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

#637766
Ill flame wrote: December 20th, 2021, 12:12 am After the blowout against the emus and UABs win over BYU we moved up 11 spots to 57 in the fpi ranking. It'll probably move slightly as more bowl games are played but it'll still be our best season based on that rating. We were ranked 76 last season which was obviously our previous best.
2020 will always be the benchmark. No serious comparison. There's a lot of statistical analysis out there that's pretty meaningless. Works out well for something like electronic design though.

VaTech, NC State, and Coastal would seem to be the most memorable games IMO, not just in 2020, but in program history.
#637772
paradox wrote: December 20th, 2021, 11:34 am
Ill flame wrote: December 20th, 2021, 12:12 am After the blowout against the emus and UABs win over BYU we moved up 11 spots to 57 in the fpi ranking. It'll probably move slightly as more bowl games are played but it'll still be our best season based on that rating. We were ranked 76 last season which was obviously our previous best.
2020 will always be the benchmark. No serious comparison. There's a lot of statistical analysis out there that's pretty meaningless. Works out well for something like electronic design though.

VaTech, NC State, and Coastal would seem to be the most memorable games IMO, not just in 2020, but in program history.
I don't think there is much debate that 2020 was our best season yet. Fpi and similar forward looking metrics are designed to determine how good the team is, not necessarily how good our season was. This year's team probably beats last year's team.
#637788
I'm just grateful that it's been a long time since anyone has felt the need to post "typical Liberty" on here after a less than stellar outing. The culture has been changed. Credit goes to Ian and the unbelievable coaches we have on the mountain now (not just football).
LU 57, ballcoach15, Purple Haize and 4 others liked this
#637790
flamehunter wrote: December 20th, 2021, 3:37 pm I'm just grateful that it's been a long time since anyone has felt the need to post "typical Liberty" on here after a less than stellar outing. The culture has been changed. Credit goes to Ian and the unbelievable coaches we have on the mountain now (not just football).
CUSA team with Power 5 Athletic Director and Coaches.
#637797
tyndal23 wrote: December 18th, 2021, 9:14 pm
FlamesHighontheTide wrote: December 18th, 2021, 9:10 pm I know I am a biased LU fan, but that no call on Malik's helmet getting ripped off was garbage. Plus the stoppage of the play due to his helmet coming off is trash. Let them play.
Based on the rules or the call ? Wasn’t a face mask and he could have been called for a penalty by not stopping immediately once his helmet came off.
Um, actually ...
‘Facemask’ rules cover all helmet openings. What is little-known is that football’s “facemask” rules in high school, college and the NFL don’t just cover contact to the facemask, but to any opening in the helmet. That could be grasping the ear hole, the back of the helmet or the chin strap.

That's from https://www.sbnation.com/2016/11/13/135 ... e-football

So yeah, it was a facemask, and HCHF was rightly angry about the no call.
#637802
ballcoach15 wrote: December 20th, 2021, 3:29 pm Baylor, Virginia Tech and Cure Bowl win over Georgia Southern. Probably Top 3, but I'm not sure on the order.
Ballcoach, how does beating an undefeated and top 12 Coastal in Cure Bowl 2 not make your top 3? Again, Coastal was undefeated before the game!
Just John liked this
#637803
Cider Jim wrote: December 20th, 2021, 5:25 pm
ballcoach15 wrote: December 20th, 2021, 3:29 pm Baylor, Virginia Tech and Cure Bowl win over Georgia Southern. Probably Top 3, but I'm not sure on the order.
Ballcoach, how does beating an undefeated and top 12 Coastal in Cure Bowl 2 not make your top 3? Again, Coastal was undefeated before the game!
They may have been undefeated, (cupcake schedule) and they were over-ranked at #12.
Geraldos Mustache liked this
#637811
Ill flame wrote: December 20th, 2021, 1:22 pm
paradox wrote: December 20th, 2021, 11:34 am
Ill flame wrote: December 20th, 2021, 12:12 am After the blowout against the emus and UABs win over BYU we moved up 11 spots to 57 in the fpi ranking. It'll probably move slightly as more bowl games are played but it'll still be our best season based on that rating. We were ranked 76 last season which was obviously our previous best.
2020 will always be the benchmark. No serious comparison. There's a lot of statistical analysis out there that's pretty meaningless. Works out well for something like electronic design though.

VaTech, NC State, and Coastal would seem to be the most memorable games IMO, not just in 2020, but in program history.
This year's team probably beats last year's team.
If anything, Willis was even better this year. The problem is that every weakness around him was methodically exposed by our opponents. When they rushed only three, they still swarmed the QB, with nobody open. Or rush seven, suffocate the QB, still no one open. That's the short answer. The numbers don't add up when just one of those scenarios occurs. However, both scenarios were reality for us. Severe breakdowns in pass protection and receivers struggling to separate.

Last year was a completely different story. O-line held up much better as well. Therefore, better team. Better year. 2020 is the one year that will always be remembered. That's not an abstraction, but a reality.
Purple Haize liked this
#637815
paradox wrote: December 20th, 2021, 9:55 pm
Ill flame wrote: December 20th, 2021, 1:22 pm
paradox wrote: December 20th, 2021, 11:34 am

2020 will always be the benchmark. No serious comparison. There's a lot of statistical analysis out there that's pretty meaningless. Works out well for something like electronic design though.

VaTech, NC State, and Coastal would seem to be the most memorable games IMO, not just in 2020, but in program history.
This year's team probably beats last year's team.
If anything, Willis was even better this year. The problem is that every weakness around him was methodically exposed by our opponents. When they rushed only three, they still swarmed the QB, with nobody open. Or rush seven, suffocate the QB, still no one open. That's the short answer. The numbers don't add up when just one of those scenarios occurs. However, both scenarios were reality for us. Severe breakdowns in pass protection and receivers struggling to separate.

Last year was a completely different story. O-line held up much better as well. Therefore, better team. Better year. 2020 is the one year that will always be remembered. That's not an abstraction, but a reality.
Our offense regressed but our defense was also significantly better this year. Last year's team won a lot of close games against one of the weakest schedules in the country. The P5 wins were awesome and a lot of fun but they weren't good teams. They also stayed a lot healthier last year only having to play 10 regular season games. Meanwhile this team struggled more with injuries all season and played a tougher schedule. Don't get me wrong that was our best season by far but that doesn't mean the team was better. The various stats seem to back that up. Regardless it's all irrelevant, we will keep getting better from here even if it doesn't reflect in the win column.
#637819
ballcoach15 wrote: December 20th, 2021, 5:32 pm
Cider Jim wrote: December 20th, 2021, 5:25 pm
ballcoach15 wrote: December 20th, 2021, 3:29 pm Baylor, Virginia Tech and Cure Bowl win over Georgia Southern. Probably Top 3, but I'm not sure on the order.
Ballcoach, how does beating an undefeated and top 12 Coastal in Cure Bowl 2 not make your top 3? Again, Coastal was undefeated before the game!
They may have been undefeated, (cupcake schedule) and they were over-ranked at #12.
VT was a cupcake win, too.

Heck, Baylor proved for the rest of the year that they were AWFUL.
flamehunter liked this
#637822
Agreed on Baylor. Don't know how they got in this conversation?

VT was either 4-2 or 5-2 with a respectable loss to a top-10 team when we played them...and then lost to another top-10 immediately following our game. In fact, VT's defense stifled Miami for most of that game. But Malik lit them up the week before. Maybe not a fair comparison....but a very significant achievement at the time. It was definitive and a sign of things to come.
Last edited by paradox on December 21st, 2021, 9:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
Dalegarz1, JK37, LUOrange liked this
#637826
I'm considering pure emotion when I think of the top program wins. Baylor is on the list, Cure Bowl 2 vs. Coastal is DEFINITELY on the list (most people said it was the best bowl game of the year last year). Va Tech is definitely on the list (listened to that one on the radio while driving back from a round of disc golf. When we got another chance at that last FG, I was shouting "YOU SCREWED UP!!! BWAHHAHAHA" at the radio).

'Cuse should be on the list. Yeah, they were terrible, but it was at the time a pretty high profile win for Liberty, and it was exciting to watch and see what this program could be. Beating JMU in the FCS playoffs should make the top ten, anyway. The Ga Southern bowl win (and to an extent the EMU win) are nice, but those games just seem kinda meh to me. Maybe I just got used to the Liberty 4th quarter drama, I don't know.
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#637828
You have to remember where the program stood prior to that Baylor game. People were online joking about who would be the poor sappy P5 program to endure the shame of losing to Liberty. The instant recognition that came out of that game that there was potential in our transition up to FBS was tough for most to quantify these days. Honestly without that win we may have never been able to attract Coach Freeze & Malik to the Mountain.

I will forever be grateful to Coach Gill for that night and the Sunday morning I had rolling up into church in LU gear surrounded by Baylor grads.
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#637833
Sly Fox wrote: December 21st, 2021, 10:25 am I will forever be grateful to Coach Gill for that night and the Sunday morning I had rolling up into church in LU gear surrounded by Baylor grads.
And I thought I was the only one who did that after a big LU win. :pbjtime You'll never see Ballcoach trade his Sunday suit for LU gear in church. :nono :oldhag
#637856
Cider Jim wrote: December 21st, 2021, 3:17 pm
Sly Fox wrote: December 21st, 2021, 10:25 am I will forever be grateful to Coach Gill for that night and the Sunday morning I had rolling up into church in LU gear surrounded by Baylor grads.
And I thought I was the only one who did that after a big LU win. :pbjtime You'll never see Ballcoach trade his Sunday suit for LU gear in church. :nono :oldhag
I have told ushers and LUPD at TRBC, if I ever enter the church on Sunday morning without coat & tie, to escort me out.
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#637863
LU 57 wrote: December 22nd, 2021, 2:14 pm


Would Ian and HCHF ever consider? I am thinking no, but…
Another team will inevitably have to drop out of their bowl and that extra team will be paired up with wake forest. I think liberty would be one of the last teams they would call although it would be awesome to get 2 bowls.
#637956
Cider Jim wrote: December 21st, 2021, 3:17 pm
Sly Fox wrote: December 21st, 2021, 10:25 am I will forever be grateful to Coach Gill for that night and the Sunday morning I had rolling up into church in LU gear surrounded by Baylor grads.
And I thought I was the only one who did that after a big LU win. :pbjtime You'll never see Ballcoach trade his Sunday suit for LU gear in church. :nono :oldhag
Somewhere, I have a picture of me preaching in a Liberty T-shirt after a big LU win.
Sly Fox, rtb72, Cider Jim liked this
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