[R i]

How many wins do you expect this year?
7

How many wins should we expect each season?
Unsure, the agenda with scheduling is ever evolving. Based on the most reecent years , ( One FBS, One strong FCS, and conference minus Coastal) Id say 8.

What are your postseason expectations for this season? (no postseason, one and done, quarterfinals or better, championship caliber)
One and Done

Where do we rank in the Big South?
First

Where do we rank in the state of Virginia?
Third behind Richmond and W&M. Ahead of JMU, Hampton, Norfolk State, and VMI. This is a current ranking, not so much over the years. I believe JMU is down, and could go through rebuilding. Most nationally are not with me on that.

Losing a home playoff game in consecutive seasons will motivate the Dukes, who have to replace coach Everett Withers after he took the Texas State job. The offense will remain high-powered behind running backs Khalid Abdullah and Cardon Johnson, and quarterback Bryan Schor is more acclimated to the No. 1 role after being thrown into the mix when Vad Lee was injured in late October. And then there are the four All-CAA first-teamers at the new coach's disposal: wide receiver Brandon Ravenel, offensive lineman Mitch Kirsch, linebacker Andrew Ankrah and cornerback Taylor Reynolds. Great talent, but a team that's underperformed in the postseason. FBS opponent: North Carolina.

How do we compare to our rivals (Richmond, JMU, Coastal)?
Currently Third. Not sure why I have JMU down so much, other than we beat them, they wont play us, and they lost their coach. That and the financial stuff they are going through with cost of attendance.

On a scale of 1-5, how would you rate our recruiting past three recruiting classes?
4, We have hit on lots of stared prospects, I dont see us taking character issue guys for the most part, and kids seem to fit well and stay here for all 4 years under Gill.

On a scale of 1-5, how would you rate our offense?
2.0 , With the talent level we would crush low level teams, but when we got on par with our talent level, offensive struggles were real.

On a scale of 1-5, how would you rate our defense?
3.5 , We get to the QB, and have a decent pass defense. Running QBs and Junk Offenses give us trouble.

On a scale of 1-5, how would you rate our special teams?
4, this is where I disagree with Jon the most. Under Rocco, we were always fumbling punts, and killing ourselves on special teams. Although Boldin or Jackson could take one to the house every so often, I like the ball security. Lets not get into our kicking situation just 6 years ago. It was the most embarrassing part of our program. I am happy with where we are on special teams. We arent winning games, but we also are losing them there , for the most part.

Lastly, do you feel that with the current staff, we have the capability to compete for a national championship within the next 5 years?
Yes for Three Reasons,
1) He represents our school well, and as an Alumni not wanting us to be Baylor in 20 years. I love that.
2) He recruits well, and gets the right kids here that stay or graduate.
3) If he isn't doing something right, I see no trepidation to make a change. Our former coaches have had lots of trouble admitting when change was needed.

[rtb72]

How many wins do you expect this year?
I hope for at least 8....I expect 6

How many wins should we expect each season?
How serious is LU about going to the FBS or deep into playoffs? If we are serious about making our FB team a top competitor...that will not happen with .500 seasons. We better expect 8 to 9 as a minimum if we envision the program like i think we do in the future.

What are your postseason expectations for this season? (no postseason, one and done, quarterfinals or better, championship caliber)
Again, I hope for a playoff berth, but TBH I won't be surprised if we don't make it.

Where do we rank in the Big South?
Tied for 1st with CSU.....but beware of Kstate....they played some really good ball last year and their run game nearly did us in.

Where do we rank in the state of Virginia?
Hard to say for this season. I pass on this one till we can see where we stand with QB and Oline.

How do we compare to our rivals (Richmond, JMU, Coastal)?
3rd...the guys have really had a way of pulling it out against Coastal. Not sure why the past two seasons seem like they've had the "sea chicken's" number....but LU has played exceptional FB both home and away against Coastal.

On a scale of 1-5, how would you rate our recruiting past three recruiting classes?
Based only on this recent recruiting class.....I will go with 3.5. I think we have some really good athletes incoming and I think there is a lot to look forward to.

On a scale of 1-5, how would you rate our offense?
Hard to say this year. I'll go with a 3 based on my expectations of Masha and the talent of some of our receiving corp. But A LOT will hinge on our O line.....this was a major issue last season.

On a scale of 1-5, how would you rate our defense?
4...I can't wait to see our corners/safeties at work this season. Lots of speed from what I've heard and we have some experience at the line.

On a scale of 1-5, how would you rate our special teams?
Again, hard to say. New PK and new coordinator. First game or two will give us a lot of insight.

Lastly, do you feel that with the current staff, we have the capability to compete for a national championship within the next 5 years?
I do. They've shown they can put wins together against high ranking teams. They have the ability to compete and win. I think some of our woes last year were at the OC play calling as I was pulling my hair out at GW. We have a strong recruiting class incoming and HCTG knows what he needs to compete nationally, but consistency has been a problem....especially on the road.

I am really hopeful Masha can deliver and if not Buckshot is all he's touted to be. I am a bit concerned with our running game, but seeing the new offensive scheme will tell us a lot about how that will play into the overall offensive philosophy. At the end of the day....I genuinely believe we can compete and are capable of winning every game with the exception of maybe Va. Tech. SMU could very well be a win for us, and JState is in our sandbox. We have a chance for a great season!

[LUnpretty11]

Bump.

We are a terrible football team and our athletic department looks like it may be in shambles. Liberty football looks like Hollywood right now. Flashy, attractive, expensive, accessories, prestige, but it's all one big facade.
I have never experienced this much disappointment in the last 10 years of following Liberty athletics. It's one thing to be told we are great and almost prove it. It's a totally other thing to be told we are great and blow it on the field. To recap: We got blown out by 3 FCS teams worse than every FBS opponent we played in the last 8+ years in the 5th year of our HC. Liberty hasn't been this humiliated on the football season since 2005. Gill is in his 5th year and has had his 2 worse seasons in years 4 & 5. His daughter has continuously embarrassed herself and Liberty on social media. The players gave up yesterday. Our AD was fired. We got embarrassed by CSU at home. CSU. At home. Blown out. We got embarrassed at CCU. For those saying "there was nothing to play for" or "it was a meaningless game", you're dead wrong. CCU has been touted as our biggest rival and we rolled over like a dog. Our poor O-line is in shambles. I genuinely feel bad for Calvert and Masha. I just hope these guys don't transfer this off season.

TG - 32-24 in 5 seasons
DR - 35-15 in 5 seasons prior to TG
*I removed all non-D1 wins from the records*

I have purposely stayed off the keyboard this week for fear of posting something like this, but we are clearly nowhere near where we thought we were or who we thought we were. McKay, Jackson and Dot hold the keys to anything regarding excitement around Liberty athletics right now.

[Purple Haize]

The number of people visiting is amazing. We may have to expand capacity

[LUnpretty11]

The number of people visiting is amazing. We may have to expand capacity

The is no longer the . It's called "The Reality Side" now.

[Chippy]

I gotta think that most reasonable people (thanks Jim Comey) would have said 6-5 was to be expected given the youth on this team. Having to play 2 FBS teams and 3 highly ranked FCS teams was an obstacle from the get go; however, losing by wide margins and not being competitive is what is so frustrating, especially the home losses. Certainly injuries and suspensions and 1 "retirement" seemed to doom us as we had the JV playing on the O-line and D-line in the last two games and it showed. We have a great core of players returning next year and hopefully the schedule will not be as daunting.

[Jonathan Carone]

As a program, I don't think we're terribly far off. Just need to make a good hire and get an actual team identity. The foundation is there.

[LUnpretty11]

There's a difference between 6-5 with 2 FBS losses and 6-5 and getting humiliated in 3 games we should not have been humiliated in. We have a lot of talent on our football team, but the lack of player development and discipline is killing us.

[Sly Fox]

I honestly feel our talent is in pretty good shape. We should never have found ourselves in the mess in the trenches this year and that ultimately proved ot be our undoing. But I could see a really strong season next year.

[rtb72]

I honestly feel our talent is in pretty good shape. We should never have found ourselves in the mess in the trenches this year and that ultimately proved ot be our undoing. But I could see a really strong season next year.

I would agree with one caveat....we have to have a coaching staff with vision and strategic game planning ability.

[Jonathan Carone]

Even if we slash our budget by half, it'll still be as much or more than Rocco had. Add that to the skill players we have and you have a very attractive job.

[LUnpretty11]

I honestly feel our talent is in pretty good shape. We should never have found ourselves in the mess in the trenches this year and that ultimately proved ot be our undoing. But I could see a really strong season next year.

Talent isn't in question. We have very skilled players on this team. The question is if we have the player development and strategy in place to pull out their full potential. I would argue, we currently do not.

[Jonathan Carone]

When Nick and KC are saying it's time for a change, you know there are issues.

[LUnpretty11]

When Nick and KC are saying it's time for a change, you know there are issues.

I am glad you hold my opinions in such high regard, Jon. Thank you.

[LUGrad2000]

We have played 28 seasons of FCS football and have 1 playoff appearance.

[JK37]

How does that compare to other FCS programs? I honestly don't know. Anyone have that stuff handy?

[Jonathan Carone]

This is from October 2013 so it's changed a little bit but you can get the point:

Take a look at the schools that we've been competing with for conference invitations and how we compare with them since 1989.

Appalachian State: 23 winning seasons, 18 playoff appearances
Georgia Southern: 21 winning seasons, 15 playoff appearances
Old Dominion: 3 winning seasons, 2 playoff appearances
Sam Houston State: 12 winning seasons, 5 playoff appearances
Jacksonville State: 12 winning seasons, 3 playoff appearances
Liberty: 14 winning seasons, 0 playoff appearances

[BJWilliams]

The question I have is, of that list, how many of them are in the same relative peer group as Liberty as a D1 program (first full season as a D1 in 1989)?

[Jonathan Carone]

Looking at this year's seeded playoff teams:

Jacksonville State didn't move up until 93.
NDSU 2004.
SDSU 2004.
North Dakota 2008.

[Jonathan Carone]

Expanding it to the entire playoff field:

Cal Poly - 94
San Diego - 93
St. Francis - 93
Central Arkansas - 07
Samford - 89
Charleston Southern - 93

So 10 of the 24 playoff teams are as young or younger than we are in terms of years being in Division I football.

[BJWilliams]

In my own mind at least I don't classify NDSU, SDSU and UND in an equal peer group. Of the seeded teams JSU is the closest. Thanks for doing the research on the entire field Jon (I was more referring to teams as old as we are as being in the relative peer group, not necessarily younger)

[Purple Haize]

Expanding it to the entire playoff field:

Cal Poly - 94
San Diego - 93
St. Francis - 93
Central Arkansas - 07
Samford - 89
Charleston Southern - 93

So 10 of the 24 playoff teams are as young or younger than we are in terms of years being in Division I football.

Which should tell you IF there is a problem it's Systemic and not due to the coaching staff per se

[Jonathan Carone]

In my own mind at least I don't classify NDSU, SDSU and UND in an equal peer group. Of the seeded teams JSU is the closest. Thanks for doing the research on the entire field Jon (I was more referring to teams as old as we are as being in the relative peer group, not necessarily younger)

Huh?

[BJWilliams]

Lemme try this again...In order to make what I think would be a true apples to apples comparison, I was thinking of comparing teams that came into Division I around the same time as Liberty (as I said, first full season in Division I is 1989) and their relative playoff record (# of appearances, # of wins). Obviously there are younger programs who have had more success by comparison (which raises a whole new sub-topic of discussion I think).

[Jonathan Carone]

But when answering the question of where are we as a program, it's incomplete to only look at teams the same age as us, especially when younger programs have reached greater heights.