FCS College Football Week 5 Preview & Picks Recap
The College Football Experience (@TCEonSGPN) on the Sports Gambling Podcast Network continues its 2026 season coverage with FCS Week 5 picks for the full slate. Pick Dundee aka (@TheColbyD) and Ryan McIntyre (@Moneyline_Mac) are joined by Chris Van Dyke of Phil Steele Publications, and all three lock Rhode Island minus 3.5 against Brown in the Governor’s Cup. Is Towson plus 10.5 at Monmouth worth backing with an 0-5 team? Can Southern Illinois beat Youngstown State as a home dog? Does Prairie View cover 26.5 against Mississippi Valley State? Is Tarleton State minus 49.5 too many points to lay? Which way do the guys go on the total in South Dakota State at Illinois State?
Before the picks, Mac calls in from a Des Moines hotel lobby with a Miller Lite in a Starbucks cup, and Montana State minus 15.5 against Idaho opens the card as a Friday triple lock. Then Campbell, VMI and UC Davis join the triple locks, and Chris breaks his own rule on San Diego minus 13.5 against Davidson. We talk it all and more on this episode of The College Football Experience.
Montana State Friday And The Ivy League Openers
Colby Dant (@thecolbyd) hosts with Ryan McIntyre (@Moneyline_Mac), better known as Moneyline Mac, and Chris Van Dyke of Phil Steele Publications joins them for the full FCS Week 5 slate. Friday night sets the tone, and all three guys lay the 15.5 with Montana State against Idaho. The Bobcats played last week without their starting quarterback, top back Adam Jones and top receiver Dowler. They still beat a good Northern Arizona team by 14. So if Bozeman gets healthy, Chris thinks they could run the table. Idaho has simply been bad, and nobody wanted the points. Then Saturday opens at the Yale Bowl, where Yale lays 12.5 to Merrimack in the first-ever meeting. Chris locks the Bulldogs as a gut call. Yale is 8-1 ATS off a straight-up loss over the last eight years. But he admits the angles cut both ways, since Merrimack is 27-1 as an away underdog.
Next comes Fordham at Lehigh, and Colby locks the Rams plus 21.5. Lehigh is 5-0, but it beat Penn by only 13 and Dartmouth by four. That makes three touchdowns a big ask, even with Fordham allowing around 200 rushing yards a game. Chris would take the points too, because Lehigh’s quarterback play has sagged since Hayden Johnson got hurt. Meanwhile Moneyline Mac lays it, calling Lehigh a wagon. Then Princeton visits Columbia in Manhattan as a 1.5-point favorite, and Mac locks the Tigers. Colby jumps in for a double lock after watching Princeton drill Albany last week. Chris stays off it, though, and leans to the under and Columbia instead.
The Triple Locks Leading The FCS Week 5 Picks
The Governor’s Cup is the first triple lock, with Rhode Island laying 3.5 to Brown in Pawtucket. The Rams lost to North Carolina A&T last week, so Colby was ready to back off. Then Chris sold him on the revenge spot. Rhode Island has won 14 of its last 15 home games, and Brown beat them 28-21 last year. Also, Brown quarterback James Murphy sits at a zero-to-five ratio this season. That matters because Rhode Island’s two wins came at plus eight in turnovers. Richmond is the next triple lock at minus 6.5 against Lafayette. Lafayette did beat the Spiders 35-28 a season ago. But Colby treats the Leopards as an auto-fade, so just don’t chase it past a touchdown.
Towson plus 10.5 at Monmouth is the gutsiest triple lock on the card. The Tigers are 0-5, yet they’ve won the yardage battle in all three FCS games. Their quarterback also carries an 11-to-four ratio. So Mac called it a now-or-never spot, and Colby joined after that pitch. Then the guys triple lock VMI plus 35.5 against Mercer, which is too many points against a triple-option team. Robert Morris gets the same treatment at minus 3.5 hosting Norfolk State in Moon Township. And Prairie View is a triple lock laying 26.5 to Mississippi Valley State. Prairie View won last year’s meeting 59-6, and Colby says he would have set this line at 36.
Saluki Revenge And The Late-Night Locks
Southern Illinois catching 3.5 at home against Youngstown State might be the best spot on the board. Youngstown is coming off its statement win over South Dakota, so this sets up as a letdown game. And Chris brought the trend that sealed it. Youngstown State is 0-10 as an away favorite over the last eight years. Meanwhile Southern Illinois is 8-5 as a home dog, and the guys triple lock the Salukis. Chris also likes the over 62.5, since the last two meetings finished 48-38 and 37-33. Then South Dakota lays 18.5 against Indiana State, and Chris locks it with Mac. His case starts with how tough it is to win in Vermillion.
Campbell at minus 8.5 against NC Central is another triple lock, even though Mac says it reeks. The Camels are 5-0 ATS, and NC Central is 0-3 ATS against FCS teams. Idaho State lays 6.5 to Northern Arizona, and that one also gets all three guys. Northern Arizona’s 14-point loss to Montana State looks better than it was, because the Bobcats were missing their top quarterback, running back and receiver. Then the rivalry in St. George gets a triple lock on Utah Tech plus 14.5 against Southern Utah. Finally, UC Davis closes the night at minus 9.5 against Eastern Washington. All three guys lock Davis to bounce back, and Colby sprinkles the over 60.5 too.
The Totals And Single Locks Worth A Look
The totals list is long this week, and Western Carolina overs remain Colby’s favorite bet. He takes the over 63.5 against Tennessee Tech and also lays the 9.5 with the Golden Eagles. Mac bets Tennessee Tech too. But Chris flags rain in the forecast, so he plays the over smaller and takes Western Carolina with the points. He also bets the over 56.5 in Stephen F. Austin against Incarnate Word, because Incarnate Word averages 470 yards a game. Then Colby locks the over 54.5 in Northwestern State at Lamar. He bets Tarleton State minus 49.5 against Chicago State as well, and he adds the over in that one.
The marquee game is South Dakota State at Illinois State, with the visitors laying 1.5 and a total of 55.5. Colby bets the Redbirds small, about $50, just to have action on a possible national title preview. Then Chris sold him on the under. Illinois State allows 89 rushing yards a game at 2.8 a carry, and South Dakota State leans hard on the run. So Colby bets the under 55.5 as well. Elsewhere, Chris adds single locks on Howard minus 9.5 against Hampton and Sacred Heart plus 2.5 at Maine. Meanwhile, Mac rides Drake plus 5.5 against Dayton from a Des Moines hotel lobby.
Watch: Cincinnati vs Arizona Prediction, Picks & Best Bets | College Football Week 5
Podcast Chapters
00:00 Download the SGPN App Today!
01:08 Road to Nashville Continues
06:10 Illinois State, Northern Iowa & Western Carolina Overs
10:40 Montana State vs. Idaho Picks
11:46 Merrimack vs. Yale Picks
14:19 Fordham vs. Lehigh Picks
16:53 Princeton vs. Columbia Picks
19:33 Mercyhurst vs. Long Island Picks
21:54 Brown vs. Rhode Island Picks
26:13 Wagner vs. Central Connecticut Picks
28:17 Cornell vs. Georgetown Picks
30:18 Richmond vs. Lafayette Picks
32:41 Morehead State vs. Valpo Picks
35:27 Marist vs. Stetson Picks
39:41 Towson vs. Monmouth Picks
43:13 Morgan State vs. Villanova Picks
45:28 Dayton vs. Drake Picks
47:46 St. Thomas vs. Presbyterian Picks
49:05 Elon vs. New Hampshire Picks
52:12 VMI vs. Mercer Picks
54:10 Penn vs. Dartmouth Picks
55:30 Wofford vs. Furman Picks
59:17 Norfolk State vs. Robert Morris Picks
1:02:09 The Citadel vs. South Carolina State Picks
1:04:19 Murray State vs. North Dakota Picks
1:05:21 Howard vs. Hampton Picks
1:08:05 Mississippi Valley State vs. Prairie View Picks
1:10:05 Indiana State vs. South Dakota Picks
1:11:58 Alcorn State vs. Grambling Picks
1:13:05 Chattanooga vs. East Tennessee State Picks
1:15:58 Sacred Heart vs. Maine Picks
1:17:28 Holy Cross vs. William & Mary Picks
1:18:31 Delaware State vs. Albany Picks
1:20:54 Alabama State vs. Bethune-Cookman Picks
1:22:18 Northern Colorado vs. Montana Picks
1:23:42 Davidson vs. San Diego Picks
1:26:14 Tennessee State vs. Western Illinois Picks
1:27:18 Alabama A&M vs. Jackson State Picks
1:29:22 Youngstown State vs. Southern Illinois Picks
1:32:12 New Haven vs. Austin Peay Picks
1:32:31 North Carolina A&T vs. Bryant Picks
1:33:38 North Alabama vs. EKU Picks
1:36:10 NC Central vs. Campbell Picks
1:37:33 Incarnate Word vs. Stephen F. Austin Picks
1:39:17 Gardner-Webb vs. Charleston Southern Picks
1:40:56 Tennessee Tech vs. Western Carolina Picks
1:43:41 Northwestern State vs. Lamar Picks
1:45:12 Chicago State vs. Tarleton State Picks
1:47:36 Pine Bluff vs. Marshall Picks
1:48:13 South Dakota State vs. Illinois State Picks
1:51:43 Colgate vs. Harvard Picks
1:53:25 Nichols vs. Houston Christian Picks
1:54:15 UT Rio Grande vs. Commerce Picks
1:55:59 Weber State vs. Cal Poly Picks
1:58:16 Northern Arizona vs. Idaho State Picks
1:59:55 West Florida vs. Abilene Christian Picks
2:03:06 Southern Utah vs. Dixie State Picks
2:04:58 E-dub vs. UC Davis Picks
2:06:33 Sign-Off & Socials
