LIBERTY REPORT: Week 8 picks

Not a banner week last week. Seven losses including a whamboozling by William & Mary. I’d say this if you’re playing the Tribe—you better be up by at least four touchdowns at halftime if you want to win. W&M has been a great second-half team of late. (NOTE: Rankings referenced are ranks in my weekly Top 25.) Here are the picks:

Last week’s record: 15-7
Season record: 118-34 (.776)

BIG SOUTH

Saturday’s games

Charleston Southern at Stony Brook: After watching the Seawolves last week, I’m starting to wonder if they’re going to score again this season. Seriously, all four DII teams that came to Williams Stadium put up a better fight than Stony Brook. It looked like they didn’t even want to be there. Charleston Southern seems to have put together a nice little team this year, and it has played fairly well on the road. CSU 20, Stony Brook 6

Lafayette at No. 15 Liberty: This has been one of those red-letter games for Liberty coach Danny Rocco, because he knows his team can gain some national respect by beating a nationally recognized opponent. Lafayette is a perennial playoff contender with a solid defense, but the Leopards are banged up on offense. Lafayette hasn’t played anyone of Liberty’s offensive caliber, and I’m not sure the Leopards can outscore the Flames. This will be tight throughout, though. LU seals it in the final five minutes with a Rashad Jennings touchdown run. Liberty 31, Lafayette 20

Presbyterian at Gardner-Webb: Presbyterian has played well despite the injury to Tim Webb. Gardner-Webb got a huge jolt of confidence from its near upset of Georgia Tech. GWU 30, Presbyterian 20

North Carolina Central at Coastal Carolina: It’s circle the wagons time in Conway. If the defense continues to, pardon my french, stink, there might be some pressure for a shakeup on David Bennett’s coaching staff. CCU 34, NCCU 28

FCS TOP 25

No. 2 Appalachian State at Georgia Southern: I keep hearing how tough of a place Paulson Stadium is to play in. Then how did winless Austin Peay take a lead into the fourth quarter against GSU? And how did 2-4 Northeastern force overtime? And how did Elon and Wofford both win there? App rolls this week. App State 44, Georgia Southern 10

No. 3 Villanova at Rhode Island: Trap game for the Wildcats with JMU coming up? I’m sure that’s been addressed in Villanova’s locker room this week. Villanova 34, Rhode Island 30

No. 4 Cal Poly at No. 20 South Dakota State: Both teams are essentially playing for their playoff lives. South Dakota State is ranked 107th in sacks allowed. Cal Poly is ranked second in sacks. If the Mustangs put pressure like that on the quarterback, they’ll come away victorious. Cal Poly 41, South Dakota State 35

No. 5 Elon at Chattanooga: The Rodney Allison farewell tour continues. At least I assume his job security is a little shaky, considering how poorly the Mocs have played this year. Elon 58, Chattanooga 10

Sacramento State at No. 6 Montana: The Griz are still right in the thick of the Big Sky race thanks to the convincing win at Eastern Washington. Montana 38, Sacramento State 21

North Dakota State at No. 7 Northern Iowa: From No. 1 to unranked in the matter of weeks. Tough season for the Bison. Their playoff hopes end here. Northern Iowa 35, North Dakota State 20

Western Carolina at No. 8 Wofford: Western Carolina switched quarterbacks and hung with Furman until the end. Wofford 31, Western Carolina 27

No. 9 New Hampshire at Northeastern: UNH angry after the loss to W&M. Northeastern nearly knocked off UMass at home. Northeastern 27, New Hampshire 24

No. 12 Richmond at No. 10 Massachusetts: The Spiders will be on playoff life support if they don’t win here. UMass seems to have figured something out defensively. UMass 27, Richmond 21

No. 11 Central Arkansas at Texas State: Oddly enough, Texas State has been outstanding on the road and awful at home. UCA 45, Texas State 24

No. 13 McNeese State at No. 25 Sam Houston State: Another playoff elimination game. Sam Houston State 31, McNeese State 28

Northern Colorado at No. 14 Weber State: Wildcats are 4-0 against FCS teams, and they played Hawaii tough before losing. Weber State 47, Northern Colorado 16

No. 16 Northern Arizona at Idaho State: I wonder if the people in Pocatello still hate me. ... Anyway, Idaho State suspended its second leading tackler for this one, and NAU is flat rolling right now. NAU hosts Weber next week, but I know Jerome Souers well enough to know he won’t allow his team to worry about the Wildcats just yet. NAU 48, Idaho State 20

The Citadel at No. 17 Furman: The Bulldogs are fuming after a couple of shaky calls last week in their home loss to Elon. El Cid 41, Furman 38

No. 18 Southern Illinois at Youngstown State: YSU is playing for pride at this point, but the Penguins have just had too many injuries and defections to circle the wagons and beat SIU at home. Though I said the same thing before the North Dakota State game ... SIU 31, YSU 28

Indiana State at No. 19 Western Illinois: Will Indiana State hold WIU under 50 points in the first half? Yes. Western Illinois 71, Indiana State 7

Austin Peay at No. 21 Tennessee State: Tigers stay in control in OVC. Tennessee State 34, Austin Peay 24

Lehigh at No. 22 Harvard: Harvard’s already beaten Lafayette. The Crimson will handle Lafayette’s main rival this week. Harvard 24, Lehigh 14

No. 23 William & Mary at Delaware: Let’s see. I picked W&M to beat Villanova and Nova took a 35-0 lead. I picked UNH to beat William & Mary and W&M outscored UNH 31-13 in the second half. I don’t know why I think Delaware has some life left, but ... Delaware 24, William & Mary 23

Norfolk State at No. 24 Hampton: Norfolk State hasn’t won in Hampton since 1996. Hampton 20, Norfolk State 14