Talk about a bounce back win. The Flames certainly didn’t play like a top team in the nation during their loss against the Salukis of Southern Illinois last Saturday, but Woodrum and Co. looked like a brand new team from the moment they took the field at the Georgia Dome.
Quarterback:
Josh Woodrum – 25/32 239yds, 6 rushes for 44 yds
If you would have told me ahead of time that Josh Woodrum would finish the game without a touchdown pass, I would think that our chances of winning were pretty slim. But despite failing to find any of his receivers in the end zone, he was able to find them just about everywhere else.
The Flames’ senior quarterback was as efficient as he’s been all season, going 25 for 32 with no interceptions. Those 25 completions were made to six different Liberty receivers for a total of 239 yards.
Josh began the game by leading the Flames on another long opening drive that’s become almost a given his season. It ended up leaving the Flames with nothing as backup quarterback Stephon Masha fumbled on a designed quarterback run inside the red zone.
From there on out, the Flames looked unstoppable on offense for most of the night. On the following drive, Woodrum ran the option on a 3rd down and 2 and kept it himself for a pickup of 36. Josh would make another big play for the Flames in the 1st, picking up a 4th and 1 on a quarterback keeper.
The Flames returned to the option this week as well and Woodrum ran it to perfection. The option accounted for nearly all of Josh’s 44 rushing yards.
Woodrum looked especially impressive tonight with powerful, accurate throws to the sideline. These high-percentage throws allowed Woodrum to guide the Flames to a big win against a Sun Belt opponent.
Grade: B+
Running Backs
Des Rice – 22/87yds 3 TDs D.J. Abnar – 10/88yds Todd Macon 5/11yds 2TDs
After being almost entirely absent last week against SIU (production wise at least), the run game had its most impressive showing of the season to date, carrying the ball exactly 50 times for a total of 263 yards. That’s not to say it was a completely dominating performance.
The running game’s inability to convert on early 3rd and short situations created some uncomfortable 4th downs. I’m not personally an advocate of going for it on fourth down, especially not early on in the game. The Flames did so Saturday afternoon and it paid off every single time.
The Flames had failed to run for over 100 yards in their previous three contests, but recorded nearly three times that in this game en route to five touchdowns.
One final note on the running backs: Play of the game goes to Todd Macon for his hurdle on the way into the end zone at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Nasty.
Grade: A
Wide Receivers
Darrin Peterson – 9/89yds Damian King – 4/49yds Zac Parker 5/46yds
The wide receivers have arguably been the most consistent unit on the team so far this season and they certainly didn’t disappoint in the Georgia Dome on Saturday afternoon. No, they didn’t get a touchdown, but the unit as a whole made some incredible catches and made would be tacklers miss all afternoon.
It all started with the return of Darrin Peterson to the lineup. Peterson missed the game against Southern Illinois with a lower body injury and the Flames noticeably felt his absence in their loss to the Salukis. This week against Georgia State, Josh Woodrum returned to his favorite target, hitting him nine times for a total of 89 yards.
Peterson got the Flames off on the right foot on their first drive of the afternoon, making a difficult catch in double coverage then taking a sweep 15 yards to move the Flames down the field. Damian King and Zac Parker also impressed with their elusiveness in the open field. B.J. Farrow and Dante Shells each had three receptions for the Flames.
Grade: B+
Offensive Line
I think I speak for most Flames fans when I say that I didn’t expect much from this offensive line. But I don’t think any of us anticipated just exactly how badly the offense would be hindered at times due to this line’s inability to generate a push up front.
Last week against SIU, the offense line was unbelievably bad. The Flames were held to 2.2 yards per rush attempt. On two occasions, Woodrum was sacked almost instantly, fumbling the ball.
This week in Atlanta, the Flames o-line rebounded and consistently opened big holes for the Flames running backs.
There were a couple of instances early on where the Flames faced 3rd down and short, but failed to generate enough push. Fortunately, none of that seemed to matter when Coach Gill sent the offense back on to the field on 4th down. The offensive line played a major role in these crucial 4th and short situations and should be recognized for their success.
We did see a breakdown in protection in the beginning of the 4th quarter when Woodrum took big hits on consecutive plays and Trey Turner got destroyed on the ensuing punt.
Despite this spell of play, the offensive line took a big step forward this week and Flames fans should be feeling much better about the unit’s ability to get the run game going and protect Josh Woodrum as Liberty enters Big South play.
Grade: B
