The Flames dropped a heart breaker Saturday night in front of a record homecoming crowd at Williams Stadium. Liberty was able to force overtime thanks to a record 60 yard field goal from John Lunsford as time expired in regulation. Ultimately, however, the Flames’ defense was unable to stop Richmond’s offense in OT and Liberty lost its third game of the season by a score of 46-39. Here is how we grade the Flames’ performance this week.
QB Josh Woodrum turned in a gritty performance in Saturday’s heart breaking loss to Richmond.
Offense: B
The Flames’ offense put up 414 yards of total offense and 39 points Saturday night. Frankly, that should be enough to win games. The game plan was unique, as Liberty ran quite a bit of option in this one. However, it was a good plan as the Flames’ speed allowed them to succeed on the perimeter. Kudos to Aaron Stamm for the creative game planning. Josh Woodrum gets an A+ from me in this one. He was on target with his passes, even the few long balls he tried. A couple of dropped passes could have changed the complexion of this game. Josh ran tough, and showed speed in the open field, going for 98 yards and 2 TD’s. He was visibly fired up, and did an awesome job leading his team. Darrin Peterson also had an outstanding game, catching 11 passes for 136 yards and 3 TD’s. You cannot expect much more from him. D.J. Abnar had a solid contest as well, taking 11 carries for 108 yards. The only reason the offense doesn’t get an “A” is the horrendous 0-10 on 3rd down. Combine that with last week’s 1-11 3rd down performance, and the Flames have only converted 1 out of 21 3rd downs over the past two contests. That is a big factor in Liberty’s back to back losses. The Flames MUST rectify the 3rd down situation if they want to win in Boone this Saturday.
Defense: D
Liberty’s soft defensive philosophy has shown its weakness in consecutive games. Strong QB play has picked the Flames’ secondary apart with short and intermediate routes, as Liberty’s front four has been almost totally unable to create pressure. It is becoming clear that Defensive Coordinator Robert Wimberly does not trust his young secondary enough to blitz with any sort of frequency, giving opposing offenses plenty of time and room to work. He also has the corners playing quite soft, giving opposing receivers tons of space to play. Tackling has been mediocre at best over the past two weeks as well, bringing both ability and coaching into question. The Flames’ defense was only able to force two punts, and no turnovers on Saturday night. Were it not for Richmond missing three field goal attempts, this game would have probably been out of reach for LU. The defense’s inability to get off the field in the 4th quarter and OT ultimately cost Liberty this game, and was reminiscent of last year’s homecoming defeat at the hands of Coastal Carolina. I am not sure if these issues improve much against quality opponents this season. Liberty will improve with the return of Nick Sigmon to the line up, for sure. However, it doesn’t seem as if this defense has the horses to produce consistently against a quality offense.
Special Teams: C
If John Lunsford doesn’t turn in another record field goal, this is much worse. Most glaring was the Issac Brown kickoff blunder, which resulted in a wasted possession at a critical juncture of this game. There was simply no good reason Brown should have been attempting to field that kick. Getting the ball at the 25 yard line at worst is a pretty positive outcome for this return unit. Liberty’s once elite return game has really fallen over the past couple of seasons. Kickoff coverage was once again suspect, as the Flames gave up a 48 yard return. Punter Trey Turner had several solid punts in this one, but he also pumped out a 29 yarder in the 3rd quarter that could have been costly. The mental errors from Liberty’s special teams have to end if the Flames are going to win a close game.
Overall: C
The Flames’ offense showed a ton of heart in this one. Liberty’s defense didn’t suffer from lack of effort, but the Spiders were just too much for the young unit. They could have been helped by a few offensive 3rd down conversions in this one, but ultimately, the defense was given several chances to win this game for the Flames. Liberty’s playoff hopes are now solely in the Big South automatic bid. This week’s contest against App State means a lot to Liberty, as they will want to make a statement against a Sun Belt team. However, the game has literally zero bearing on the Flames’ playoff hopes. It will be interesting to see just how motivated the Liberty players are this Saturday.
