LIBERTY REPORT: Week 6 picks

Picks come early this week due to the Nicholls State-Northern Iowa game Thursday night.

Last week's record: 19-5
Season record: 90-22 (.804)

BIG SOUTH

Saturday's games

Gardner-Webb at Charleston Southern: The Bulldogs had all sorts of problems slowing Sam Houston State's Rhett Bomar. While Tribble Reese isn't at Bomar's level, he's an FBS transfer (Clemson) who is capable of skewering the GWU secondary. Charleston Southern 31, Gardner-Webb 20

#7 Richmond at VMI: Keydets aren't ready for this kind of challenge yet. Plus, UR will be somewhat feisty after the Villanova loss. Richmond 55, VMI 35

North Greenville at Presbyterian: Crusaders 0-2 so far on Big South tour. Presbyterian finally done with its SoCon tour. Presbyterian 41, North Greenville 14

No. 18 Liberty at Coastal Carolina: The winner here likely wins the Big South championship. Tough to pick Coastal with its secondary so banged up. Yes, the Chants have been fabulous defensively of late, but they've played Monmouth, Towson and N.C. A&T, none of which are at Liberty's level offensively. Liberty 35, Coastal Carolina 22

FCS TOP 25

Hofstra at No. 1 James Madison: Hofstra got healthy last week against Stony Brook. JMU won't be looking ahead toward Richmond, will it? JMU 34, Hofstra 10

No. 2 Montana at Weber State: Montana has won the last nine meetings and 14 of the last 15. Everyone keeps expecting the Griz to stumble, and Weber is a worthwhile opponent. Still ... Montana 31, Weber State 27

No. 20 The Citadel at No. 3 Appalachian State: App State has enough defense to contain Bulldogs. App State 35, El Cid 30

South Dakota at No. 4 Cal Poly: Mustangs won't stumble against transitioning Coyotes. Cal Poly 34, South Dakota 10

No. 6 McNeese State at No. 17 South Dakota State: Finally, we'll get a chance to see if the Cowboys are for real. Brookings hasn't been kind to visitors this season. SDSU 26, McNeese State 20

Nicholls State at No. 8 Northern Iowa: The Colonels are rested since they've lost games to both Hurricanes Gustav and Ike, and their triple-option is a force to deal with. UNI will be playing with a backs-against-the-wall mentality in this ESPNU game. UNI 37, Nicholls State 24

No. 9 Villanova at William & Mary: Trap game for the Wildcats after big win at home over Richmond. William & Mary 31, Villanova 28

No. 13 Furman at No. 10 Elon: Possibly the best game this week in FCS. Furman's defense made life miserable for Delaware's pass game. Can Elon win the big one in the SoCon? Elon 38, Furman 36

No. 12 Eastern Washington at Portland State: Eagles have been awful defensively the last two weeks, and they better not look past Jerry Glanville's bunch to next week's showdown with Montana. Eastern Washington 45, Portland State 31

No. 14 Southern Illinois at No. 15 North Dakota State: The Bison have had a couple of weeks to licks wounds from the Youngstown loss, and they're awfully tough in the Fargo Dome. NDSU 40, SIU 34

No. 16 Delaware at No. 19 Massachusetts: Delaware's offense came alive against Albany. UMass must play better defensively or they'll struggle to make the playoffs. Delaware 49, UMass 45

No. 22 Western Illinois at Missouri State: Western Illinois is winless on the road. Fortunately for the Leathernecks, Missouri State stinks. WIU 41, Missouri State 20

Sacramento State at No. 23 Northern Arizona: NAU coach Jerome Souers isn't sure his team is a Top 25 team just yet. They are, for this week at least. NAU 38, Sac State 20

SE Missouri State at No. 25 Jacksonville State: So SEMO struggled to beat Indiana State, FCS' worst team, last week. Gamecocks cruise.Jacksonville State 41, SE Missouri State 17