LIBERTY REPORT: Week 2 picks

Last week’s record: 20-3
Season record: 20-3

BIG SOUTH

Saturday’s games

Fayetteville State at Presbyterian: Presbyterian gave Wofford an early scare last week but couldn’t hold the Terriers’ ground game in check. PC has won its last five home games and faces a Bronco team that is coming off a road win at North Carolina Central. PC quarterback Tim Webb has a big day, and the Blue Hose make it six straight at home. Presbyterian 44, Fayetteville State 30

St. Francis (Pa.) at VMI: Unless St. Francis has improved considerably since playing at Liberty last fall, this game won’t be close. VMI has struggled in recent seasons, but its most impressive victory last year was on the road against Robert Morris, which like St. Francis is in the Northeast Conference. The Sparky Woods era gets off to a fast start.VMI 41, St. Francis 17

No. 15 Elon at Stony Brook: I’ll admit: Stony Brook really impressed me last week. The Seawolves ran Colgate off the field for the first 3-plus quarters last Saturday, and if their running game is in the same form it was last week, Elon could have a lot of problems. The Phoenix struggled to get their rhythm passing game going against Richmond. This has all the makings of a shootout. Stony Brook 31, Elon 27

Charleston Southern at No. 12 Wofford: This game was moved from Chuck-town to Spartanburg due to Hanna. Wofford has won all 10 series meetings by an average score of 36.6-15.8. Wofford 37, Charleston Southern 16

Tusclum at Gardner-Webb: Steve Patton was very disappointed with his team’s red-zone play in a season-opening loss at Tennessee Tech. Tusculum is a tough DII opponent, but not tough enough to steal a win at Spangler Stadium. Gardner-Webb 31, Tusculum 20

Glenville State at No. 21 Liberty: Liberty’s pass protection improves, Glenville’s Jerry Seymour gets his yards and a couple of scores, and both teams hope to get out of this one without any more injuries. Liberty 42, Glenville State 14

Sunday’s game

Colgate at Coastal Carolina: Hanna moves this game to the muggy Sunday afternoon heat, which Colgate will struggle to handle. Coastal Carolina 27, Colgate 17

FCS TOP 25

No 1. Richmond at Virginia: Mike London pulls a fast one on his old boss Al Groh. Cavs are a mess right now. Richmond is not. Richmond 24, Virginia 20

Central Connecticut State at No. 2 North Dakota State: Sellout crowd watches Bison handle Blue Devils. North Dakota State 41, Central Connecticut State 21

No. 10 Montana at No. 3 Cal Poly: My pick for FCS game of the week. The Mustangs (as I picked) beat San Diego State for the second time in three years last Saturday, probably ending the chance of ever getting another paycheck from the Aztecs. Montana brings an extremely young team to San Luis Obispo. I think Cal Poly wins this game regardless of location. The Mustangs are deep and experienced, not to mention talented. Cal Poly 38, Montana 21

Jacksonville at No. 4 Appalachian State: Dolphins snuck out of Savannah State with a win. App State grumpy after poor showing at LSU. App State 51, Jacksonville 7

No. 5 Massachusetts at No. 17 Holy Cross: UMass showed a hint of vulnerability at home last week against a pretty good Albany team. For Holy Cross, this is a statement game. The Crusaders played UMass tough last year in Amherst, and with UMass still figuring some things out offensively, Holy Cross has a real chance here. On a hunch ... Holy Cross 31, Massachusetts 28

West Chester at No. 6 Delaware: Yearly, regional matchup against DII West Chester a nice break for Hens, who played Maryland to the wire last week. Delaware 44, West Chester 13

North Carolina Central at No. 7 James Madison: Mickey Matthews admitted that he doesn’t know much about Eagles. That’s OK. All he needs to know is NCCU lost to a DII team at home last week. JMU 56, NCCU 7

No. 8 Eastern Washington at Colorado: Back-to-back paycheck games tend to wear a team down, even a good team like Eastern. This won’t be close. Colorado 41, Eastern Washington 17

South Dakota at No. 9 Northern Iowa: Panthers get back on track against FCS newcomer Coyotes. Northern Iowa 45, South Dakota 17

Delta State at No. 11 McNeese State: Nice staggering by the Cowboys in the schedule—tough game (UNC), breather (Delta State), tough game (Cal Poly), breather (Southern Virginia). McNeese State 54, Delta State 10

No. 13 New Hampshire at Army: Wildcats have a history of winning money games, and Army is breaking in a new coaching staff and offensive system. UNH 31, Army 20

Hampton at No. 14 Southern Illinois: Jackson State’s coach still convinced his team was better after losing 17-13 to Hampton last week in Orlando. Pirates in for a real tough task in Carbondale. SIU 30, Hampton 14

No. 16. Eastern Illinois at Illinois: The Juice (Williams) runneth all over Eastern Illinois. Illinois 47, Eastern Illinois 10

No. 18 Youngstown State at No. 22 South Dakota State: I wonder if YSU just didn’t lay down physically against Ohio State, with this key Missouri Valley game coming up. Probably the toughest game of the week to pick, just because I saw absolutely nothing out of Youngstown last week that I liked. South Dakota State 21, Youngstown State 20

Quincy at No. 20 Western Illinois: Famous Quincys include Quincy Jones, John Quincy Adams and Thomas de Quincey. Western Illinois 61, Quincy 6

Benedict at No. 24 South Carolina State: Famous Benedicts include Benedict Arnold and Pope Benedict XVI. South Carolina State 40, Benedict 10

Austin Peay at No. 25 Georgia Southern:Eagles hope strong finish at Georgia carries over. Austin Peay simply overmatched for second straight week. Georgia Southern 42, Austin Peay 7