This is a series taking a look at the teams on Liberty’s 2023 schedule. It will be run over the next month, and we now turn our attention to Liberty’s game against UMass, the regular season finale at Williams Stadium.
Previous:
Bowling Green
New Mexico State
at Buffalo
at FIU
Sam Houston
at Jacksonville State
Middle Tennessee
at Western Kentucky
Louisiana Tech
Old Dominion
When
Week 12, Nov. 18, 1:00 p.m. (ESPN Network TBD)
Location
Williams Stadium – Lynchburg, VA
Last year’s record
1-11 Independent
Coach
Don Brown, 1-11 in one year
Returning starters
15 (seven on offense, eight on defense)
Post-Spring SP+ Ranking
They are 131st in Bill Connelly’s SP+ rankings after the spring. They’re 130th on offense and 101st on defense.
UMass story line
It has been a difficult time for the Minutemen since moving to FBS. They are 21-103 since making the leap and 3-37 over the last four years. UMass has lost 24 straight road games. Don Brown was UMass’ head coach during their glory years in the FCS and returned here to start the 2022 season. The defensive minded coach made some strides with the team last year, but still only won one game. Can they begin to turn things around in 2023?
A Liberty win would mean
Liberty has dominated the series between the two former FBS Independent teams. The Minutemen remain an Independent as the Flames are now in Conference USA. Liberty has won the last four meetings, all coming by massive margins. The Flames will be looking to continue that trend to conclude the regular season home schedule.
A Liberty loss would mean
A Liberty loss would sting as the Flames have been so dominant over UMass in recent seasons. It is expected that the Minutemen make some improvement in 2023, but an upset over Liberty would certainly be a feather in their cap for the season.
Up next
at UTEP
