All season Liberty and head coach Jamey Chadwell have talked about competing for a conference championship. On Friday, the Flames have their opportunity.

Liberty (12-0, 8-0 CUSA) will meet New Mexico State (10-3, 7-1 CUSA) for the Conference USA Championship. Kickoff from Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.

“Tons of respect for Coach Kill and New Mexico State and what they have been able to do and the way they have finished the season strong,” said Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell. “As a team, we’ve talked about the value of this conference and that there’s good football being played. Obviously, what they have been able to do to go to SEC country and dominate the way they’ve done, just speaks volumes of how our conference is and where it stands.”

The Aggies have had a tremendous season under second year head coach Jerry Kill, winning eight games in a row including a win at Auburn, 31-10, a couple weeks ago. Now, they return to Lynchburg and Williams Stadium for a third time in 12 months. We all know the story from last year’s regular season finale when quarterback Diego Pavia and the Aggies torched the Flames and former head coach Hugh Freeze.

Back in week two, Liberty got a bit of revenge with a 33-17 win at Williams Stadium on Sept. 9. Kaidon Salter accounted for four touchdowns in the CUSA opener for both teams. The Flames had 526 yards of offense with 276 through the air and 250 on the ground, led by Quinton Cooley’s 106 and Billy Lucas who had 90.

NMSU opened the season with losses in three of their first five games. In addition to the loss at Liberty, the Aggies also suffered setbacks to UMass and Hawaii. They are certainly a better team now than they were during the month of September.

The Aggies go as their quarterback Diego Pavia goes. He has completed 199 of 325 passes for 2,727 yards, 23 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. Pavia also leads the team in rushing as he’s carried the ball 153 times for 808 yards and 5 scores.

“He’s a winner. He’s a competitor. He’s the type you watch on video and you think you have him and he finds a way to get out and make a play,” Chadwell said of Pavia. “He’s so dangerous when he’s out of the pocket and with his running or with his throwing ability. He just has a great confidence. Even from our first game, just watching him and the things that he did, you are amazed by the competitiveness that he has. I believe, through watching him the rest of the season, it’s rubbed off on his team there. They play with this strong belief in each other and competitive fire. I think that’s a direct result of him and the way he plays the game. Very impressed with him, respect him greatly. He’s tremendous, he’s a tremendous player, makes them go for sure. We had our hands full with him the first time, and he’s way better this time. it will be a big challenge for our defense. You can’t stop him, he’s a guy you hope you can contain and limit some of the things he does, but he’s going to make plays.”

At receiver, Pavia has two primary targets in Jonathan Brady and Trent Hudson. Brady leads the team with 33 receptions and 518 yards to go along with 3 touchdowns. Hudson has 29 receptions for 439 yards and a team-high 8 touchdowns.

Star Thomas is NMSU’s top running back. He has 103 carries on the season for 604 yards and 4 touchdowns. He’s also a weapon out of the backfield in the receiving game with 20 receptions for 200 yards and 2 scores.

On defense, New Mexico State touts the leading scoring defense in CUSA, holding opponents to 19.7 points per game compared to Liberty’s 21.7 points allowed each contest. The Aggies have also been really good against the rushing attack this season, holding opponents to 3.9 yards per carry and 126 rushing yards per game.

Liberty did have some success on the ground back in the first meeting of the season. The Flames rushed for 4.8 yards per carry and 250 yards led by Cooley’s 106 and Lucas who had 90. Salter also had 43 rushing yards and 2 rushing scores on 9 carries.

PREDICTION

Liberty 31, New Mexico State 21

Line: Liberty -10.0

Picks results this year:
Straight-up: 12-0
ATS: 5-7