A Sea Of Red

As we put another year of spring football in the rear view mirror, we look ahead to next fall, where Liberty looks to earn its first outright Big SOuth title since 2008.

We kick things off with a look at the 2015 schedule, including my predictions

09/05 Delaware State
This is the first time Liberty opens the season at home since that championship season in 08, and they open with the Hornets from the MEAC for the first time since 2001 (I believe Ken Karcher was coach at that point...or was it Sam Rutigliano...anyway). DSU finished 2-10 in 2014 and got blasted by Big South newcomer Monmouth in their opener. I expect more of the same this year.

Liberty 38
Delaware State 17

09/12 @ West Virginia
This is the second meeting between the Flames and the Mountaineers, after first meeting in Morgantown in 2009. WVU now a member of the Big 12, won that meeting 33-20 as Flames fans were introduced to Mike Brown, now a wide receiver with the Carolina Panthers. If Liberty can keep from a meltdown similar to the one against North Carolina last year, I think they can keep this one close. I will go with the Mountaineers by two scores

Liberty 24
West Virginia 38

09/19 Montana
This probably is the biggest game in Williams Stadium...ever. The two time national champs complete a home and home with the Flames after LU lost in Missoula in 2012, where Flames fans got their first look at the young man who has a chance to break the all-time passing yards record this season (more on that next week). I expect a record crowwd in Williams Stadium for this one. Im picking the Griz here, but I really would not be shocked with a Flames victory here

Liberty 31
Montana 34

09/26 @ Southern Illinois

The Flames make their second trip to a Missouri Valley opponent as they head to face the Salukis. If the Flames pull off the upset over the Griz, they will have a ton of momentum heading out to Carbondale. Flames fans can only hope the boys don't have another letdown like last year. Im picking the Flames in a close one

Liberty 28
Southern Illinois 24

10/03 @ Georgia State
The Flames enter into the second year of their "Two FBS per Year" plan in 2015, as they face one of the worst FBS programs in the country (and FFG's former employer) in Atlanta. The only win for the Panthers in 2014 came against another FCS program, Abilene Christian. The Flames split their FBS games last year, and I will pick Liberty to complete the split once again, in a close game (even as bad as GSU may be)

Liberty 35
Georgia State 32

10/10 @ Gardner-Webb
he Flames open Big South play (again) with the Runnin Bulldogs, who they crushed in Lynchburg. Liberty has not lost to GWU since 2006, a span of 8 consecutive meetings. The Flames send the Runnin Bulldogs walking home to Boiling Springs with their 9th straight loss

Liberty 31
Gardner-Webb 7

10/17 @ Monmouth
The Flames make their first (I believe ever) trip to New Jersey to face the Hawks, who gave the Flames a real test in Lynchburg last season. The Hawks do lose a lot of firepower from last year, but the Flames have traditionally not done well in their first road game against new Big South members, losing to Stony Brook in 2009 and Presbyterian in 2008 (a game that still painful to bring up among Flames fans). I will go with the Flames thanks to a late John Lunsford field goal

Liberty 21
Monmouth 19

10/24 Kennesaw State (Homecoming)

The brand new Big South program (and brand new program in general) makes a trip to Lynchburg to serve as the traditional Homecoming opponent. The Owls will be going through the typical first year growing pains, and Liberty will only add to those pains in front of another huge alumni crowd. Flames win big

Liberty 49
Kennesaw State 14

11/07 vs. Presbyterian

Liberty has dominated the series with the Blue Hose since they restarted in 2007 (save the aforementioned 2008 game), holding PC to 3 scores or less in all but 2 of those meetings. PC has not won in Lynchburg since the original series in the pre D1 days, and Liberty keeps the ball rolling.

Liberty 38
Presbyterian 17

11/14 @ Charleston Southern

The Bucs finally snapped Liberty's long winning streak with an upset victory in Lynchburg. Jamey Chadwell has those boys heading in the right direction, although they do lose top RB Christian Reyes. Im picking the Flames in a close one, but another less than stellar non-conference schedule probably puts CSU is another win or else situation in the eyes of the selection committee (much like Liberty has been in over the years)

Liberty 35
Charleston Southern 31

11/21 Coastal Carolina

This one will probably be the winner-take-all game for the Big South AQ and if both teams take care of business, the winner will be the undisputed Big South champion. Liberty got some much needed revenge knocking off the #1 (at the time) Chanticleers in Myrtle Beach, and after exorcising some much needed demons, Liberty gets the win and heads off to another playoff run (#nosharing2015)

Liberty 17
COastal Carolina 14

Prediction: 9-2
9 wins is certainly possible with this bunch, but there is a lot less room for error, especially after the success of last season. 7 or 8 wins is possible as well, if the Flames have a WTF game late in the year, much like the CSU game last year. as long as Liberty takes care of business, they will have a ton of momentum heading into what will probably be another knock down, drag out heavyweight war with the Beach Chickens.

Well Done BJ. The story line for the season, will end up being what it was last year, and the year before that and the year before that. #BeatCoastal

I'm saying we go 8-3 Next year if we don't have a WTF game in conference. I want to believe we can go 2-2 in the 4 game gauntlet of WVU, Montana, SIU and GSU but I just dont see it happening. I see us going 1-3 with a win over either GSU or SIU. More likely SIU. and heaven forbid we go 0-4 in that stretch.

COntrary to some, despite the loss last year, I do not think CSU has passed us by. They are improving that is for sure, but they are probably a year away maybe two from being a regular player for the Big South AQ. CSU has beaten EITHER Coastal or LU, but never both, and often loses to both. The only way they are going to take that next step is if they manage to beat both CCU and LU in the same year, and on a regular basis. I really would not be surprised if we ran the Bucs out of their "high school" stadium as payback for last year, but Im picking a close result because anything can happen on any given Saturday

The only game on the schedule that i believe we have less than a 50-50 shot at winning is in Morgantown. Having Coastal & the Grizz at home is huge. Frankly the SIU game scares me more than Georgia State.

Sly Fox wrote:The only game on the schedule that i believe we have less than a 50-50 shot at winning is in Morgantown. Having Coastal & the Grizz at home is huge. Frankly the SIU game scares me more than Georgia State.

MVFC is probably the top conference in FCS at this juncture (thanks in large part to NDSU) so I would agree with your assessment of the SIU game. If we can learn from the experience in Terre Haute, we could get a very quality win for our resume

Sly Fox wrote:The only game on the schedule that i believe we have less than a 50-50 shot at winning is in Morgantown. Having Coastal & the Grizz at home is huge. Frankly the SIU game scares me more than Georgia State.

Absolutely agree. I wouldn't be surprised if we beat Georgia State by 20. If we beat SIU, it will be close. If they beat us, it could get ugly. SIU went .500 last season with a fairly young roster. They have this dual threat QB that will be a nightmare for our defense. Their biggest problem last season is that they took forever to generate any offense. If they can score earlier, they could really turn a corner.

Montana is definitely beatable but I think we'll need to play a near perfect game to win.

I would say we finish 8-3.

We have shown an ability to comport ourselves well against dual threat QBs (except that Pat White guy in the WVU game in 2009), but I do think that will be a stern test for our front 7 and their assignment responsibility. I don't think it will be a "nightmare", but it will be a challenge.

BJWilliams wrote:We have shown an ability to comport ourselves well against dual threat QBs (except that Pat White guy in the WVU game in 2009), but I do think that will be a stern test for our front 7 and their assignment responsibility. I don't think it will be a "nightmare", but it will be a challenge.

We never played Pat White. We played Jarrett Brown.

Sly Fox wrote:The only game on the schedule that i believe we have less than a 50-50 shot at winning is in Morgantown. Having Coastal & the Grizz at home is huge. Frankly the SIU game scares me more than Georgia State.

I disagree. Right now, I've got us as underdogs against WVU, Montana, SIU, Georgia State, and Coastal. Charleston Southern will be tough as well.

We will be underdogs against GSU by default more than likely due to their being an FBS. Coastal will be a pick em or no more than a 2 point spread either way

Greetings from Sweet Home Alabama! I appreciate you guys allowing me to join in on the discussion and look forward to my first year of LU football.

As for Ga St., I wouldn't worry too much. They are an extremely weak FBS program. The school I attended for my undergrad, Jacksonville State, has played them 3 times and won each meeting. I plan on going to the game at The Dome and see no reason we can't outnumber their fans (usually 8k on a great day) and come away with a W!

I say we go 9-2 or 10-1.

Welcome AlabamaFlame!

bluejacket wrote:

Sly Fox wrote:The only game on the schedule that i believe we have less than a 50-50 shot at winning is in Morgantown. Having Coastal & the Grizz at home is huge. Frankly the SIU game scares me more than Georgia State.

I disagree. Right now, I've got us as underdogs against WVU, Montana, SIU, Georgia State, and Coastal. Charleston Southern will be tough as well.

Agree with all of this except Georgia State. That team is beyond awful. I doubt they would finish .500 if they only played FCS schools. They have absolutely no running game and their defense is absolutely terrible.

Hard to imagine how anyone would favor Georgia State over us. A couple of weeks after we beat App State in Boone, they demolished Georgia State 44-0. They are a FBS program in name only, as is the case with Troy, and another team or 2 in the SBC.

looking at that schedule 8-3 any way we do it is an at large right?

as long as we have zero bad losses I would think it would be enough

We would need the Big South as a whole to be strong in OOC like last year. For us to be an at large, we would have to lose at least one in conference and then drop two others. Then we would need whoever we beat in non-conference to be better than they were last year with the exception of Montana. Of course a win over the Mountaineers in an 8-3 season is probably enough to get us in. But I really don't like bringing those into the equation until it is a reality,

Georgia State will be better next season. They got annihilated in several games last season, but they also showed flashes of improvement and have improved each season under Trent Miles. Miles is fighting for his HC job and cannot afford a loss to us on homecoming. The timing of the game is also unfavorable to us: Georgia State is coming off of a bye week, they will have played 3 FBS games including Oregon and will be fully ready unlike last year's opener against ACU. We will be coming off of three tough games including a trip to Carbondale the week before. I think that we will win, but it will be much tougher than expected.

I think if the result is more than a TD margin in a win for us, I would be shocked, even as bad as the Panthers have been

bluejacket wrote:Georgia State will be better next season. They got annihilated in several games last season, but they also showed flashes of improvement and improvement each season under Trent Miles. Miles is fighting for his HC job and cannot afford a loss to us on homecoming. The timing of the game is also unfavorable to us: Georgia State is coming off of a bye week, they will have played 3 FBS games including Oregon and will be fully ready unlike last year's opener against ACU. We will be coming off of three tough games including a trip to Carbondale the week before. I think that we will win, but it will be much tougher than expected.

????? So, you changed your mind? In your earlier post you had them on the list of teams you had us as underdogs against.

olldflame wrote:????? So, you changed your mind? In your earlier post you had them on the list of teams you had us as underdogs against.

Nope. Sometimes underdogs win.

Example: Every FCS team that has beaten an FBS (save NDSU)