[BJWilliams]

That makes sense PH thanks for the explanation. I think a win next week can only add to that

[LU Grad 11]

App State killed UL Lafayette 35-16 (7-3 prior to the game) to move to 6-5, and will most likely beat Idaho next week at home to move to 7-5. That road win is looking better and better. On the other hand, Bryant and Indiana State lost, and most likely will not join us in the playoffs.

[01LUGrad]

Here's how the last minute of the game played out at my house.

Me: No! We are doing it again!! Ahhh!
6-year-old son: Liberty is still up by one point. We could still win.
Me: Son, you don't understand. This is Liberty. It is sad, but this is kind of how it always ends for us.
Son: You never know! I bet they can still win. Maybe the kicker stinks or something.
Me: I'm not that lucky....
[blocked kick, we both run around the living room for 2 minutes, screaming like idiots]
Me: Sorry for being so negative.

The best part (this is not made up, I promise!)- He took a sip of his cherry Kool Aid and said "I think Liberty is awesome."

[jinxy]

Great win, We dominated the game today and should have won by more. We had a few mistakes in there that held us back and some bad calls. I could feel all the frustration from 8 years go away with that kick. That wasn't a fluke, totally agree. Coastal is a solid top 10-15 team but they aren't number 1. They haven't passed us by. We just need a break through and we finally got 2 of them this year. You can only do this so many times before it goes your way. Happy for the team, the program, and JB. That was an enjoyable win.

[flameshaw]

Great win, We dominated the game today and should have won by more. We had a few mistakes in there that held us back and some bad calls. I could feel all the frustration from 8 years go away with that kick. That wasn't a fluke, totally agree. Coastal is a solid top 10-15 team but they aren't number 1. They haven't passed us by. We just need a break through and we finally got 2 of them this year. You can only do this so many times before it goes your way. Happy for the team, the program, and JB. That was an enjoyable win.

Since we beat CCU, they were definitely a #1 team. LOL. One of the good things about our game next week is that our opponent probably won't know which QB to prepare for.

[Chantzilla]

Congratulations Flames fans. Your team played a great game today. I know you guys are elated.

Good luck in the playoffs...I'll be rooting for you!

[Cider Jim]

Thanks for your kind words, Chantzilla. And best of luck to Coastal in the playoffs.

[VAGolf]

Two things:

1. Today proved that last week's game was pointless in terms of our playoff chances. We needed to win today to make it, and that would have been the case even if we had won last week.

2. We'll have plenty of sexy wins in the future but today's the biggest. I'm into the mindset that today's win will trigger the future of our athletics. The only ingredient missing from an FBS invite is success. Today, we achieved that.

And to anyone who ever suggested firing Gill, shut-up and go over-react to something else.

[BJWilliams]

I don't think it proved that pointlessness, but it was nice to take the decision out of the hands of the committee as to whether to let us in or not

[Chippy]

Two things:

1. Today proved that last week's game was pointless in terms of our playoff chances. We needed to win today to make it, and that would have been the case even if we had won last week.

2. We'll have plenty of sexy wins in the future but today's the biggest. I'm into the mindset that today's win will trigger the future of our athletics. The only ingredient missing from an FBS invite is success. Today, we achieved that.

And to anyone who ever suggested firing Gill, shut-up and go over-react to something else.

[LU Grad 11]

Pre-game meal at Cookout- $5, Gas- roughly $10, Tickets for my dad and me- $54, The look on all the Coastal fan's faces around us and their taunts after Liberty's victory- priceless!!

[bluejacket]

1. Today proved that last week's game was pointless in terms of our playoff chances. We needed to win today to make it, and that would have been the case even if we had won last week.

Agreed. We were not getting an at-large bid to the playoffs this season.

2. We'll have plenty of sexy wins in the future but today's the biggest. I'm into the mindset that today's win will trigger the future of our athletics. The only ingredient missing from an FBS invite is success. Today, we achieved that.

We still have done a grand total of nothing in the playoffs. Many teams make it to the playoffs each year and never take their programs to a higher level. Look at Coastal before Moglia. David Bennett made the playoffs twice before we did, did very little to capitalize on that success, and was fired one season after making it to the playoffs. We must avoid that.

We must seize this opportunity and win as many games as we can in this postseason before worrying about the future. The season will end on a very bitter note if we lose this upcoming weekend, regardless of who we are playing. Making the playoffs is a great achievement, but the goal is not to just make the playoffs. The goal is to win national championships; at FCS while we are there and ultimately FBS national championships. Making the playoffs is the first step to making that a reality, but it is not even close to where this program wants to be.

[flamesfilmguy]

Alright. I just got back from driving the EQ truck back from our Shellacking in Spartanburg. I saw that we won, it made me smile and may or may not have gotten a little crazy in the cab of the truck. I then got into my office and watched the 4th quarter. I am now ready to eat my crow. Also how hard do you guys think i'm going to have to beg my wife to steal her away from family on thanksgiving to come with me to the Burg? old married dudes, any tips? I already cleaned the bathrooms. haha

[Purple Haize]

1. Today proved that last week's game was pointless in terms of our playoff chances. We needed to win today to make it, and that would have been the case even if we had won last week.

Agreed. We were not getting an at-large bid to the playoffs this season.

2. We'll have plenty of sexy wins in the future but today's the biggest. I'm into the mindset that today's win will trigger the future of our athletics. The only ingredient missing from an FBS invite is success. Today, we achieved that.

We still have done a grand total of nothing in the playoffs. Many teams make it to the playoffs each year and never take their programs to a higher level. Look at Coastal before Moglia. David Bennett made the playoffs twice before we did, did very little to capitalize on that success, and was fired one season after making it to the playoffs. We must avoid that.

We must seize this opportunity and win as many games as we can in this postseason before worrying about the future. The season will end on a very bitter note if we lose this upcoming weekend, regardless of who we are playing. Making the playoffs is a great achievement, but the goal is not to just make the playoffs. The goal is to win national championships; at FCS while we are there and ultimately FBS national championships. Making the playoffs is the first step to making that a reality, but it is not even close to where this program wants to be.

But you can't win Championships until you make the playoffs. Which we'd never done until today You are falling into the Liberty Trap without even knowing it

[truedrewdawg87]

Beat Coastal... it's not just a t-shirt. It's FINALLY a reality!!

[Liberty22]

Alright. I just got back from driving the EQ truck back from our Shellacking in Spartanburg. I saw that we won, it made me smile and may or may not have gotten a little crazy in the cab of the truck. I then got into my office and watched the 4th quarter. I am now ready to eat my crow. Also how hard do you guys think i'm going to have to beg my wife to steal her away from family on thanksgiving to come with me to the Burg? old married dudes, any tips? I already cleaned the bathrooms. haha

My advice... Marry a girl from the burg!

[BJWilliams]

1. Today proved that last week's game was pointless in terms of our playoff chances. We needed to win today to make it, and that would have been the case even if we had won last week.

Agreed. We were not getting an at-large bid to the playoffs this season.

2. We'll have plenty of sexy wins in the future but today's the biggest. I'm into the mindset that today's win will trigger the future of our athletics. The only ingredient missing from an FBS invite is success. Today, we achieved that.

We still have done a grand total of nothing in the playoffs. Many teams make it to the playoffs each year and never take their programs to a higher level. Look at Coastal before Moglia. David Bennett made the playoffs twice before we did, did very little to capitalize on that success, and was fired one season after making it to the playoffs. We must avoid that.

We must seize this opportunity and win as many games as we can in this postseason before worrying about the future. The season will end on a very bitter note if we lose this upcoming weekend, regardless of who we are playing. Making the playoffs is a great achievement, but the goal is not to just make the playoffs. The goal is to win national championships; at FCS while we are there and ultimately FBS national championships. Making the playoffs is the first step to making that a reality, but it is not even close to where this program wants to be.

I hope somewhere in there is a word of congratulations...

[BJWilliams]

Rock Royer didn't do it
Tom Dowling didn't do it
Morgan Hout didn't do it
Sam Rutigliano didn't do it
Ken Karcher didn't do it
Danny Rocco didn't do it...


Turner Gill did it...

He took us to the playoffs...let's go get em!

[flamesfilmguy]

Alright. I just got back from driving the EQ truck back from our Shellacking in Spartanburg. I saw that we won, it made me smile and may or may not have gotten a little crazy in the cab of the truck. I then got into my office and watched the 4th quarter. I am now ready to eat my crow. Also how hard do you guys think i'm going to have to beg my wife to steal her away from family on thanksgiving to come with me to the Burg? old married dudes, any tips? I already cleaned the bathrooms. haha

My advice... Marry a girl from the burg!

I married a Georgia Girl. And upon texting her from the office asking if we could go she told me she might not make it but I was welcome to go. #ShesAKeeper.

[NotAJerry]

And to anyone who ever suggested firing Gill, shut-up and go over-react to something else.

The team was plagued by penalties all day. The clock management at the end of the first half was pathetic. That's a spot where he has to be in charge and make the obvious call for a timeout. Going for 2, and the playcall in that spot, were bad choices.

We had a significant advantage in talent and won by 1. Gill is a great recruiter and a great person. He's a mediocre in game coach, at least tactically, at this point. Today his recruiting won out against a team that played a much more disciplined game. It may also have been a case of getting guys motivated after a lull in the 2nd quarter, which he/his staff deserve a ton of credit for. In the past, that snowballs and we get blown out. Hopefully the on field product begins to function more smoothly the longer he is here as he's someone that is easy to root for. If this team gets the penalties and turnovers under control, they're going to be very hard to beat. Haize was on point that this removes a major negative recruiting tactic against us as we've actually gotten over the first major hurdle now.

This is the first step and he's earned himself a lot of leeway with the playoff appearance. Being the first to get us to the playoffs trumps the questionable in game things that led up to it over the last 3 years. Gill just earned himself a spot in the LU Athletics HOF as far as I'm concerned and he's still got a lot of room to get better.

[Purple Haize]

And to anyone who ever suggested firing Gill, shut-up and go over-react to something else.

The team was plagued by penalties all day. The clock management at the end of the first half was pathetic. That's a spot where he has to be in charge and make the obvious call for a timeout. Going for 2, and the playcall in that spot, were bad choices.

We had a significant advantage in talent and won by 1. Gill is a great recruiter and a great person. He's a mediocre in game coach, at least tactically, at this point. Today his recruiting won out against a team that played a much more disciplined game. It may also have been a case of getting guys motivated after a lull in the 2nd quarter, which he/his staff deserve a ton of credit for. In the past, that snowballs and we get blown out. Hopefully the on field product begins to function more smoothly the longer he is here as he's someone that is easy to root for. If this team gets the penalties and turnovers under control, they're going to be very hard to beat. Haize was on point that this removes a major negative recruiting tactic against us as we've actually gotten over the first major hurdle now.

This is the first step and he's earned himself a lot of leeway with the playoff appearance. Being the first to get us to the playoffs trumps the questionable in game things that led up to it over the last 3 years. Gill just earned himself a spot in the LU Athletics HOF as far as I'm concerned and he's still got a lot of room to get better.

I'm not buying the fact we had significantly better talent on the field. I would say they were on par with each other. Their WR were taller than our DB's which we should correct.
The clock management at the end of the half was atrocious but I'm not sure if that's on him or the OC as I stated before.
The penalties, meh, not sure that's on the staff either. A couple of those PI's were and the false starts either nerves or a new QB.
The 2 pt conversion is all him.
And after this won, he's a lock for the HoF, as would any previous coach who had been the first to get us to the play offs

[forbidden]

And to anyone who ever suggested firing Gill, shut-up and go over-react to something else.

The team was plagued by penalties all day. The clock management at the end of the first half was pathetic. That's a spot where he has to be in charge and make the obvious call for a timeout. Going for 2, and the playcall in that spot, were bad choices.

We had a significant advantage in talent and won by 1. Gill is a great recruiter and a great person. He's a mediocre in game coach, at least tactically, at this point. Today his recruiting won out against a team that played a much more disciplined game. It may also have been a case of getting guys motivated after a lull in the 2nd quarter, which he/his staff deserve a ton of credit for. In the past, that snowballs and we get blown out. Hopefully the on field product begins to function more smoothly the longer he is here as he's someone that is easy to root for. If this team gets the penalties and turnovers under control, they're going to be very hard to beat. Haize was on point that this removes a major negative recruiting tactic against us as we've actually gotten over the first major hurdle now.

This is the first step and he's earned himself a lot of leeway with the playoff appearance. Being the first to get us to the playoffs trumps the questionable in game things that led up to it over the last 3 years. Gill just earned himself a spot in the LU Athletics HOF as far as I'm concerned and he's still got a lot of room to get better.

To quote gill we are all human and I'm sure just as much as we wanted over the hump he wanted it to. The only thing I'll point out is that final 50 we. Of first half. What was the plan in letting the clock run to 28 sec before calling timeout.
You see they did this on multiple occasions play a real loose line concept of putting all secondary on the first down marker and we still threw into trie coverage. Why not raise up and throw the smoke route right now n make them hv to tackle. Bad play calling. Period. Was good cAll to run the draw on 3 n 22 when they did it.

Only one TO but the penalties. Some were very bogus others legit

[rmiller1959]

I didn’t watch the game because I was afraid of the outcome, so I cleaned house for our church small group meeting while my 19-year old son, a Liberty sophomore and one of the equipment management interns for the team, yelled updates at me from upstairs. When I heard that Coastal was lined up to kick what was probably going to be the game winning field goal, I went upstairs to watch with him, wanting to show some solidarity with the Flames after a well-fought but ultimately futile contest.

Then they blocked the kick.

I yelled so loudly, and my son, all 6-3 and 260 pounds of him, was rolling his chair across the floor so vigorously, that my wife and daughter downstairs heard all the commotion and thought I’d fallen and hurt myself (that such a thing would be their first assumption is a story for another time)! I kept repeating to myself, “They blocked the kick! They blocked the kick!”

I’m a relative newcomer to the Liberty sports scene, having arrived on campus as an associate dean and assistant professor back in 2011, and I quickly became a Flames Club member and season ticket holder for the football team. Even in that short period of time, I’ve experienced the feeling that most long-time Liberty fans have lived with, that of being a bridesmaid but never the bride. Whenever the stadium announcer would exhort us to cheer for “your six-time Big South champion Liberty Flames”, I would smile ruefully and think of how desperate we must be to hang our hat on all these co-championships without a playoff appearance. I watched them wilt so many times in the fourth quarter, losing big games that would have put the program in the spotlight. I saw them fall to in-state rivals – James Madison, Old Dominion, Richmond. I saw them hang in there with FBS programs like Wake Forest, Kent State and North Carolina, only to break down late in the game, sometimes in spectacular fashion. The Coastal Carolina double-overtime loss last year was brutal.

But I cheered for my six-time Big South champions. I always cheered.

I’ll be honest. When I heard that Josh Woodrum was out, I thought our season was done. The only way I thought we could win is if we outscored Coastal Carolina, since I didn’t think our defense could stop a team that was averaging around 40 points a game, and our special teams, the kickers being the possible exceptions, were shaky. I didn’t think Stephon Masha could hold his own against the #1 FCS team in the country, so the likelihood of us outscoring the Chanticleers was virtually non-existent.

Then they blocked the kick.

Amazingly, our defense held Coastal’s offense to 14 points, the first time they finished under 30 points in a game all season, we gained over 455 yards on offense, and it was a special teams play that clinched the victory. I’ve never been more glad to be wrong.

I don’t know how far we can get in the playoffs, and a lot of people will be monitoring Josh Woodrum’s health in the next few days. I hope our bid was enough to get us a home playoff game, because I’ll be there to cheer on our SEVEN-time Big South Champion Liberty Flames as they play the first playoff game in their history. GO FLAMES!

[LUDad]

Alright. I just got back from driving the EQ truck back from our Shellacking in Spartanburg. I saw that we won, it made me smile and may or may not have gotten a little crazy in the cab of the truck. I then got into my office and watched the 4th quarter. I am now ready to eat my crow. Also how hard do you guys think i'm going to have to beg my wife to steal her away from family on thanksgiving to come with me to the Burg? old married dudes, any tips? I already cleaned the bathrooms. haha

My advice... Marry a girl from the burg!

I married a Georgia Girl. And upon texting her from the office asking if we could go she told me she might not make it but I was welcome to go. #ShesAKeeper.

No problem with my wife... Of course the fact that our two daughters decided they wanted to live in the burg after completing school has nothing to do with it

[R i]

Is this real life ?

1) The Kool aid doesn't taste as good with a mouth full of crow. And YES this victory did change all of your minds, our program got over the proverbial hump and Gill is the only man that has done that in school history. If you are one that has a tendency to over react, and fire all the coaches and or complain in the game thread all game long about how terribly coached this team is, Its not your fault. I have realized you were being realistic, not just Debbie downers, our program was in a dark place and Gill found the light.

2) Everyone is sharing their LU story. Liberty Football means a ton to me because when I was a freshman, the team didn't win a game, and I sat at an 87 degree game, with 300 other people to watch Liberty get smashed. When I was down on Liberty as a place I wanted to attend , or be a part of, (something all college freshman go through, no matter the school) I turned to athletics, and I started reading Flamefans.com and that was my outlet. No matter how much I missed home, hated the rules, wanted to party/be wild/do drugs *sarcastic* , No matter how hard classes were, or girl problems got, no matter how much fun my highschool friends were having and JMU or VaTech, I turned to Liberty Athletics and found my identity as a fan of "my college". So it is with great pleasure, I proclaim to you today. My Alma-mater the Liberty University Flames, are Big South Football Champs !! AND (what an important "and" that was) WE ARE GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS!