Liberty (3-0, 2-0 CUSA) defeated UTEP (0-3, 0-1), 28-10 on Saturday night at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia in front of 21,805 fans.

After a game opening three and out, the Miners took advantage of a shanked punt from Max Morgan. Starting field position at the Liberty 45, UTEP was able to drive into the red zone before settling for a 26-yard field goal to take a 3-0 lead as the Flames fell behind in the first half for a third straight game.

Liberty turned to their all-conference running back Quinton Cooley on the next drive. His 28-yard run set the Flames up in Miner territory and got the offense rolling. Cooley would leave the field with an injury during the drive, and Billy Lucas would punctuate the scoring possession with a 12-yard sprint into the end zone. The 10 play drive consisted of nine runs and went 84 yards as the Flames got into the end zone to take the 7-3 lead.

The Flames’ defense continued their strong play from the second half of last week’s game at New Mexico State. Christian Bodnar recorded the first interception for Liberty this season. On the next defensive possession, Dexter Ricks picked off a second pass at the UTEP 24. Kaidon Salter would connect with Vaughn Blue for a 23-yard pass to the one, and then Lucas scored his second touchdown of the night.

UTEP would miss a 42-yard field goal in the second quarter, and both offenses struggled to move the ball consistently. The teams exchanged punts throughout much of the second quarter, entering the locker room with the Flames leading 14-3.

The Miners broke free for a 60-yard touchdown pass and run to get into the end zone for the first time of the game early in the third quarter. It cut their deficit to just 14-10. The two teams would exchange punts each of their next two possessions. That changed after Salter connected with tight end Jacob Jenkins for a 33-yard gain, his first catch of the season. A few plays later and Billy Lucas had his third rushing touchdown of the game to push the lead to 21-10.

Trailing by 11, UTEP head coach Scotty Walden elected to go for it on 4th and 4 at the 13 instead of attempt a 31-yard field goal to make it a one possession game. The Liberty defense would get the stop and turnover on downs. Salter would complete all 4 of his passes for 61 yards on the ensuing Liberty drive, ending in a 13-yard pass from Salter to Tyson Mobley, pushing the Flames lead to 28-10.

FLAMES CONTINUE TO BE INCONSISTENT ON OFFENSE

For a third straight game, the Flames had difficult finding a consistent rhythm throughout the night on offense. At times, the offense would put together a nice drive and start to feel some confidence and momentum. Then, three straight possessions where the team was just unable to to click. Salter did complete his final 8 passes on the night as the offense started clicking some late in the game.

The team has done enough to get the job done through the first three games and put a win on the board each time out, but with East Carolina and Appalachian State on the horizon, that might not work the next couple of weeks.

On the night, Salter completed 15 of 19 passes for 228 yards and 1 touchdown. Meanwhile, the Flames focused on running the ball throughout the night. Liberty rushed 43 times for 187 yards. Lucas led the way with 21 carries for 104 yards and 3 scores. Cooley had 6 carries for 45  yards before exiting the game due to injury in the first quarter. Vaughn Blue added 9 yards on 4 attempts.

DEFENSE STOUT ONCE AGAIN

Like the offense, the defense has been inconsistent at times throughout the season, but it put together its most complete game of the season so far on Saturday night.

After NMSU’s first three drives that all ended in scores last week, the defense flipped a switch and was almost lights out the rest of the night. Throughout most of the games this week against UTEP, the defense stood strong. The Miners had 73 offensive plays but were only able to put up 10 points on the board.

The Flames picked up its first two interceptions of the season and finished the game with 3 turnovers. TJ Bush was also a force throughout the night, frequently chasing the UTEP quarterback out of the pocket as he scrambled for his life. It wasn’t just Bush, the Liberty defense created pressure most of the game.

INJURIES BECOMING A CONCERN

The Flames have already been dinged by the injury bug some this year with LG John Paul Flores missing a good chunk of the season to begin the year and WR/KR Juju Gray missing two straight games now. Flores is expected to be out a few more weeks, potentially returning in October while Gray has been listed as week to week.

WR Darius Copeland, who plays a very similar role to that of Gray, left the game against UTEP due to injury and would not return. He had a 7-card run on an option pitch at the 9-minute mark of the first quarter. As he fell to the ground, Copeland appeared to grab his left lower leg.

After only having three carries int he first half of last week’s game at New Mexico State, we got a heavy dose of RB Quinton Cooley to begin the game. He had 6 carries for 45 yards on Liberty’s first two drives of the night, punctuated by a 28-yard run with 6 minutes left in the first quarter. At the end of that run, Cooley appeared hobbled and left the game. He was carried into the injury tent and then jogged off the field to the locker room. He did not return.

DT Jay Hardy got injured early last week at NMSU and will miss about 4-6 weeks. The Flames continued to take a hit on the interior of the line as Eliyt Nairne and Bryce Dixon both exited the game in the 4th quarter with injury.

Up Next

Liberty steps out of conference next week and will play host to East Carolina. The Pirates are currently 2-1 on the season and coming off a 21-19 loss at home to Appalachian State. They also have wins over Norfolk State (42-3) and Old Dominion (20-14). Next Saturday’s kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.