than that. The visitors travel about 290 miles to get here.
Recent games
William & Mary
- Wk 1Wat Villanova35-32
- Wk 1Wvs Delaware State22-15
- Wk 2Lat Lehigh20-44
Fordham
- Wk 1Lvs Colgate14-24
- Wk 1Lat North Dakota State0-38
- Wk 2Lat Coastal Carolina7-45
Trajectory
Conference standings
- William & Mary#51-1
- Fordham#70-1