1. MIX IN SOME TRICK PLAYS

Liberty has found incredible successes on offense this year and they have done so without relying on almost a single trick play. Liberty has simply beat their opponents with straight forward (yet creative) run and pass plays aided by the running abilities of Willis. However, against the ACC defense of the Hokies, Liberty is going to need to reach into their bag of tricks to catch VT off guard. Every team has trick plays that they work on but Liberty has had the luxury of not having to use them so far, thus the deeper sections of Freeze’s playbook have zero film on them. Liberty should still attempt to run their offense as normal, but they need to have some razzle-dazzle in their back pocket ready to go when required.

2. NO MISTAKES ON SPECIAL TEAMS

Alex Barbir is 7/11 on the year but only 2/6 from 30 yards or more. Against the stout Hokie defense, there are going to be times when Liberty sees their drive stall out prior to reaching the endzone and in those moments Liberty has to come away with points in what looks to be an offensive shoot out. Liberty will need Barbir to have the game of his life on Saturday if they want to threaten the 4-2 Hokies.

Aside from Barbir, Liberty cannot afford blunders in any other phase of the special teams. Kickoff coverage has been a concern with one TD allowed this year and another returned for a TD but called back due to penalties. Punting has been pretty good for the Flames, but Liberty can’t allow the hungry VT offense good starting field position, so pinning the Hokies deep on any drives that stall outside of the field goal range will be key.

3.WILLIS, WILLIS, WILLIS

Liberty’s chances to win this game hang almost entirely on Malik Willis. Willis has been beyond exceptional this year and the game has really seemed to slow down for him since coming back from his elbow injury. Liberty will need every ounce of Willis magic if it wants to have a shot at winning. However, as much as Liberty needs Willis to be playing fearless, he can’t play reckless and needs to prioritize ball security (which has been an issue for him throughout the season). Willis needs to know when he’s gotten everything he’s going to get and its time to hit the turf or run out of bounds. If Willis gets hurt, neither backup QB has shown yet that they have what it takes to win a game of this caliber for the Flames. Liberty won’t get many opportunities for second chances in this matchup so it will be of the utmost importance that Willis protects the ball and himself on Saturday.

SUMMARY

September 3rd 2016, Flames fans were going wild! 2 minutes and 20 seconds into the second quarter, Liberty had taken the lead over Virginia Tech with a 74 yard fumble return for a touchdown. The jubilation was not to last, however, as a Flames team struggling to find their footing and a starting QB would be held scoreless the rest of the game and VT would walk out of Blacksburg with a 36-13 victory. Later that season a young freshman by the name of Buckshot Calvert would establish himself as the starting QB and the rest is Liberty sports history.

This is not that same Flames team by a long shot. This is an established Liberty squad, deep in the season with 6 wins under their belt and a star QB who knows how to handle the offense. However, its also a Liberty squad which has faced one of the weakest schedules in the country (their opponents are 4-28). Liberty is a Top 25 team for the first time in school history and Saturday will be the ultimate test to see if the Flames deserve that high honor. Liberty has shown dramatic improvement throughout the season in all phases except the kicking game (which has improved vs the beginning of the season but only slightly) and has shown depth and experience especially in the backfield and receiving corps. However, VT is probably the toughest team Liberty will face all year and has one of the best run games on LU’s schedule. Although Liberty’s defense has shown tremendous growth, they probably don’t have what it takes quite yet (especially in the secondary) shut down one of the top ACC offenses (number 3 in total yards behind only Clemson and UNC).

As much as my true fan heart wants to predict a win in this one, I think Liberty is still at least a year away from being able to secure wins against the Virginia Techs of the world (although Hugh Freeze has the Flames absolutely headed there and well ahead of schedule). I think the offense keeps Liberty in this one late, but the Hokies manage to escape with a win over the #25 Flames (I will be 100% rooting against myself on Saturday!).

Final Score Prediction: Liberty 34 vs Virginia Tech 45

Written by Mr. Exclamation Point