Liberty vs. Jacksonville State picks, best bets for Week 7 matchup

The Liberty Flames take on the Jacksonville State Gamecocks in a Conference USA matchup in Week 7 of the college football season. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, October 10. The Flames and the Gamecocks both sit atop the Conference USA standings, undefeated in conference play, and will battle it out for the sole top spot here.

Liberty (5-0, 3-0 CUSA) is one of the few remaining undefeated teams in college football, a title that becomes more and more difficult to own by the week. They finished Week 6 with a 21-16 victory over Sam Houston. This was the closest-scoring game yet for the Flames, who have won every other game this season by double digits. Running back Quinton Cooley has continued to excel and finished the day with 106 rushing yards and a touchdown, marking his third 100-yard game of the season.

Jacksonville State (5-1, 3-0 CUSA) does not look like a team in its first year of FBS. They have just one loss under their belts, and have been rolling through Conference USA this season. The Gamecocks have started Logan Smothers at quarterback for most of the season, but pulled him in favor of Zion Webb in last week’s win over MTSU. Webb finished the day with two passing touchdowns, 101 rushing yards, and one rushing touchdown. Smothers has five passing touchdowns, five rushing touchdowns, and one interception on his resume this season.

Here’s everything you need to know and a pick for the game.

SP+ Rankings

Liberty: 72 overall, 66 offense, 67 defense
Jax State: 96 overall, 106 offense, 77 defense

Injury update

Liberty

RB Billy Lucas - Questionable (undisclosed)
WR Noah Frith - Questionable (undisclosed)

Jax State

RB Ron Wiggins - Out (chest)

ATS/Total

Against The Spread in 2023

Liberty: 4-1 ATS
Jax State: 4-1-1 ATS

Total in 2023

Liberty: Over 2-3
Jax State: Over 2-4

Team Pace

Liberty: 28.9 seconds per play
Jax State: 20.2 seconds per play

Odds at DraftKings Sportsbook

Spread: Liberty -6.5
Total: 58.5
Moneyline: Liberty -258, Jacksonville State +210

Weather

70°F, Cloudy, 0% chance of rain, 2 MPH winds

Our Best Bet for Liberty vs. Jacksonville State

Jacksonville State +6.5

This is a decent spread for a Jacksonville State home game. The Gamecocks have two excellent options at quarterback, and have not flinched as underdogs this season. After Liberty let Sam Houston hang around last week, I think we’re going to see a tight finish in this Tuesday matchup as these teams battle it out for reign of C-USA.