FCS College Football Week 9 Preview & Picks Recap
The College Football Experience on the Sports Gambling Podcast Network continues its FCS college football Week 9 preview and picks, with Pick Dundee (@TheColbyD) and Chris Van Dine (@ChrisV160) working the full slate while Ryan McIntyre (@Moneyline_Mac) sits this one out. Both guys double lock South Dakota State minus 5.5, and Pick Dundee calls it maybe the best play of the weekend.
Is this finally the week Harvard slips at Dartmouth? Can a winless Towson team cover 17.5 against Hampton? Is Delaware State the better team at The LINQ? Can UT Rio Grande stay perfect at home against Lamar? When does Montana State finally destroy somebody? We talk it all and more on this episode of The College Football Experience.
Who Runs The FCS Right Now
Colby Dant calls this the best week of elite games so far this season, and the slate backs him up. Chris Van Dine of Phil Steele Publications joins him in the booth. First, the guys argue about the top of the sport. Chris still power rates South Dakota State and Montana State as the top two teams. And he sticks with the Bobcats even though they keep struggling, because he thinks they will be battle tested when the lights come on. He also sees eight to 10 teams that could win it all. So the power still sits out west, with Tarleton the exception down in Texas. Meanwhile, the CAA and the SoCon are down, and Lehigh has stumbled in the Patriot League.
Before the picks, Colby sends condolences for June Jones, who passed away at 73. Jones was an innovator, and he came on the SGP shows many times after a cold call on a Mike Leach recommendation. Then he kept trading emails with Colby for months about life, Polynesian culture and why Colby should visit Hawaii. Colby remembers watching those Hawaii offenses in 2:00 a.m. games on the East Coast. He also credits Jones with getting SMU going, with Emmanuel Sanders among the receivers who reached the NFL. And he puts Jones next to Mouse Davis, Mike Leach and Hal Mumme as the minds who shaped how football looks everywhere today. So it is next play up, the way Coach Jones would want it.
Chennis Berry On Thursday, Dartmouth On Friday
South Carolina State opens the week on Thursday, and it is a real game. Chennis Berry brings a 6-2 team to Baltimore to face 5-3 Morgan State. The line moved from 6.5 when Colby built the slide to 7.5 by air time. But he still lays it, and he calls Berry one of the better coaches in the FCS. Chris likes South Carolina State too. He calls it a big conference game and decides to bet it before kickoff. Also working against Morgan State is last week’s overtime loss to Howard, which puts the Bears on the edge of a third straight loss.
Friday brings Harvard at Dartmouth, a rivalry that goes back to 1882, with Harvard laying 10.5 on ESPNU. Colby has faded the Crimson and watched them roll Princeton 35-7 and Holy Cross 30-7. So he goes back for a third try anyway. Chris joins him, and Dartmouth becomes the first double lock of the week. Because 10.5 is a lot of points in an Ivy League road game, Chris sees value on the home dog. Dartmouth also just won by 20 at an improved Columbia team. Then there is Charlie Smith, who has a 12-to-4 ratio and is playing about as well as Jaden Craig did last year. Even so, the guys do not think Harvard can keep this up in Hanover.
Penguins, Quakers And A Rivalry Split
Saturday opens with a Missouri Valley heavyweight at Stambaugh Stadium. Youngstown State lays 5.5 against North Dakota, and Colby lays it even though a field goal game would not shock him. A dome team traveling to Youngstown tips it for him, and so does Brungard as the best player on the field. Chris bets the Penguins too. North Dakota holds opponents 66 yards per game below their average, fourth in the country. But North Dakota averages 45 points a game at home and 27 on the road. Then Yale lays 7.5 at Columbia. Colby likes Columbia with no bet, while Chris bets Yale minus 7.5. His reason is that the Ivy has ended in a tie for the title five of the last six years.
Colby goes in on Penn to beat Brown outright. The Quakers have the top pass defense in the FCS, giving up about 139 yards a game. Chris adds that Brown quarterback James Murphy went into last week with zero touchdown passes and seven interceptions. So it is a double lock on the Quakers. Central Connecticut State lays 8.5 against Robert Morris after four straight wins, and Chris calls the number cheap. He sees a win by at least 10, so that one gets double locked too. Next, Merrimack lays 14.5 against Wagner, and the guys bet it. Duquesne dropped 52 on Wagner last week, and Colby is done with them.
The one real split comes in a rivalry dating to 1898. Colby locks Villanova minus 7.5 at Lafayette, because he thinks Nova has rediscovered who it is. The Wildcats won this game 59-0 last year. Chris locks Lafayette and the points instead. He notes the Leopards lost to Richmond by nine, Holy Cross by eight and Columbia by six. And a rivalry dog traditionally likes the points. Meanwhile, Holy Cross gets a double lock against 6-2 Richmond. Chris points to Dan Curran’s best team in his third year, with a good running game. Colby thinks the short line is telling you to take the Crusaders.
The Towson Hammer Leads FCS College Football Week 9 Picks
Chris could not wait to talk about Towson, an 0-8 team laying 17.5 to 1-7 Hampton, and Colby bets it with him. The Tigers are plus 57 yards per game in CAA play despite going winless. They lost to Monmouth by one, Stony Brook by seven and Campbell by four. Meanwhile, Hampton lost 49-13 to Monmouth and 44-20 to Campbell. So the teams Towson plays close are crushing Hampton, which is minus 150 yards per game in conference play. Hampton is also allowing a 14-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio. Chris calls it Towson’s one chance to win a game, and he expects a blowout. That makes it a double lock.
Chris also locks a total that Colby admires from a distance, VMI at Chattanooga under 47.5 with the Mocs favored by 35.5. VMI has the worst offense in the country at eight points and 191 yards a game. And Chattanooga plays like a triple-option team. The Mocs threw five passes in a 19-3 win over Samford and seven in a 41-7 win over Wofford. So the clock should never stop. Later, Colby talks himself into North Carolina A&T plus 10.5 against Elon at homecoming in Greensboro. He thinks A&T has basically won four straight, since Bryant needed 14 points in the final minute to steal a one-point win. Chris takes the points too.
The Leathernecks get a double lock as small dogs at Charleston Southern. Chris has been ahead on Western Illinois all year. He notes they have had at least a 100-yard edge on every opponent except Wisconsin and Illinois State. Quarterback Kennedy McGill has 890 rushing yards, and the team runs for 213 a game. Then Howard is a system play for Colby at plus 5.5 at NC Central, with a moneyline sprinkle on top. Chris joins so he does not leave him hanging, and it is another double lock. Next comes the Pioneer League call. Chris’s computer has St. Thomas beating Davidson 60-10, so the guys double lock the Tommies minus 27.5.
Late Window Locks And The Jackrabbits Smash Spot
The totals card is short, but the guys like what is on it. Western Carolina at Furman over 53.5 is a system play for Colby, since Western Carolina overs have been fire outside of the hurricane weeks. Western’s defense ranks 113th in the FCS, and Chris joins him on the over. Also, Furman’s Clay Hendrix has announced he is retiring after this season, so Chris thinks Furman plays inspired. Then the guys double lock the over 59.5 in Northern Arizona at Southern Utah. Southern Utah is rushing for 266 a game, and Northern Arizona allows 453 yards a game. Last year’s meeting topped 100 points, so the over makes sense.
Delaware State gets 3.5 against Norfolk State in Philadelphia, and the guys double lock the Hornets with a moneyline lean. Colby thinks Delaware State is simply the better football team. Chris adds that Norfolk State’s four wins came against Winston-Salem, Hampton, Chicago State and Virginia Lynchburg. Utah Tech is another double lock at plus 18.5 against Idaho State in St. George. Chris doubts Idaho State covers with Montana State and Montana on deck. Then The Citadel gets 17.5 at Mercer, and both of them lock the Bulldogs. Because Mercer leans on the run, the clock should keep bleeding.
Alabama A&M is a double lock in the Magic City Classic at Legion Field. Alabama State quarterback Andrew Bodie got hurt in the third game of the year with a wrist injury and has been out since. Chris’s computer loves A&M, and its last four weeks of game grades have the Bulldogs by 27.3. Colby goes further and thinks A&M wins the Celebration Bowl. But the strongest words go to South Dakota State minus 5.5 against South Dakota in Brookings. The Jackrabbits already lost their other rivalry game to North Dakota State, and they lost this one last year. So Colby calls it a smash spot, maybe the best play of the weekend. Chris double locks it with him.
The Pioneer prophet strikes again with San Diego minus 3.5 against Marist, a mileage play that becomes a double lock. Chris also locks Central Arkansas plus 1.5 against North Alabama, and Colby sides with the Bears. Then Eastern Kentucky gets 25.5 at Tarleton with Abilene Christian on deck for the top team in the land, and the guys double lock the Colonels. Colby also bets UT Rio Grande plus 5.5 against Lamar, since Rio Grande has won all 10 home games since joining the FCS. Finally, the last split of the night is Cal Poly plus 26.5 at Montana State. Colby locks Cal Poly, while Chris lays it because one of these days Montana State is going to destroy somebody.
Podcast Chapters
00:00 Download the SGPN App Today!
00:55 Top Teams: South Dakota State and Montana State
07:15 Remembering June Jones
10:57 South Carolina State vs. Morgan State Picks
12:32 Harvard vs. Dartmouth Picks
19:48 Sacred Heart vs. Stony Brook Picks
21:46 Duquesne vs. New Haven Picks
22:36 North Dakota vs. Youngstown State Picks
24:56 Yale vs. Columbia Picks
27:21 Cornell vs. Princeton Picks
29:00 Bucknell vs. Lehigh Picks
31:08 Penn vs. Brown Picks
32:29 Mercyhurst vs. Stonehill Picks
33:41 Campbell vs. Albany Picks
36:18 Robert Morris vs. Central Connecticut State Picks
38:42 Maine vs. Rhode Island Picks
40:29 Wagner vs. Merrimack Picks
41:35 Villanova vs. Lafayette Picks
43:25 Bryant vs. Monmouth Picks
45:00 Richmond vs. Holy Cross Picks
46:26 VMI vs. Chattanooga Picks
48:37 Hampton vs. Towson Picks
51:51 Elon vs. North Carolina A&T Picks
55:03 Butler vs. Presbyterian Picks
55:46 Drake vs. Morehead State Picks
56:40 Dayton vs. Stetson Picks
57:05 William & Mary vs. Colgate Picks
59:25 Northwestern State vs. Incarnate Word Picks
1:01:04 Tennessee State vs. Lindenwood Picks
1:01:46 Indiana State vs. Northern Iowa Picks
1:03:25 Western Illinois vs. Charleston Southern Picks
1:05:04 Howard vs. NC Central Picks
1:06:11 Murray State vs. Illinois State Picks
1:07:01 Western Carolina vs. Furman Picks
1:09:18 Davidson vs. St. Thomas Picks
1:10:46 Gardner-Webb vs. SEMO Picks
1:13:12 Nicholls vs. McNeese State Picks
1:14:45 UC Davis vs. Weber State Picks
1:16:26 Bethune-Cookman vs. Arkansas Pine Bluff Picks
1:17:25 Idaho State vs. Utah Tech Picks
1:21:37 Delaware State vs. Norfolk State Picks
1:24:13 Southern vs. Florida A&M Picks
1:25:47 Northern Arizona vs. Southern Utah Picks
1:27:40 Houston Christian vs. Stephen F. Austin Picks
1:28:34 The Citadel vs. Mercer Picks
1:29:54 Alcorn State vs. Mississippi Valley State Picks
1:31:12 Cal Poly vs. Montana State Picks
1:33:13 Eastern Illinois vs. UT Martin Picks
1:33:50 Tennessee Tech vs. ETSU Picks
1:35:17 Alabama State vs. Alabama A&M Picks
1:38:41 South Dakota vs. South Dakota State Picks
1:40:25 Idaho vs. Portland State Picks
1:41:49 Marist vs. San Diego Picks
1:42:33 West Georgia vs. Abilene Christian Picks
1:43:22 SE Louisiana vs. Commerce Picks
1:44:08 North Alabama vs. Central Arkansas Picks
1:45:27 Eastern Kentucky vs. Tarleton Picks
1:46:20 Wofford vs. Samford Picks
1:47:41 Lamar vs. UT Rio Grande Picks
1:49:36 Grambling vs. Texas Southern Picks
1:50:38 Sign-Off & Socials
