FCS College Football Week 8 Preview & Picks Recap
The College Football Experience on the Sports Gambling Podcast Network continues its FCS Week 8 picks with Pick Dundee (@TheColbyD) and Ryan McIntyre (@Moneyline_Mac) going rapid fire through the entire Saturday slate, a day after storming the field at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone.
Is Fordham the top play on the board as a home dog against Lafayette? Can North Dakota do it again after beating South Dakota State, or is the DakotaDome a letdown spot? Why is the Chattanooga at Western Carolina total only 45.5? Is Weber State really a 24.5-point dog in Bozeman? Who wins Albany at Rhode Island? We talk it all and more on this episode of The College Football Experience.
Storming The Field In Boone Before Kickoff
The guys recorded this one fresh off a road trip, and it shows in the best way. Colby Dant and Ryan McIntyre stormed the field at Kidd Brewer Stadium after the App State and JMU game. Then came a hunt for lost phones and a doorman who needed bribing. And it was the first trip to Kidd Brewer for Ryan McIntyre. He called it as good a stadium as any in the country, mountains and all. His co-host has it as a top 20 stadium in the country. Also, a big shout goes to John, who left the bar at 2 AM and drove all the way back to Youngstown.
So this is a throwback episode, rapid fire, with no slides. That is how the show ran for years, and it works fine for a slate this deep. The FBS games were already covered on the Wednesday show, so this one stays on the FCS card. The guys run through every game on the board with a side, then flag which ones they are actually betting. Their Pioneer League specialist is out until next week, when the slides and the normal structure come back. Also keep the picks page handy, because a couple of lines were missing at taping.
Fordham Leads The Noon Window
The first double lock of the day is Dayton laying four and a half against San Diego. The Flyers are 5-1 and the Tritons are 3-4, flying all the way to Ohio. San Diego won this matchup by 18 last year, but the guys call this a pure mileage play. Then it’s Albany plus five and a half at Rhode Island, another double lock. Rhode Island is 2-0 at home and blew out Albany last season. But the Great Danes have won two in a row and bring real physicality. So it’s a revenge spot, and the Albany moneyline at plus 150 looks live too.
St. Thomas laying three and a half at Marist is a clash of styles. The Tommies are 5-2 with the 16th-ranked offense in total yards, but they sit 91st on defense. Marist is the opposite, with a top 25 defense and an offense ranked 57th. St. Thomas also beat them 45-0 last year. Ryan McIntyre locks up the Tommies because they are one game back in conference and need this one. Then Stonehill gets a double lock at plus 115 on the moneyline, with Long Island laying two and a half. The guys think Stonehill might just be the better team.
Fordham might be the top play on the whole board. Lafayette is a one and a half point favorite, and the guys don’t think Lafayette is very good. And Fordham’s 2-6 record hides a brutal schedule. They upset William & Mary as heavy dogs and scored 52 doing it. Then they beat Richmond while the Spiders sat in first place. Their losses include Colgate, Stony Brook, Lehigh, Villanova and a 45-7 trip to Coastal Carolina. So it’s a double lock on Fordham. Valpo laying two and a half against Presbyterian is also a double lock, even though the Blue Hose won by 29 last year in Clinton.
The rest of the noon window is mostly leans. Wagner is 1-6, but plus 13 and a half is a lot in the NEC. And NEC games hardly ever turn into blowouts. Cornell laying one and a half against Brown feels like a letdown spot after the huge upset of Lehigh. So nobody bets it, because the line points to Brown. Campbell is 6-1 with the ninth-best offense in the country at 455 yards per game, laying 10 and a half against Maine. Then Bucknell plus nine and a half gets a fringe-lock tag, because neither side looks like much this year. Also, Jackson State laying seven and a half at Bethune-Cookman is a lean.
Fading North Dakota In The DakotaDome
Columbia is 4-1 with a top 25 offense and the No. 4 passing attack in the FCS. And yet the Lions are home dogs, with Dartmouth laying two and a half. That is a stinky line, and the guys read it as the book telling them to bet Dartmouth. So they bet Dartmouth. The game of the day might be North Dakota at South Dakota. North Dakota is 6-2 and coming off a 21-10 win over South Dakota State. But that is exactly the letdown spot the guys want. So it’s a double lock on the Coyotes laying two and a half in the DakotaDome.
Colgate and Richmond is a real Patriot League fight, and it splits the room. Colby Dant takes Colgate plus three and a half, while Ryan McIntyre rides his Spiders off their loss. Then the guys double lock The Citadel plus 18 and a half against Tennessee Tech. The Citadel already has an FBS win over Charlotte, and it beat South Carolina State too. Southern Illinois laying three and a half at home is another double lock, because Northern Iowa has been bad on the road. Mercyhurst plus six and a half at Robert Morris also gets locked up, since that number looks too big for Bobby Mo.
Tarleton State is No. 1 for the first time in program history and puts up 510 yards per game. West Georgia catches 23 and a half at home, and the guys split on it. Colby Dant lays the number, while Ryan McIntyre takes the Wolves and fades the new No. 1. Meanwhile VMI catches 34 and a half against East Tennessee State, and the points are the lean. VMI runs the triple option, so the clock should bleed. The under 58 and a half also gets a look. Monmouth laying 25 and a half at Hampton is a lean only. So is Stony Brook laying three and a half at Bryant.
Western Carolina Over Tops The FCS Week 8 Picks
The best bet of the FCS week is the over 45 and a half in Chattanooga at Western Carolina. A monsoon game two weeks ago finished 17-14, and then came a week off. So Colby Dant thinks the numbers on this one are skewed, and he calls the over a smash play. He is also betting Western Carolina minus two and a half, because the Catamounts are a different team at home. Western Carolina is back home with no hurricane in the way this time. And the side and the over are correlated, which makes the parlay an easy build.
Howard plus six and a half against Morgan State is a lock in the first MEAC league game. Morgan State is 5-2, but Howard is better than its 3-4 record. And the plus 200 moneyline is in play too. Then the room splits in Bozeman. Colby Dant locks Weber State plus 24 and a half. The other side points out the defending champs already got their loss out of the way. Texas Southern plus one and a half against Southern is a lock, because Chris Dishman’s team is desperate. Lindenwood laying 21 and a half against Chicago State is a double lock too.
Harvard is 5-0 and laying 10 and a half, which says the market thinks Princeton’s four-game win streak is phony. The guys don’t buy that, and it’s a double lock on the Tigers in a rivalry game. And South Dakota State laying 38 and a half against Murray State gets a double lock. Then Nicholls laying 10 and a half at 0-7 Northwestern State is a lock, even after a 56-0 loss. Lehigh laying five and a half against Villanova is a revenge double lock off last year’s playoff loss. William & Mary laying four and a half against Georgetown also gets locked up.
The late slate keeps the dogs coming. Utah Tech is 0-7, but plus 16 and a half at Cal Poly is too many, so that’s a double lock. Ryan McIntyre bets Southern Utah plus three and a half at Idaho and is not falling for the Vandals. He also bets Lamar minus 10 and a half on the bounce back against Houston Christian. Central Arkansas laying four and a half against UT Rio Grande is a lock. The visitors got drilled 41-16 by Incarnate Word last week. Then SE Louisiana gets a double lock at plus 21 and a half against 7-0 Stephen F. Austin. And SELA won the last meeting 24-23.
Portland State is the moneyline play for anyone hunting a price. The Vikings catch 14 and a half against Idaho State at plus 370, and Colby Dant is sprinkling that moneyline. He also likes the over 62 and a half. Idaho State has lost three in a row, so laying north of two touchdowns makes no sense to the guys. Northern Colorado plus eight and a half against UC Davis is a lean, with Davis allowing 454 yards a game. Then the last game of the day is Austin Peay at North Alabama. So the guys back North Alabama, because the number looks like too many.
Favorite Bets And A South Dakota Parlay
At the end, Ryan McIntyre goes square and names South Dakota State as his favorite bet. His co-host counters with the Coyotes and suggests a South Dakota parlay, which gets an immediate yes. Then Colby Dant circles back to the Western Carolina total at 45 and a half, his top play of the week. Next week the slides come back along with the normal structure. Also, the pregame show goes at 11 AM Eastern on Saturday, covering all the college football line movement. So every game on the card has a side, and the guys head off to watch the Friday night games.
Podcast Chapters
00:00 Download the SGPN App Today!
01:03 Throwback Night in Boone
07:03 San Diego vs. Dayton Picks
12:08 Albany vs. Rhode Island Picks
13:05 Wagner vs. Duquesne Picks
13:34 St. Thomas vs. Marist Picks
14:43 Cornell vs. Brown Picks
15:40 New Haven vs. Central Connecticut State Picks
17:00 Stonehill vs. Long Island Picks
17:43 New Hampshire vs. Merrimack Picks
18:26 Campbell vs. Maine Picks
19:25 Bucknell vs. Holy Cross Picks
20:08 Jackson State vs. Bethune-Cookman Picks
20:49 Presbyterian vs. Valpo Picks
21:30 Lafayette vs. Fordham Picks
23:02 Butler vs. Drake Picks
23:51 Norfolk State vs. South Carolina State Picks
24:56 Dartmouth vs. Columbia Picks
26:12 East Tennessee State vs. VMI Picks
26:57 Stony Brook vs. Bryant Picks
28:06 North Dakota vs. South Dakota Picks
29:08 Monmouth vs. Hampton Picks
29:40 Tarleton State vs. West Georgia Picks
31:05 Colgate vs. Richmond Picks
32:05 Tennessee Tech vs. The Citadel Picks
33:22 Northern Iowa vs. Southern Illinois Picks
34:02 Mercyhurst vs. Robert Morris Picks
34:50 Stetson vs. Morehead State Picks
35:13 Samford vs. Furman Picks
35:38 Chattanooga vs. Western Carolina Picks
36:27 Howard vs. Morgan State Picks
37:38 Indiana State vs. Illinois State Picks
37:57 Weber State vs. Montana State Picks
39:09 Arkansas Pine Bluff vs. Florida A&M Picks
39:47 Southern vs. Texas Southern Picks
40:30 Chicago State vs. Lindenwood Picks
41:02 SEMO vs. Eastern Illinois Picks
41:21 West Florida vs. Eastern Kentucky Picks
41:52 Princeton vs. Harvard Picks
42:52 Murray State vs. South Dakota State Picks
43:28 Nicholls vs. Northwestern State Picks
44:10 Charleston Southern vs. Tennessee State Picks
44:48 Lehigh vs. Villanova Picks
45:27 Georgetown vs. William & Mary Picks
46:13 Houston Christian vs. Lamar Picks
46:55 UT Martin vs. Western Illinois Picks
47:14 Utah Tech vs. Cal Poly Picks
48:34 McNeese State vs. Incarnate Word Picks
49:04 Southern Utah vs. Idaho Picks
50:05 UT Rio Grande vs. Central Arkansas Picks
50:46 SE Louisiana vs. Stephen F. Austin Picks
51:28 Portland State vs. Idaho State Picks
52:22 Northern Colorado vs. UC Davis Picks
52:54 Prairie View vs. East Texas A&M Picks
53:23 Austin Peay vs. North Alabama Picks
54:02 Rapid-Fire Wrap-Up
54:17 Favorite Bets: South Dakota State & Western Carolina Total
54:58 Sign-Off & Socials
