It’s not often that a 5-2 team riding a five game winning streak goes into a game against a 1-6 team riding a six game losing streak with a chip on their shoulder, but such will be the case when Liberty heads to New Jersey to take on Rutgers Saturday afternoon.
“It’s definitely a big game, especially with the conference they’re ina nd Rutgers University how big they are,” Liberty quarterback Buckshot Calvert said. “This is our first year in the FBS. We definitely have a chip on our shoulder, definitely a big game for Liberty, and our team will be ready. We’re ready. It will be a fun one.”
The Flames are the newest FBS program, competing in its first season as a full FBS member. On the other hand, Rutgers is the longest tenured FBS program having played in the first collegiate football game ever played in 1869. That was 64 years before Liberty founder Dr. Falwell was born, more than 100 years before Liberty opened its doors in 1971 and 104 years before the Flames’ first football season in 1973.
“It’s a huge opportunity for us,” Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze said. “Their depth is better than ours right now. It’s going to be a great challenge to handle their defensive line, especially. This will be a great test for us.”
This isn’t the first time Liberty has played a Power 5 opponent this season and it won’t be the last. If the Flames are able to win the game, it won’t be the first time Liberty has defeated a Power 5 opponent. It wouldn’t be the first time Buckshot has led Liberty to a win over a P5 team.
Against Baylor in 2017, Calvert completed 44-of-60 passes for 447 yards – all school records – as the Flames beat the Bears in Waco, 48-45.
“The stage has never been too big for any of us,” Liberty running back Frankie Hickson. “(Buckshot) came in and had probably one of the best performances in Liberty history, it will go down as one of the best performances in Liberty history in a long time, against a Power 5 opponent. I think the biggest thing for us at Liberty is none of us are going to look at another man and say, ‘they’re supposed to beat us.’ It’s not going to happen. We’re all a scrappy bunch. We all have that mentality.”
Saturday’s game will mark the first time Liberty has ever been favored against a P5 team with the line opening at Liberty -4. It is now at Liberty -7.5. That doesn’t matter to Liberty’s players. They still feel like the underdog.
“We always feel like the underdog,” LB Solomon Ajayi said. “A lot of the guys on the team have always felt under-recruited, under-appreciated, with a chip on our shoulder. That’s something we stand by. Growing up everybody wants to play for a Power 5 team. It’s exciting. It’s a game I’ve been looking forward to – playing a Power 5 opponent and getting to see what they’re made of.”
Playing in the New York City Metropolitan area and on the Big Ten Network will give Liberty a new audience to play in front of as the Liberty brand continues to grow.
“We’re Independent, we just got to the FBS,” said DE Jessie Lemonier. “We always have a point to prove every week no matter what, no matter who we play. We always have a point to prove.”
The Flames have a huge opportunity to prove the program is heading in the right direction and can compete with some of the lower P5 teams. Regardless of their record, Rutgers has been able to recruit with that P5 label for years. Liberty only has one full recruiting class that was recruited to an FBS program, much less a P5.
“We’re getting ready to have a great test on the road at their place,” Freeze said. “We’re excited about it. Our kids are excited to have an opportunity to go in and continue building this program. I can’t wait to get there.”
