Anything and everything about Liberty Flames football. Your comments on games, recruiting and the direction of the program as we move into new era.

Moderators: jcmanson, Sly Fox, BuryYourDuke, Class of 20Something

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By FlamesHighontheTide
Registration Days Posts
#555390
I watched the NMSU bowl game and they were effective on offense and good enough on defense to beat Utah St. I see us beating New Mexico because they are not very good on both sides of the ball. I think the distance factor for NMSU and the cold weather in Lynchburg during Thanksgiving weekend help us get the W and avenge the loss at NMSU. I really feel like our defense will be better and allow us to win 6 or 7 games. Anything less than 4 wins and I will be disappointed.
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By Purple Haize
Registration Days Posts
#555394
Cider Jim wrote:But it does give you more scholarshipped players.
Yes. And?
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By Cider Jim
Registration Days Posts
#555404
We all know how much medic LOVES his tight ends :shock: , so he should really enjoy this article in the local paper. According to Damien, we may have as many as 5 tight ends who will see action this year, including a JC transfer and a true freshman.

https://www.newsadvance.com/sports/libe ... f766c.html
By Chippy
Registration Days Posts
#555416
TH Spangler wrote:This guy does his homework on every FBS team. Our FBS bowl situation has changed since he looked at us. He has us winning 3 games so bowls won't matter according to his prediction.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS7SlB ... oFz75-smQg

[youtube]NxcF2BzW7zw[/youtube]
Someone needs to send this guy some of our :koolaid Doesn't he know we're expecting 7 wins :D
Last edited by Chippy on August 15th, 2018, 11:32 am, edited 1 time in total.
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By Class of 20Something
Posts
#555420
Class of 20Something wrote:What I believe is reasonably achievable.

W - 9/1 vs Old Dominion
L - 9/8 @ Army
W - 9/15 vs Norfolk State
W - 9/22 vs North Texas
L - 9/29 @ New Mexico
L - 10/6 @ New Mexico State
L - 10/13 vs Troy
W - 10/20 vs Idaho State
W - 11/3 @ UMass
L - 11/10 @ UVA
L - 11/17 @ Auburn
W - 11/24 vs New Mexico State

I believe in the Bill. I believe that with the increase in quality of opponents, the stadium will get louder than ever before. Look how we showed up for Montana. I believe we will only lose one home game but regretfully, we only pull one win on the road.
I am going to update my take and flip the UNT and UNM games.

W - 9/1 vs Old Dominion
L - 9/8 @ Army
W - 9/15 vs Norfolk State
L - 9/22 vs North Texas
W - 9/29 @ New Mexico
L - 10/6 @ New Mexico State
L - 10/13 vs Troy
W - 10/20 vs Idaho State
W - 11/3 @ UMass
L - 11/10 @ UVA
L - 11/17 @ Auburn
W - 11/24 vs New Mexico State
User avatar
By FlamesHighontheTide
Registration Days Posts
#555476
I know there seems to be a lot of apathy for how this season may go for our Flames. It also seems to me that the record prediction is on average somewhere around the 3 to 5 win range and maybe even more so around the 3 win total. Yet, a few here at ASOR have predicted 5,6 and even 7 wins for the season. Those predictions, especially the 6 and 7 win predictions may seem like kool-aid addiction response or even unrealistic ones. For what it is worth. I want to break-down why I think 6 or 7 wins is definitely attainable and not unrealistic. Even with the coaching staff that we still have.

1. Under Gill, our home record is 27-9. The home opener record is 5-1 with the win by an average of 32.6 points. I know that each of these wins came against zero FBS teams but the common factor is execution and efficiency on offense. 4 times in 6 years Gill has gone 4-2 at home(one of those years was the playoff year). So, if we keep to the trend, then we are already at 4 wins for the entire season. Most everyone is saying we will beat ODU, NSU and ISU. Winning against NMSU at home on thanksgiving gives us those 4 home victories. A winning record at home helps with recruiting as every home game will more than likely have recruits taking in the game.

2. Under Gill we are 4-2 when coming off a bye week. One of those two losses was the 2 OT loss to Coastal 55-52(I was there for that roller-coaster ride!) We play UMASS a week after they have a road game against UCONN. UMASS has averaged 2.3 wins a year since 2012. A win here which I expect puts us at 5.

***So far, seems pretty legit right :D

3. at New Mexico or at New Mexico St.: This one is tough, because there is a 2 hour time differences and flying in a plane across the country and having your whole routine and sleep off a little bit can mess with you. Just because your a college athlete doesn't exempt you from this. New Mexico went 3-9 last year and lost 7 straight. If the team stays out west for the entire week then it is very possible we could win both of these before heading home. NMSU went bowling last year yes, but they must replace their starting qb and before last year they went 3-9, 3-9, 2-10, 2-10 and lived in the bottom 10 on espn.com. All I am saying is this, these two games are definitely winnable and at worst we should go 1-1. This puts us at the 6 win mark for the season if we just split. It also puts us at 7 wins if we take both of these. Side note: both of their defenses were practically non-existent(like ours.) NMSU gave up 30 points a game and NM gave up 32 a game. Is it a stretch to believe that our offense can put up enough points to win both of these ball games against weak defenses? I don't think so.

4. I know that this is an FBS schedule and we are playing 12 games instead of 11 the last couple years. Obviously there will be more wear and tear on our team but we do have more talented depth than we have had in the past as well. However, the influx of juco talent on the defensive side as well as the wealth of experience that was gained by last years butt-whooping SHOULD help us field a better defense than last year. ODU, Georgia Southern and App St.(who we beat that year) all had 6 wins or more their first year in FBS. They also seem to have had more difficult schedules their first years too.

Maybe I sound crazy, but I really think this team is going to surprise a lot of us.
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By Cider Jim
Registration Days Posts
#555484
High, you said nothing about UVa, which might be w WIN, too.
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By alabama24
Registration Days Posts
#555501
Cider Jim wrote:High, you said nothing about UVa, which might be w WIN, too.
UVA has had only one "winning" season in 10 years. They <should> beat Liberty, but nothing has shown me that they will. :lol:
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By BJWilliams
Registration Days Posts
#555502
If Liberty beats UVa, I reckon Bronco Mendenhall will or should be immediately fired
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By BJWilliams
Registration Days Posts
#555511
I know this is the 2018 thread but look at this 2019 slate:

2019

Aug 31 - Syracuse
Sep 07 - @ Louisiana-Lafayette
Sep 14 - Buffalo
Sep 21 - Hampton
Sep 28 - New Mexico
Oct 05 - @ New Mexico State
Oct 12 - Open
Oct 19 - Maine
Oct 26 - @ Rutgers
Nov 02 - @ UMass
Nov 09 - @ BYU
Nov 16 - Open
Nov 23 - @ Virginia
Nov 30 - New Mexico State

After New Mexico on 9/28, we play 5 of the next 6 on the road with two bye weeks thrown in. Talk about a momentum killer of a slate
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By Jonathan Carone
Posts
#555514
BJWilliams wrote:I know this is the 2018 thread but look at this 2019 slate:

2019

Aug 31 - Syracuse
Sep 07 - @ Louisiana-Lafayette
Sep 14 - Buffalo
Sep 21 - Hampton
Sep 28 - New Mexico
Oct 05 - @ New Mexico State
Oct 12 - Open
Oct 19 - Maine
Oct 26 - @ Rutgers
Nov 02 - @ UMass
Nov 09 - @ BYU
Nov 16 - Open
Nov 23 - @ Virginia
Nov 30 - New Mexico State

After New Mexico on 9/28, we play 5 of the next 6 on the road with two bye weeks thrown in. Talk about a momentum killer of a slate
This is why I've said it's still in the air if independent is viable or sustainable. We have four home games in five weeks and then one more home game before Thanksgiving. By all intents and purposes, football season is over October 19th to the student body next year. You go from an over saturation (people will get bored and stop coming by the fourth game in five weeks) to an absolutely scarcity. It's going to be really hard to maintain excitement.
By Ewglenn
Posts
#555515
Jonathan Carone wrote:
BJWilliams wrote:I know this is the 2018 thread but look at this 2019 slate:

2019

Aug 31 - Syracuse
Sep 07 - @ Louisiana-Lafayette
Sep 14 - Buffalo
Sep 21 - Hampton
Sep 28 - New Mexico
Oct 05 - @ New Mexico State
Oct 12 - Open
Oct 19 - Maine
Oct 26 - @ Rutgers
Nov 02 - @ UMass
Nov 09 - @ BYU
Nov 16 - Open
Nov 23 - @ Virginia
Nov 30 - New Mexico State

After New Mexico on 9/28, we play 5 of the next 6 on the road with two bye weeks thrown in. Talk about a momentum killer of a slate
This is why I've said it's still in the air if independent is viable or sustainable. We have four home games in five weeks and then one more home game before Thanksgiving. By all intents and purposes, football season is over October 19th to the student body next year. You go from an over saturation (people will get bored and stop coming by the fourth game in five weeks) to an absolutely scarcity. It's going to be really hard to maintain excitement.
We had no time to put together those schedules. Games are scheduled so far in advance it will take about 5 years to get a balanced schedule.
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By Jonathan Carone
Posts
#555516
Agreed. I'm not putting the blame on anyone. We had to take what we could get. 2020 and 2021 look to correct that and take away that issue. If we can continue to schedule like 20 and 21, it will prove the viability of staying independent from a scheduling standpoint. 2022 and beyond don't have those October/November dates filled out. If VT doesn't buy us out, then 2022 is set with that late season home game vs them.
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By VAGolf
Registration Days Posts
#555517
That's just 2019 though. I would think due to the time constraint, the most difficult schedules Ian pieced together were 2018 and 2019. Once we get to 2020, the schedule shapes up really well and that seems to be consistent. We're likely going to have a year here or there with a less than ideal schedule, but that's honestly fairly typical with most programs. There's also no guarantee that being in the Sun-Belt or C-USA would fix the issue either. It's an obstacle for sure, but I think in the long run, we'll be okay.
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By Jonathan Carone
Posts
#555518
This concern is less who we play and more where we play. A balanced schedule is an important thing to have. If we can have two home games in October and one in November before Thanksgiving then this concern goes away completely. I’m not saying it can’t be done. And for all we know the schedules are complete and this isn’t an issue. But until those dates are announced and we see it proven true, I still have the concern about if other non-independent teams will schedule non-conference road games in the middle of their conference season.
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By BJWilliams
Registration Days Posts
#555522
2020 is an improvement with alternating away-home games the entire season with a bye week after what I speculate could be a candidate for the homecoming game against Southern Miss
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By Class of 20Something
Posts
#555524
BJWilliams wrote:2020 is an improvement with alternating away-home games the entire season with a bye week after what I speculate could be a candidate for the homecoming game against Southern Miss
But those four ACC games :dance
By Ewglenn
Posts
#555529
Jonathan Carone wrote:This concern is less who we play and more where we play. A balanced schedule is an important thing to have. If we can have two home games in October and one in November before Thanksgiving then this concern goes away completely. I’m not saying it can’t be done. And for all we know the schedules are complete and this isn’t an issue. But until those dates are announced and we see it proven true, I still have the concern about if other non-independent teams will schedule non-conference road games in the middle of their conference season.
I’m more concerned about being balanced than who we play. Personally I would like to stay away from games out west unless they are marquee teams (USC, UCLA, Oregon, etc). If we are playing around Thanksgiving I would prefer one of these scenarios: 1) a team that will bring interest as a rival (ODU or JMU) or 2) a big time name that will still entice people to come (P5 or BYU). The P5 option would be difficult because of rivalry week. JMU will be focused on the playoffs so they probably be a no. That leaves ODU if we have to play thanksgiving.
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By Class of 20Something
Posts
#555542
Liberty will never schedule an FCS powerhouse again. It's not complicated. FCS games are must wins now. We cannot intentionally schedule a potential home loss to FCS. It would be program suicide. No more JMU, NDSU, Montana. They're all too risky. There is no additional reward for tougher FCS games.

For the same reason, I am amazed UVa scheduled us for the next three seasons.
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