[jbock13]

I'm not overly concerned about the defense, especially how well they played in the first two games.

[bluejacket]

It is smart to simplify the gameplan for an opponent like this, even though it is possible that we could face an option offense in the playoffs.

Its still no excuse for lack of effort, toughness, and intelligence. Those are the simplest, most fundamental things in football.

[BJWilliams]

To underscore bluejacket's point, i mentioned this in another thread but here is what we know for 2016:

Home
Gardner-Webb
Monmouth
Charleston Southern

Away
Kennesaw State
Presbyterian
Coastal Carolina
Virginia Tech
Mid-level FBS

[bluejacket]

I don't doubt that. The students will always be there because of the social aspect of it. We are losing the casual Lynchburg resident unless we play in state or Coastal.

The fanbase needs quality name games; "Who's Bryant???" Our student attendance drops significantly when we play any Big South team outside of Coastal. Everyone, especially the hardcore students who rally the campus for games, is sick of watching beat downs of hapless opponents that they don't care about.

When we play good opponents, attendance is one of the best in FCS. Reward the ones who come; they're the future.

I agree...as I said above though, Montana is a good start

Awesome. As of right now, we'll have two home games with 18,000+ in attendance next season.....Coastal and Montana. The rest will have 12,000.

[JakeP50]

Keeping the defense simple does make sense but it was awful to watch. The student section was packed until about 5-10 minutes into the third. I was honestly surprised to see that, but I had no problems with it.

[jimflamesfan]

I don't doubt that. The students will always be there because of the social aspect of it. We are losing the casual Lynchburg resident unless we play in state or Coastal.

The fanbase needs quality name games; "Who's Bryant???" Our student attendance drops significantly when we play any Big South team outside of Coastal. Everyone, especially the hardcore students who rally the campus for games, is sick of watching beat downs of hapless opponents that they don't care about.

When we play good opponents, attendance is one of the best in FCS. Reward the ones who come; they're the future.

BRYANT is 3-0 and with wins over Maine and Stoney Brook. I hope our students realize that the next game will be a battle.

[BJWilliams]

Like I said...a good start. we basically have three more home games to fill in 2016 so we will see where they go with those, and 2017 is basically an empty canvas.

[Cider Jim]

It was fun seeing how creative our students got in the stands. Several students wore white face paint trimmed in red and blue and called themselves "Jerry's Jokers."

Another group dressed in suits and work masks of the presidents--I saw masks of Reagan, Lincoln, and Obama, among others.

Several students were waving large American flags.

And one guy wore a horse's head.

[jimflamesfan]

I have several friends who didn't come to this game but told me they would show up for Richmond.

LuckyDucky...please tell your friends that BRYANT is 3-0 with wins over Maine and Stony Brook and that it will be a battle. It would be nice to have them at the game next week!

[bluejacket]

BRYANT is 3-0 and with wins over Maine and Stoney Brook. I hope our students realize that the next game will be a battle.

Bryant's wins against Maine and Stony Brook are much better than our wins this season and they deserve to be ranked this week.

That said, there are two things to keep in mind. Stony Brook didn't have Marcus Coker (the engine of their entire offense) when they played them in their opener. Maine was pretty beat up from playing Norfolk State when Bryant played them at home for their Homecoming and Reunion Weekend yesterday. It was a classic trap game for Maine.

[jimflamesfan]

Yes. The student side was awesome. They left around the 3rd quarter...but a lot of schools have fans leave early.

The Baptist side wasn't that bad...the visitor's section was basically empty...since most people know that the last section is going to be empty...the end closest to the Football Operations Center...when television shows the score, why not turn the camara to the left 10 yards...it would look much better. Nothing like highlighting the empty section. Also, when the student side was full, they didn't get a whole lot of shots of the crowd. There were just a couple of good ones. But the student side was full at one point.

I thought the band's stand music was great. They added a couple of new songs and dances. They were really loud.

I thought halftime was OK. I love the band...I enjoyed the colorguard thing with the yellow balloons. Songs were pretty good. I am not a fan of flute or melophone solos...just blast me in the face with brass and percussion...but hopefully the show will grow on me...

The four or five presidents in the first row next to the 25 yard line were hilarious.

How about the guy getting cheers for his lip-syncing in the 3rd quarter?

I thought Woodrum had a great game. The offense played well. Defense will need to tighten up!

It was nice to see a good mix of pass and run plays!

[JakeP50]

It was fun seeing how creative our students got in the stands. Several students wore white face paint trimmed in red and blue and called themselves "Jerry's Jokers."

Another group dressed in suits and work masks of the presidents--I saw masks of Reagan, Lincoln, and Obama, among others.

Several students were waving large American flags.

And one guy wore a horse's head.

"Jerry's Jokers" were AWESOME. The "Sparkle Squad" was pretty great too (3 guys and 3 girls covered their whole bodies in red, white, or blue glitter paint)

[EL_YU]

Glad we won, but on the defensive side, it seemed like a moral defeat. I guess it's a good thing this lapse happened against Brevard rather than someone who would've beaten us.

Love all the comments on the Jerry's Jokers! Those guys are awesome! They're from my dorm and they always bring it come gameday

[From the class of 09]

I don't doubt that. The students will always be there because of the social aspect of it. We are losing the casual Lynchburg resident unless we play in state or Coastal.

If it's a d1 school I'm there but I've got other thing to do then watch lib beat a d2 school. That makes a difference at least to this local alumn.

[BJWilliams]

Looking at Bryant's schedule, while they probably will still be ranked by virtue of being 3-0, their wins are over a d2 (Merrimack) a down Stony Brook who didnt have their best player as you noted (who btw had a very pedestrian day against a sub d1 yesterday) and a Maine squad who, despite being defending CAA champions, has not looked the part in the first two games (scoring 20 points). This game in Lynchburg will really be the test of how good they are I think.

That is not to say that Liberty's 1 D1 win is that much better, but the Bulldogs are not far and away better through 6 combined games. they have scored 26 combined points in their 2 D1 games. Liberty scored 29 the first D1 game of the season. if we can get out to a fast start like we did last night this week, I think we win easily. Bryant does not, I would reckon, want a ton of scoring because they just do not have the horses to put up 50 points should we score 49.

[BJWilliams]

Having been to liberty games for about 12 years, and seeing how much the gameday experience has changed in the last 5-8 years...I agree with you BYD. I have now seen presidents, superheroes, marriage proposals and now with these interesting body paint jobs...being weird must be the way to go

[SuperJon]

Like I said...a good start. we basically have three more home games to fill in 2016 so we will see where they go with those, and 2017 is basically an empty canvas.

We know you said it. Stop repeating it.

[SuperJon]

The more I'm around this program, the more I realize this:

Liberty students don't like football, they like being weird. Football games give them an opportunity to be extra weird, and do it on tv.

We have a ton of people who want to be seen.

[Chippy]

I don't doubt that. The students will always be there because of the social aspect of it. We are losing the casual Lynchburg resident unless we play in state or Coastal.

The place started to clear out at halftime and dwindled throughout the evening. At least we got 2 Q of fury

[thepostman]

We are FCS and not an FCS program that has had any real success. I get annoyed with the student section at times too but I know why they are the way they are. If we ever have any success then things will change some, that is just how it is. This also isn't a Liberty problem it is a problem FBS schools are having too.

[SuperJon]

We are FCS and not an FCS program that has had any real success. I get annoyed with the student section at times too but I know why they are the way they are. If we ever have any success then things will change some, that is just how it is. This also isn't a Liberty problem it is a problem FBS schools are having too.

I just wish there was a way to take the crowd and turn them into fans. It's more than success and better opponents. I don't know what it will take, but I wish we could figure it out.

For the record, I'm extremely glad the students are there and that they are the way they are while they're there. I'm just at the point where I'm ready for us to take a next step.

[BJWilliams]

The thing is...nobody wants to play us in Lynchburg beyond Richmond here in a couple weeks, and I don't doubt they will want out of town as fast as possible after the game is over (especially should the Flames win). We could get Hampton, but I doubt VMI wants to go back now that they dont have to. At this point the only way a lot of other teams entertain coming here is if JB and JFJR take a page from the president's playbook and go on an apology tour. Make peace (or begin to) with the Woffords, Furmans, William and Marys and these teams that would really draw the fans out to Lynchburg on a Saturday afternoon or evening

[Purple Haize]

The thing is...nobody wants to play us in Lynchburg beyond Richmond here in a couple weeks, and I don't doubt they will want out of town as fast as possible after the game is over (especially should the Flames win). We could get Hampton, but I doubt VMI wants to go back now that they dont have to. At this point the only way a lot of other teams entertain coming here is if JB and JFJR take a page from the president's playbook and go on an apology tour. Make peace (or begin to) with the Woffords, Furmans, William and Marys and these teams that would really draw the fans out to Lynchburg on a Saturday afternoon or evening

That's not the dumbest idea ever but it does warrant an honorable mention. They can 'apologise' all they want but it won't matter. Scheduling is more than that. EVERYONE wants to play at home so that's a strike. Few if anyone want to come to Lynchburg for any reason. They need solid economic type reasons and even then it's sketchy. JMU has a solid alumni base in Lynchburg and they have proven they will come out. But JMU is being obstinate. Now that VMI isn't in conference that would be a nice Home and Home series. Solid alumni base as well that would show.
I'm not sure what any apology would do. Now, making personal visits and appeals may work. While I understand the dynamics of scheduling, it is a little concerning that after all these years we have not been able to form relationships or connections that would alleviate some of the difficulties.

[BJWilliams]

The thing is...nobody wants to play us in Lynchburg beyond Richmond here in a couple weeks, and I don't doubt they will want out of town as fast as possible after the game is over (especially should the Flames win). We could get Hampton, but I doubt VMI wants to go back now that they dont have to. At this point the only way a lot of other teams entertain coming here is if JB and JFJR take a page from the president's playbook and go on an apology tour. Make peace (or begin to) with the Woffords, Furmans, William and Marys and these teams that would really draw the fans out to Lynchburg on a Saturday afternoon or evening

That's not the dumbest idea ever but it does warrant an honorable mention. They can 'apologise' all they want but it won't matter. Scheduling is more than that. EVERYONE wants to play at home so that's a strike. Few if anyone want to come to Lynchburg for any reason. They need solid economic type reasons and even then it's sketchy. JMU has a solid alumni base in Lynchburg and they have proven they will come out. But JMU is being obstinate. Now that VMI isn't in conference that would be a nice Home and Home series. Solid alumni babes as well that would show.
I'm not sure what any apology would do. Now, making personal visits and appeals may work. While I understand the dynamics of scheduling, it is a little concerning that after all these years we have not been able to form relationships or connections that would alleviate some of the difficulties.

the bold is a much better way to word it, but that was what I was going for. Id love to sit down with JB and JFJR and just find out about the scheduling difficulties and if it really is as bad (if not worse) as has been discussed on here. obviously with ODU in their first year of FBS se wont get them here but I do think going to schools within our regional footprint for sitdowns with the president AND AD would be a good step...and I also wonder why this sort of thing has not happened already

[Chris Lang]

Sunday wrap:

http://www.newsadvance.com/sports/liber ... b2370.html