LIBERTY REPORT: Week 5 picks

Quick and dirty picks this week, folks. Gotta rest up for the long drive to Ohio in the morning.

Last week's record: 17-5
Season record: 71-17 (.807)

BIG SOUTH

Friday's game

Hofstra at Stony Brook: Doesn't matter what I pick. The opposite will happen. Hofstra 21, Stony Brook 14

Saturday's games

North Greenville at Charleston Southern: I agree with Jay Mills. The Bucs are better than we thought. CSU 34, North Greenville 10

VMI at Ohio: Chowan, the Bobcats ain't. Ohio 44, VMI 14

Coastal Carolina at North Carolina A&T: The Aggies aren't the winless laughingstock they were a year ago. Still, Coastal should have enough to win here. Coastal Carolina 34, NC A&T 17

Sam Houston State at Gardner-Webb: Rhett Bomar a little too much for Bulldogs to handle. Sam Houston State 35, Gardner-Webb 24

Presbyterian at No. 4 Appalachian State: App has some pent-up rage after the JMU loss. App 60, Presbyterian 21

No. 22 Liberty at Youngstown State: This is not a homer pick. If Liberty can control the time of possession and get Rashad Jennings into Youngstown's secondary, the Flames will have success. YSU's top four tacklers are DBs, which tells me the defensive line and linebackers aren't doing a great job of controlling the run. I like the Flames' experience here against a young YSU team. History isn't kind to LU in road games against ranked teams, but I'll go on a hunch here. Liberty 34, Youngstown State 28

FCS TOP 25

No. 1 Richmond at No. 18 Villanova: The Wildcats will hang in there, but UR's defense will come up with a big stop when it needs one.Richmond 27, Villanova 20

No. 2 James Madison at Maine: Tough stretch for the Black Bears. JMU still has little room for error, so Mickey Matthews will have his team ready. JMU 26, Maine 7

Central Washington at No. 3 Montana: DII Central Washington is unbeaten, but beating the Griz too tall a task. Montana 38, Central Washington 21

No. 5 Northern Iowa at No. 16 Southern Illinois: Panthers continue strong play by beating rebuilding Salukis. UNI 40, SIU 22

Southern Virginia at No. 7 McNeese State: Why? McNeese State 64, SVU 7

No. 8 New Hampshire at Dartmouth: Are the Wildcats the class of the CAA North?. UNH 34, Dartmouth 17

Samford at No. 9 Elon: Bulldogs are better than most in the SoCon will give them credit for. Still ... Elon 41, Samford 20

Idaho State at No. 10 Eastern Washington: Eagles finally playing first FCS opponent. Eastern 50, Idaho State 14

No. 11 Wofford at Georgia Southern: Thanks to reader Andy, who noted that I messed up and had the home site switched. Game is in Statesboro, not Spartanburg. I'll still pick the Terriers. Wofford 31, Georgia Southern 20

Chattanooga at No. 13 Furman: Even if the Paladins have a letdown after the Delaware win, Chattanooga isn't good enough to take advantage of it. Furman 38, Chattanooga 13

Albany at No. 14 Delaware: Albany has played very well in three straight games against CAA teams. I get the feeling that the Danes will run out of gas here. Delaware 42, Albany 28

No. 15 South Dakota State at Stephen F. Austin: Jackrabbits beat Lumberjacks in battle of Jacks. SDSU 35, SFA 22

Jacksonville State at No. 19 Eastern Illinois: Every time I count the Panthers out, they go out and play an impressive game. EIU 31, JSU 27

No. 21 Central Arkansas at Tulsa: UCA's good, but this is a real tough FBS draw.Tulsa 49, UCA 34

No. 23 Harvard at Brown: Come-from-behind Crimson run it to 2-0 in Providence.Harvard 27, Brown 21

Florida A&M at No. 24 Tennessee State: The Tigers, the OVC's surprise team, keeps it rolling against the Rattlers.TSU 39, FAMU 27

Western Carolina at No. 25 The Citadel: Western's improved, but this is the sort of road game it's not ready to win.El Cid 38, Western Carolina 17