Liberty is back in action this Saturday to take on Ole Miss at noon EST in a game carried on SEC Network. The Flames will be looking get to the 8-win plateau for a third consecutive season. On Thursday, Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze met with the media to give his final update prior to kickoff. Here are the main takeaways from his media session.

FLAMES EXCITED FOR THE OPPORTUNITY

Liberty is about a 9-10 point underdog against No. 15 Ole Miss on Saturday depending on where you look for your betting lines. The opportunity to play against an SEC opponent gives Coach Freeze and his football a lot of energy and juice this week.

“Excited about an opportunity to go stand together against a big challenge,” Freeze said. “Those are exciting times and opportunities for us and our kids. The biggest hurdle we faced this week is you can convince yourself to stay another hour and when you do you find three other things that you like. The biggest challenge when the truth is that you’re facing probably a more talented roster than what you have, sometimes you get too much. I think that’s kind of the way the week started out. Hopefully we have gotten it to where our kids are comfortable. It doesn’t matter how many great ideas you have if they don’t feel good about executing them.”

KEYS FOR A WIN

Freeze went into some of his keys for the game if Liberty is to go into his old home and come away with a win on Saturday.

“We’ve got to be better on the road and more locked in and tougher together,” he said. “Keep our shield up and we can not lose heart. Keep doing good and fight for the 60 minutes and see where we land. Then, you’ve got to protect your mind. The two things we have worked on this week are our shield and our helmet. Let’s lock out the fear and anxiety that you may have and let’s keep our shield up where our heart has hope and then let’s fight for 60 minutes.”

“It’s going to take those intangibles, and then us hopefully taking care of the ball and maybe causing a few turnovers. Being really stingy in the red zone on defense, they’re going to get down there. They have on everybody. We’ve got to find a way to stay balanced on offense or at least the appearance of it.”

BRYCE MATHEWS ALSO MAKING HIS RETURN TO OLE MISS

Liberty offensive lineman Bryce Mathews will also be making his return to his alma mater at Ole Miss. He was recruited by and spend the first part of his career there before entering the transfer portal and ending up at Liberty. Freeze says it was a no-brainer to add Mathews to his roster when he had the opportunity.

“I knew exactly what I was getting in Bryce,” Freeze said. “He knew the culture, and I had great confidence irregardless of his injuries that may limit him some. I knew what he would bring to that locker room. He’s the type of kid and his family is the type of people that are great Liberty fits. It was great for us to get him here, for sure.”

NOT WORRIED ABOUT OLE MISS INJURIES

Freeze says he’s not worried about what is coming out from Ole Miss’ camp in regards to their injuries or guys who might potentially miss the game on Saturday.

“I don’t pay any attention to it,” he said. “Half the things you probably can’t believe on stuff that is said about injuries from time to time out of a lot of camps. I don’t know if that’s the case. I really don’t know. I know who didn’t play last week. I do know that, I pay attention to that, but that doesn’t mean they can’t play this week. We prepare for the system that we see and the players that could be on the field also.”

LOTS OF FRIENDS, FAMILY WILL BE AT GAME

Freeze mentioned in his press conference on Monday that he was getting a higher than expected volume of ticket requests from his friends and family, which shouldn’t come as a surprise as he returns to the place he was born, grew up, and coached at. Liberty’s head coach said he actually had to buy some tickets in addition to his allotment he gets for the game, which is unusual for a road game.

“I’m blessed to have a lot of friends and family that want to be there,” he said. “I look forward to seeing all of them.”