Liberty (5-4) meets up with Presbyterian (3-6) on Saturday as part of Williams Stadium’s Military Appreciation Day. The Flames are seeking their ninth consecutive win over the Blue Hose, which would become the longest winning streak against a single opponent in program history. Liberty is 5-0 versus PC at Williams Stadium, 8-0 in Big South matchups, and 10-4 all-time against Presbyterian.
Liberty will be celebrating senior day
With Saturday’s game being Liberty’s final home contest of the 2017 season, the Flames will also be honoring 10 seniors prior to kickoff. Ernst Andersen, Dia’Vante Brown, Marquis Fitzgerald, Michael Henderman, Thomas Kennedy, Todd Macon, Solomon McGinty, Carrington Mosley, Trey Turner, and Hunter Winstead make up the class of 2017.
Flames need 1 more win to clinch a winning record
Dating back to 2006, Liberty has finished each season with a winning record. The Flames are one of only 5 FCS teams to have accomplished that feat during the same time period. Harvard owns the longest current streak of winning seasons at 16, with Jacksonville State (14), New Hampshire (13), and McNeese State (12) also with streaks dating to at least 2006 or later. With a win in either of its final 2 games this year, Liberty will push its streak to 12 consecutive seasons with a winning record.
Offensive line consistency
After suffering through numerous injuries and inconsistency on the offensive line in 2016, Liberty’s starting 5 on the O-line has seen much more consistency this season. In 2016, former offensive line coach Dennis Wagner and the Flames trotted out 8 different starting lineup combinations in the team’s 11 games. So far through the team’s first 9 games of 2017, there have been 2 different starting lineup combinations. In fact, Julio Lozano, Michael Henderman, Thomas Sargeant, Dontae Duff, and Ethan Crawford have been the Flames’ offensive line starting group in all except for one game, as Crawford has missed one game due to injury. Lozano, Henderman, Sargeant, and Duff have started all 9 games at their respective spots on the line.
My prediction:
Liberty 27, Presbyterian 17
