[tennisfan]

I think they got it wrong, look out Stony Brook!

At the annual Big South Football Media Day, Liberty was picked to finish second in the league for this upcoming season, while eight members of the Flames' roster were selected to the Big South Preseason All-Conference team.

The Big South held its annual conference football kickoff event at the Renaissance Charlotte Suites, where it was announced that Liberty was not the preseason favorite to win the title for the first time since 2006.

2012 Preseason Poll (first-place votes)
1. Stony Brook (15) - 123
2. Liberty (3) - 108
3. Coastal Carolina - 74
4. Presbyterian College - 69
5. Gardner-Webb - 65
6. VMI - 38
7. Charleston Southern - 27

Full Story: http://www.libertyflames.com/index.cfm? ... 55&TeamID=

[thepostman]

They should be the favorite going into the season without a doubt. They also should win the conference. They are better then us, but you never know how this team will respond to this coaching staff, that is for sure.

[Sly Fox]

Yeah, with their senior-laden squad coming off a year when the Seawolves took the title they have to be the favorites. But we have the horses to make this at least a 2-horse race.

[bradyfan]

We also get Stony Brook at home. I don't think they've ever beaten us at Williams Stadium and the last time we lost a conference game at home was in 2006 against Gardner Webb.

[NotAJerry]

We also get Stony Brook at home. I don't think they've ever beaten us at Williams Stadium and the last time we lost a conference game at home was in 2006 against Gardner Webb.

And we have a brand new coach, brand new systems on both sides of the ball, new QB, and a ton of uncertainty. Stony Brook should win this year against us. Presbyterian probably should as well considering the past few games against them, the fact that they're at home against us, and that it will still be early enough in the season that we may still be working out the kinks of the new schemes.

[Purple Haize]

We also get Stony Brook at home. I don't think they've ever beaten us at Williams Stadium and the last time we lost a conference game at home was in 2006 against Gardner Webb.

And we have a brand new coach, brand new systems on both sides of the ball, new QB, and a ton of uncertainty. Stony Brook should win this year against us. Presbyterian probably should as well considering the past few games against them, the fact that they're at home against us, and that it will still be early enough in the season that we may still be working out the kinks of the new schemes.

So will these losses be before or after our win at Wake

[bradyfan]

I agree about the Presby game. They always give us their best game every year. I'll pick us over Stony Brook though, they're terrible on the road in 50/50 games.

[g-webb1994]

I like us being under the radar. We get CCU and PC at our place. Not knocking the top two picks at all in SB and LU, I'd like to think we can compete for the #3 spot. I'm not buying Coastal at all with their new CEO, er, coach.

[NotAJerry]

I agree about the Presby game. They always give us their best game every year. I'll pick us over Stony Brook though, they're terrible on the road in 50/50 games.

Stony Brook shouldn't be a 50/50 game. They're simply more talented and not undergoing a full program transition the way we are.

[bradyfan]

I like us being under the radar. We get CCU and PC at our place. Not knocking the top two picks at all in SB and LU, I'd like to think we can compete for the #3 spot. I'm not buying Coastal at all with their new CEO, er, coach.

I'm complete agreement. I wouldn't be surprised to see CCU lose around 6 games this year

[bradyfan]

I agree about the Presby game. They always give us their best game every year. I'll pick us over Stony Brook though, they're terrible on the road in 50/50 games.

Stony Brook shouldn't be a 50/50 game. They're simply more talented and not undergoing a full program transition the way we are.

You are seriously the most pessimistic person I've seen. They are very talented but just because we have a new coach, doesn't mean we aren't talented. We have two FBS DB's in Aiken and Ayers (one played at Illinois, the other at GT) and Kevin Fogg who runs a 4.3 and is nasty on special teams. Throw in our solid d-line and our defense is going to be disgusting this year. On offense we have Pat Kelley, a slew of RB's who I think are more talented then given credit for, Peter Gagliardi, and a very good O-line. Not to mention, I think we have some very talented QB's led by Woodrum. Having a new QB and a new coach will actually be good for us since Woodrum wasn't reliant on Rocco's system. For the players away from the ball, having a new gameplan or playbook isn't a big deal. The person who always has the toughest time figuring out a new offense is the QB and I think since we're getting a new starter, it plays to our favor. Again, Stony Brook is more talented than we are but it isn't by an astronomical amount, it's by 2 or 3 more players. They're terrible on the road and we're fantastic in conference home games.

[BJWilliams]

I agree about the Presby game. They always give us their best game every year. I'll pick us over Stony Brook though, they're terrible on the road in 50/50 games.

Stony Brook shouldn't be a 50/50 game. They're simply more talented and not undergoing a full program transition the way we are.

They were good the last time they came to the mountain and still got smoked. Im not gonna say that will be the result this year but, Im also not gonna say that they are just going to come to Lynchburg and expect us to roll over for them. (unlike you apparently)

[JK37]

Brady, I'm not buying Liberty's O-Line like you, as you say they are "very good." I also believe a young QB will reveal that O-Line even quicker. Hence, I am skeptical of Liberty's offense at this point.

You seem to believe there is no weakness in this team.

[Chippy]

Brady, I'm not buying Liberty's O-Line like you, as you say they are "very good." I also believe a young QB will reveal that O-Line even quicker. Hence, I am skeptical of Liberty's offense at this point.

You seem to believe there is no weakness in this team.

Stony Brook will be better than last year, that's scary! They may put up 50 points a game this year with Maysonnet and the transfer (leading rusher) from Iowa and 2 outstanding QBs.

[bradyfan]

Brady, I'm not buying Liberty's O-Line like you, as you say they are "very good." I also believe a young QB will reveal that O-Line even quicker. Hence, I am skeptical of Liberty's offense at this point.

You seem to believe there is no weakness in this team.

I mean I don't think they are great by any means but I do think they are better than given credit for. We're bringing back Malcom Boyd, Aaron Lundy and Grant Jones and I think the rest of the group is solid. Young QB's coming into new systems can actually be a good thing for teams. I'm a Tech fan but look at what UVA did last year. Rocco completed around 60% of his passes and threw for 2700 yards. We can do very much the same thing. I don't believe that we have no weaknesses, I think our biggest question outside of QB will be with the WR's that aren't named Pat Kelley. I'm not going to argue that QB is actually a strength for us, I just think we aren't as bad off there as people think we are, even if Hudson starts. My only point is that while we aren't perfect, we're good enough to beat SB at home.

[BJWilliams]

Brady, I'm not buying Liberty's O-Line like you, as you say they are "very good." I also believe a young QB will reveal that O-Line even quicker. Hence, I am skeptical of Liberty's offense at this point.

You seem to believe there is no weakness in this team.

Stony Brook will be better than last year, that's scary! They may put up 50 points a game this year with Maysonnet and the transfer (leading rusher) from Iowa and 2 outstanding QBs.

They may do that, but as I said, the last time they came into Lynchburg on a roll, this resulted:

http://www.libertyflames.com/wwwadmin/g ... fb1011.htm

I certainly have my questions about the team this year, but I do think this team will be able to hold serve at home, especially since this will be our last home game. If we had the Seawolves up first, I could understand the concern a bit more.

[NotAJerry]

Brady, I'm not buying Liberty's O-Line like you, as you say they are "very good." I also believe a young QB will reveal that O-Line even quicker. Hence, I am skeptical of Liberty's offense at this point.

You seem to believe there is no weakness in this team.

Stony Brook will be better than last year, that's scary! They may put up 50 points a game this year with Maysonnet and the transfer (leading rusher) from Iowa and 2 outstanding QBs.

They may do that, but as I said, the last time they came into Lynchburg on a roll, this resulted:

http://www.libertyflames.com/wwwadmin/g ... fb1011.htm

I certainly have my questions about the team this year, but I do think this team will be able to hold serve at home, especially since this will be our last home game. If we had the Seawolves up first, I could understand the concern a bit more.

Last time they came in on a roll they weren't defending conference champs and hadn't been to the FCS playoffs with a returning roster laced with key seniors and a transfer from the B1G. They also weren't playing us with a brand new coach who needed to implement new systems and prove himself as a coach.

[NotAJerry]

I agree about the Presby game. They always give us their best game every year. I'll pick us over Stony Brook though, they're terrible on the road in 50/50 games.

Stony Brook shouldn't be a 50/50 game. They're simply more talented and not undergoing a full program transition the way we are.

You are seriously the most pessimistic person I've seen. They are very talented but just because we have a new coach, doesn't mean we aren't talented. We have two FBS DB's in Aiken and Ayers (one played at Illinois, the other at GT) and Kevin Fogg who runs a 4.3 and is nasty on special teams. Throw in our solid d-line and our defense is going to be disgusting this year. On offense we have Pat Kelley, a slew of RB's who I think are more talented then given credit for, Peter Gagliardi, and a very good O-line. Not to mention, I think we have some very talented QB's led by Woodrum. Having a new QB and a new coach will actually be good for us since Woodrum wasn't reliant on Rocco's system. For the players away from the ball, having a new gameplan or playbook isn't a big deal. The person who always has the toughest time figuring out a new offense is the QB and I think since we're getting a new starter, it plays to our favor. Again, Stony Brook is more talented than we are but it isn't by an astronomical amount, it's by 2 or 3 more players. They're terrible on the road and we're fantastic in conference home games.

We have a new coach implementing new systems. That coach, whom I hope proves me wrong, has a whopping 1 winning season in 6 as a head coach and had Kansas playing embarrassingly bad football before he got fired. Kansas gave up more than 60 points last season the same number of times they gave up less than 30. Under Gill, Kansas lost to North Dakota St, went 5-19, and gave up more than 40 points in 13 of 24 games. I hope this is the perfect coach in the perfect situation for him, but he's got a long way to go in proving that he's more than just a great guy.

Stony Brook has none of that to deal with, they're loaded with seniors, and they've got a top tier transfer coming in to make their already explosive offense even better.

[thepostman]

I agree about the Presby game. They always give us their best game every year. I'll pick us over Stony Brook though, they're terrible on the road in 50/50 games.

Stony Brook shouldn't be a 50/50 game. They're simply more talented and not undergoing a full program transition the way we are.

They were good the last time they came to the mountain and still got smoked. Im not gonna say that will be the result this year but, Im also not gonna say that they are just going to come to Lynchburg and expect us to roll over for them. (unlike you apparently)

I am not saying we don't have a shot at winning. It is at home and all, but there is no way this year's team even compares to the team we had the last time they were here. Way too many changes to even compare the two at this point, BJ.

[From the class of 09]

We have a new coach implementing new systems. That coach, whom I hope proves me wrong, has a whopping 1 winning season in 6 as a head coach and had Kansas playing embarrassingly bad football before he got fired. Kansas gave up more than 60 points last season the same number of times they gave up less than 30. Under Gill, Kansas lost to North Dakota St, went 5-19, and gave up more than 40 points in 13 of 24 games. I hope this is the perfect coach in the perfect situation for him, but he's got a long way to go in proving that he's more than just a great guy.

Gill has a lot to prove but the Kansas situation was horrible to start with and he was building at Buffalo, probably should have stayed a little longer. Back to the point though, SB will be the favorite this year (as they should be) but it has nothing to do with our new coach. Remember our last coach couldn't beat this SB team with his senior laden bunch.

[BJWilliams]

We have a new coach implementing new systems. That coach, whom I hope proves me wrong, has a whopping 1 winning season in 6 as a head coach and had Kansas playing embarrassingly bad football before he got fired. Kansas gave up more than 60 points last season the same number of times they gave up less than 30. Under Gill, Kansas lost to North Dakota St, went 5-19, and gave up more than 40 points in 13 of 24 games. I hope this is the perfect coach in the perfect situation for him, but he's got a long way to go in proving that he's more than just a great guy.

Gill has a lot to prove but the Kansas situation was horrible to start with and he was building at Buffalo, probably should have stayed a little longer. Back to the point though, SB will be the favorite this year (as they should be) but it has nothing to do with our new coach. Remember our last coach couldn't beat this SB team with his senior laden bunch.

The difference being that was AT Stony Brook also..also, as was mentioned before, the Stony Brook game will be our last home game of the year. If we were playing them as our first or second conference game, Id be a lot more concerned. The fact that we draw them in November helps us in that by the time that game rolls around, the team will have had time to learn the system.

[From the class of 09]

We have a new coach implementing new systems. That coach, whom I hope proves me wrong, has a whopping 1 winning season in 6 as a head coach and had Kansas playing embarrassingly bad football before he got fired. Kansas gave up more than 60 points last season the same number of times they gave up less than 30. Under Gill, Kansas lost to North Dakota St, went 5-19, and gave up more than 40 points in 13 of 24 games. I hope this is the perfect coach in the perfect situation for him, but he's got a long way to go in proving that he's more than just a great guy.

Gill has a lot to prove but the Kansas situation was horrible to start with and he was building at Buffalo, probably should have stayed a little longer. Back to the point though, SB will be the favorite this year (as they should be) but it has nothing to do with our new coach. Remember our last coach couldn't beat this SB team with his senior laden bunch.

The difference being that was AT Stony Brook also

Oh really is the game here?

I'm sure we can't possibly lose.

[thepostman]

I just got really excited about football season....2nd place prediction and all, I just love Liberty football and I like the direction we are heading. I am excited to see how this team performs...

[BJWilliams]

Oh really is the game here?

I'm sure we can't possibly lose.

Oh I didnt say that we cant lose my sarcastic friends, just that it can only help our chances that we are getting them at home this season considering that we have not lost in our friendly confines to a conference opponent in 5 full seasons (and PC and VMI have come the closest)

[tennisfan]

AMAZING GAME!!!

Congrats to Liberty! Victory over Stony Brook 28-14!!! What an upset!