LIBERTY REPORT: Week 4 picks

I still can't get a handle on the Big South, most notably Coastal Carolina and Gardner-Webb. I picked the Chanticleers to lose to Monmouth, and by the time I checked into the hotel in Asheville before I drove down to Cullowhee, I saw the ESPN ticker and saw the Chants up 26-0. Hmm. Then Gardner-Webb looks fantastic in a road game against an OVC opponent, several weeks after looking awful in a road game against an OVC opponent. And Charleston Southern is looking better than anyone outside of Chuck-town thought it would. Clemson transfer quarterback Tribble Reese threw four TD passes last week at Miami of Ohio, and on the Big South's coaches teleconference Tuesday, CSU coach Jay Mills marveled at how his team has rallied behind Reese in the season's opening games.

Also, I learned a lesson in trusting your gut when it comes to picking games. I originally had picked JMU to beat UMass and went back and changed the pick once I heard Eugene Holloman was out. Ooops. JMU rolled to an early lead and the Minutemen spent much of the game down at least two touchdowns. Oh well. The other miss was the North Dakota State-Wyoming game in which the Bison led 10-0 at halftime and lost on a last-second field goal. I didn't feel as bad about that one.

Should be a great week for FCS action, and with the bye week, I can sit at home (or at a watering hole, who knows) and enjoy all the action. App State-JMU is obviously the big game, but Furman-Delaware, South Dakota State-Northern Iowa, Harvard-Holy Cross, Albany-New Hampshire and Elon-Georgia Southern are all important games that will help the Top 25 shake itself out a little bit.

Last week's record: 16-4
Season record: 54-12 (.818)

BIG SOUTH

Saturday's games

Stony Brook at Brown: Stony Brook had a lot of trouble stopping the pass against Maine, as the Black Bears exploited something they saw on film and attacked. Adam Farkes didn't put up great yardage numbers, but he threw four TD passes and led Maine to a 28-10 halftime lead. Like all Ivy League teams, Brown is playing its opener this week. The Bears are led by Michael Dougherty, who threw for 3,039 yards and 19 TDs last season and was the nation's third-leading passer. Brown has won its last five openers. Still ... Stony Brook 24, Brown 20

Chowan at VMI: I can't find anything intelligent to say about Chowan. VMI 48, Chowan 6

Towson at Coastal Carolina: Through three games, Towson still doesn't have a rusher with 100 yards on the season. Tigers quarterback Sean Schaefer is very good, but with no run game against Coastal's talented secondary, it could be a long night in Conway. Coastal Carolina 31, Towson 21

Western Carolina at Presbyterian: Bobby Bentley used words like "humiliated" and "embarrassed" while talking about his team's 66-12 loss at Elon last week. And after seeing Western up close last week, I'm convinced this team is close to turning a corner. New coach Dennis Wagner has that program moving in the right direction. Western Carolina 27, Presbyterian 20

FCS TOP 25

No. 1 North Dakota State at Youngstown State: The Penguins have looked positively awful in their two games against Division I opponents, and they're just too much in disarray with the departure of their top quarterback and the loss to two key defensive players to injury to beat the Bison.NDSU 34, Youngstown State 14

No. 2 Appalachian State at No. 5 James Madison: This is a really tough one to pick. ASU's defense is definitely better than UMass'. And the Mountaineers practice every day against an athletic quarterback in Armanti Edwards. So Rodney Landers won't sneak up on the Mountaineers. JMU coach Mickey Matthews is pleading for a hostile environment. The game will be shown locally on CN8, which is Channel 17 on Comcast. App State 41, JMU 38

UC Davis at No. 3 Montana: This could be a tough test for the young Griz. The Aggies are 1-2 but the losses were each by a field goal on the road against FBS San Jose State and ranked Central Arkansas. Davis rolled up 588 yards against Portland State. Montana 27, UC Davis 24

Maine at No. 4 Richmond: Richmond's defense continues its stellar season at home. Richmond 38, Maine 10

No. 6 Delaware at Furman: The Paladins looked impressive in racking up 515 yards at Colgate. Three Blue Hens averaged better than 7 yards per carry against West Chester, so there's hope that the run game is developing. Furman 28, Delaware 24

No. 7 Massachusetts at Texas Tech: UMass has allowed 110 points in three games. Texas Tech 70, UMass 21

Western Washington at No. 8 Eastern Washington: Eastern can only afford to lose one Big Sky game if it wants to get to the magical seven wins against DI teams mark. After a week off, the Eagles should roll the Vikings. Eastern Washington 41, Central Washington 10

No. 14 South Dakota State at No. 9 Northern Iowa: If the Jackrabbits win here, they would be in complete control in the Missouri Valley. Alas, they won't. Northern Iowa 31, South Dakota State 20

No. 10 Cal Poly at Northwestern State: The Mustangs are in a tight spot after the cancellation of the McNeese game. A loss here would all but eliminate them from playoff consideration, since they'd only be able to get to six DI victories. A win at Wisconsin is unlikely, to say the least. Cal Poly 34, Northwestern State 26

Albany at No. 12 New Hampshire: Albany moved within one victory of satisfying one of the auto-bid requirements for NEC/Big South schools by toppling the CAA's Hofstra last week. Winning at UNH will be a much taller task. Albany plays at Delaware next week, and must win one of the games to secure the auto-bid requirement of two wins against teams from auto-bid conferences. UNH 41, Albany 31

No. 13 Elon at No. 25 Georgia Southern: Phoenix offense on a roll. GSU continues to struggle with teams it should beat easily at home. Elon 36, Georgia Southern 28

No. 15 Wofford at South Carolina: The Terriers tend to play close in these FBS games. Having lost two straight, the Gamecocks won't take anything for granted. South Carolina 31, Wofford 20

No. 17 Holy Cross at No. 23 Harvard: I've been looking forward to seeing how this one plays out, since I'm much higher on Holy Cross than most pollsters. I was convinced before the year that the Crusaders were the best team in the Patriot League, and I'll stick by that for now. Holy Cross 28, Harvard 21

No. 18 Villanova at Pennsylvania: Quakers' last win in the series was in 1911.Villanova 27, Pennsylvania 7

No. 19 Eastern Illinois at Illinois State: Kind of a big game for the Panthers, an OVC favorite who can ill afford a loss to a middle of the pack Missouri Valley team.Illinois State 27, Eastern Illinois 21

Stephen F. Austin at No. 20 Western Illinois: SFA is on the way back, but the Lumberjacks aren't quite there yet.Western Illinois 45, Stephen F. Austin 14

Quincy at No. 21 Central Arkansas: Ugh.Central Arkansas 60, Quincy 0

No. 24 South Carolina State at Clemson: SCSU has scored a combined six points in three money games during the last two years.Clemson 31, South Carolina State 3