[Sly Fox]

Bring your thoughts & observations here.

[Fumblerooskies]

From being there...the atmosphere was phenomenal...at least until a good number of students started bailing out mid-way in the 3rd. The team came out with much more intensity than I have seen against the early non-I-AA opponents we've had.

[Sly Fox]

You could tell that they were tired of falling flat in opening weeks. Perhaps being keyed up contributed to the deluge of penalties and the 1st half fumbles.

[Sly Fox]

BTW JMU is getting popped in the mouth by Duke, 31-7 in the 4th.

[rogers3]

You could tell that they were tired of falling flat in opening weeks. Perhaps being keyed up contributed to the deluge of penalties and the 1st half fumbles.

I was thinking the same thing. Last years opening game was a pretty lackluster effort; I don't remember Liberty as being as aggresive and focused as they did in this game. In fact, their second game last year wasn't much to write home about, either. It was really nice to see guys come off the bench and keep the pace up. Asa Chapman is a beast.

[thepostman]

Was there...and it was great to see so many students out...and the baptist side was pretty full...lots of gaps in the blue seats though....

the penalties and injuries really slowed the game down..which is why a lot of people finally bailed...that and a blow out...

but great crowd...good way to start the season...

the penalties are what stand out the most...a lot of little things...but the overall performance is the best opening game performance for a Rocco lead team...so that is encouraging...

ps...I got there with my brother at 6:15 and the student section was already packed....very cool

[krh44]

Looked like a great crowd, Brock looked good on the TD pass, Zach & Jennings will get their yards. My question would be the defense. I caught some on TV but most was in 2nd half when the game was over so I didn't get to see the 1st team D. I have not been following much this summer and seems like we have a few wholes especially at linebacker. Coach seemed like the injury to Terry Williams was pretty severe. But we always look good at home against the DII teams.

[Sly Fox]

Actually the 1st unit looked pretty solid on defense. If not for the penalties then NGU wouldn't have been able to do much of anything at all.

The Williams injury looks very concerning.

[ToTheLeft]

Pass coverage looked a little shaky at times, but at other it was rock solid.

Pass rush was a little lame at times, but really good at others.

Everything else seemed to fire on all cylinders and it was AWESOME.

Brock looked very good, Rashad is looking good, as is Zac, Crawford and Bolden looking good... man, a lot to be excited about...

Chad Brown looked great at LB, as did Wes Cheek. Trey Jacobs was dominating his blocker at the line, and so did Asa. P-Cal showed a lot, and Kent Hicks had a really good game. The O-Line looked solid after a couple bad breakdowns in the first series or two.

[Baldspot]

They said on the radio the other team had about 9 injuries.

[Cider Jim]

Sly & others, were you able to watch the game on FTN?

[Sly Fox]

Yeah I watched it from my living room on FamilyNet. It was much better than the lousy Big South Edge video feeds. The LUnatics received way more air time than their egos can probably handle. Bryson even had a one-on-one interview with Samantha.

[SuperJon]

A couple things to remember about the defense, ok, mainly just one: They're not going to show their exotic blitzes and special things like that in this game. There's no reason to get that stuff on tape for Western and Youngstown to see.

I told people before the game to watch BJ Hayes. The group of him, Danny Broggin, Mike Brown, Terry Williams, and Chris Summers is a really fun group to watch and keep an eye on.

I called the J-5 touchdown. TBGBG thought I was an idiot, then he broke the tackle and was gone.

I won't get a copy of the game til Monday, so how did the LUnatics spelled out and the joker faces look on tv?

Really proud of the student section. They were very into the game. I don't like them leaving early but I can understand. The ones that stayed to the end stayed active.

To those there: how did the Welcome Back and Earn Their Respect videos translate to the video board? I want opinions on it so I know what to do for next week's game. Maybe I should start a thread on that.

The sign in the end zone ("The Red Zone") was really cool. That was a nice addition I didn't know about.

The scoreboard should be up by next week. Rain kinda hindered that this week.

Wes Cheek really impressed me because he's only been playing linebacker since about Tuesday. Great athlete.

I'll have more later I'm sure.

LUnatics: great job tonight. Great showing. Thanks for all the help before and after with the tailgating. I never would've imagined back in December when I was planning this club that we would be where we were tonight.

[SuperJon]

Yeah I watched it from my living room on FamilyNet. It was much better than the lousy Big South Edge video feeds. The LUnatics received way more air time than their egos can probably handle. Bryson even had a one-on-one interview with Samantha.

We never know when we're on tv so it doesn't really matter.

[Sly Fox]

Fresh off the presses from the SIDs ...

LU Win Ninth-Straight Home Game to Open 2008

August 30, 2008
Lynchburg, Va.

Box Score

Photo Gallery

Video Highlights



Liberty extended its FCS nation-leading home winning streak to nine-straight games, opening the year with a 49-10 win over visiting North Greenville, Saturday evening, at a packed Williams Stadium.

With the victory, Liberty opens the year with a 1-0 record and moves its mark to 20-2 in its last 22 home-opening contests. The win was Liberty’s third-straight by 30 or more points and fifth time in the last six games. The loss drops North Greenville to 0-1 on the season.

Click Here for Full Story

[Sly Fox]

Yeah I watched it from my living room on FamilyNet. It was much better than the lousy Big South Edge video feeds. The LUnatics received way more air time than their egos can probably handle. Bryson even had a one-on-one interview with Samantha.

We never know when we're on tv so it doesn't really matter.

I'm sure you had your DVR rolling. Wait till you see the very beginning of the telecast. As soon as they come out of the graphics/music open they begin on a tight shot of one fan before even any words are spoken. Guess who.

You guys received great exposure tonight.

[SuperJon]

That's awesome. I had no clue.

I don't get any of the channels that were airing the game tonight. I'll get a copy of the game on Monday morning and will have to look through it.

[RagingTireFire]

Those are some unbelievable pictures on the LU site.

[Sly Fox]

Yeah that is a very nice touch along with the video highlight package with Mike's voiceover. Kudos to the SIDs for upping their game in '08.

[thepostman]

Those are some unbelievable pictures on the LU site.

yes....very nice!

[FlamingChick]

To those there: how did the Welcome Back and Earn Their Respect videos translate to the video board? I want opinions on it so I know what to do for next week's game. Maybe I should start a thread on that.

I missed the Earn Their Respect video, but I thought the Welcome Back video looked great. Nice job!

[BJWilliams]

1. The student section was amazing tonight! I haven't had this much fun at a game in a long time
2. Thanks to FR for the kudos to the band. We actually had some pretty nice fellowship with the North Greenville band at halftime. Not a bad show by them. They forgot to get a script to the announcer so that is why there wasn't any intro to their performance.
3. Dominic and Jon Crawford each had amazing TDs tonight. Dom probably adjusted to that deep ball two or three times and came up with it. Crawford looked like he broke about 5 or 6 tackles including breaking out of that pile just on the North Greenville end of the field.

The band was down a couple people tonight due to injuries. One of the trombone players injured his foot Wednesday (playing pick up soccer) and one of the members of the color guard was out due to a heat emergency during our afternoon field practice. Word is she is out of the hospital and spending the night with her parents and should be back for Monday.

[Sly Fox]

And here is the perspective of Chris ...

Crawford enterains LU fans with spectacular plays

By Chris Lang
Published: August 31, 2008

Jonathan Crawford tried to recount his dazzling 76-yard kickoff return during Liberty’s 49-10 season-opening romp of North Greenville Saturday night.
But he was at a loss. How many tackles did he break? Was he counting them as he plowed through and spun around defender after defender?
“I don’t know what happened,” he said, shaking his head. “I can’t even remember.”
Television replays showed Crawford breaking at least five tackles, emerging from a scrum of bodies at midfield and racing down the left side of the field for the touchdown that put the Flames ahead 42-10 in the third quarter.
“If that kickoff return is not on (SportsCenter’s) Top 10 plays tomorrow, I’m going to be upset,” Flames quarterback Brock Smith said. “That kickoff return was unbelievable. I was speechless for at least five minutes.”
The kickoff return was one of two big plays for Crawford, who had a breakout night against the Division II Crusaders. Playing in front of a near-record crowd of 15,311 at Williams Stadium, Crawford caught five passes for 44 yards, including an 18-yard touchdown strike from Smith on a slant in the third quarter.


LU defenders Patrick Bannon (left) and Nick Hursky level North Greenville’s Brandon Dobbins during Saturday night’s game at Williams Stadium.

Click Here for Full Story

[JDUB]

i called that return right before it happened.
tonight was a lot of fun. i am so tired, but can't wait to see pictures from the game

[SuperJon]

How'd the field look once the sun went down? It had been looking rough but the rain really helped and I know they brushed it before the game. Any better than last year?