A Sea Of Red

Good win. Offense looked good. Defense looked good. Special teams so-so. Students stayed pretty late.

Josh still has issues with touch on the deep ball. he hits a couple of those he goes for 400+

DJ is becoming a warrior at the feature back

I said it in the game thread but Dexter Herman is a human sportscenter highlight

Jacob Hagen is everywhere...

Good to see Jon Lunsford get that field goal early and break the record...as SJ said...he can be a weapon a la Bevins for us

When was the last time we beat a top 25 at the Bill??

Elon?? Maybe

BJWilliams wrote:Josh still has issues with touch on the deep ball. he hits a couple of those he goes for 400+

DJ is becoming a warrior at the feature back

I said it in the game thread but Dexter Herman is a human sportscenter highlight

Jacob Hagen is everywhere...

Good to see Jon Lunsford get that field goal early and break the record...as SJ said...he can be a weapon a la Bevins for us

DJ was awesome...great play-making ability.

Lunsford's big leg....great weapon, but accuracy issues remain. I would trade one for the other. However, at some point the next two years I hope he gets a shot to break the NCAA record. You never know....he just might do it.

LU really looked like a playoff caliber team, especially during the first 22 minutes or so. Hopefully that will impress the poll voters.

Good game but the game was much closer then it should've been. We aren't even close to reaching our potential. Which is encouraging.

Ball has to be spotted in minus territory (own 47 to be precise) to have a chance at the NCAA record

jlread wrote:When was the last time we beat a top 25 at the Bill??

Stony Brook two years ago.

Have to go back a bit more for a non conference top 25 at home I believe (was elon ranked in 08 when we beat them?)

SuperJon wrote:

jlread wrote:When was the last time we beat a top 25 at the Bill??

Stony Brook two years ago.

That seems false because someone else posted we hadn't played a top 25 at the bill since 2011!!?!? So confused

They were who we thought they were.

This could be a great team if we can just get out special teams figured out.

I believe whoever posted that was referring to non conference jlread

Its also our first win over an undefeated team (minimum 3 wins) since 1997

Gamer:

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

Notes:

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

jbock13 wrote:They were who we thought they were.

Yep. Just an above average NEC team. And if they don't win their autobid, they aren't making the playoffs.

They do not have the horses to get into a shootout with even an above average offense. if not for a couple special teams faux pas, this game is a complete blowout

Postgame thoughts:

Offense is looking better by the week. Much better playcalling and overall play. Some passes lack accuracy and touch, but most of them should be caught. Henderson seems to be getting on track. The running game was solid. We need to keep playing like this in games where the competition is better. Take out the penalties and this is a pretty good effort.

Defense is looking worse by the week. Schematically, we are fine. However, there are some major missed assignments and very poor tackling. A lot of the same problems that happened against Brevard crept up again. Bryant has a below average FCS offense, but they had stretches where they were moving the ball well against us.

Special teams have also regressed. Parker looks shakier by the week. Lunsford is back to his old self. As far as I'm concerned, there is no reason to put him in except on kickoffs and 45+ yard attempts. Let Echols take the short ones.

BJWilliams wrote:They do not have the horses to get into a shootout with even an above average offense. if not for a couple special teams faux pas, this game is a complete blowout

That's NEC football. With 40 scholarships, you run out of gas quickly and have little margin for error. It's one of the reasons why NEC teams aren't resume builders for the playoffs and will never be.

Here's our photo gallery from the win - http://www.libertyflamesnation.com/phot ... vs-bryant/

This was the first win at Williams Stadium against a ranked opponent since the 2012 game against Stony Brook.

This was the first matchup of 2 ranked opponents at Williams Stadium since the 2011 game against Coastal.

Bryant HC had a really entertaining postgame interview. Among the highlights...

On Liberty getting out to a big lead: "That was part of our strategy. We wanted them to go up and down the field a few times and wear them out, and then we would have them right where we want them." (said with obvious sarcasm)

On Josh Woodrum: "I've coached a lot of good players. He is the best FCS player I've ever seen. I wasn't surprised by him, but I appreciate what he can do. You know, we took a group of sophomores to Rome a couple years back, and we went to the Louvre. It's like when you see great art: you're not surprised by DaVinci, but you admire it and appreciate it."

To a Bryant staffer: "How long have we been DI?"
Staffer: "Six years, Coach."
Back to reporter: "So we've been DI like five or six years..."

2 things:

If Josh can get the timing worked out on his deep ball, he could really take the next step toward being one of the top QBs in the country. if not for those overthrows he probably joins the 400+ club (only two QBs in school history have done that)

I think we may need to retain a sports psychologist to get to the bottom of lunsford's problem...he doinks one in from 57 and breaks the school record, then misses from 35.

While it was not without its flaws, this was a quality win against a ranked FCS opponent. Time will tell whether Bryant should have been ranked, but the fact is they were. Being able to get this good a result while leaving a lot on the table bodes well for the potential of this team.

Bryant only has 27 scholarships, FWIW.

Here's the Sunday wrap:

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