Liberty (8-3, 5-3 CUSA) lost to Sam Houston (9-3, 6-2), 20-18, on Friday afternoon at Bowers Stadium in Huntsville, Texas.

The Flames fell behind early as Sam Houston drove the field and tacked on a 39-yard field goal to begin with a 3-0 lead. Liberty was unable to get any offense going, something that would be a sign of things to come for the game.

Liberty would get on the board thanks to a Donovan Dozier pressure on the quarterback in the end zone, it resulted in a sack and safety as Sam Houston quarterback Hunter Watson was whistled for intentional grounding.

The score would remain at 3-2 going into the second quarter. The Bearkats got two touchdowns in that period to take a commanding 17-2 lead. Thanks to a Dozier interception near midfield, the Flames got a short field and were able to get into the end zone on a Salter p=10-yard pass to Elijah Canion, making the score 17-9 at the break.

The hobbled Kaidon Salter gave way to Ryan Burger at quarterback to open the second half. The Liberty offense was not much better in the second half, unable to convert or put points on the board in the third quarter to put pressure on the Bearkats.

With Salter back in at quarterback, the Flames moved the ball into the red zone and would add a 43-yard Colin Karhu field goal to make it a one score game at 20-12 with 7:20 left in the game.

After a three and out forced by the Liberty defense, the Flames would move the ball into the red zone. The drive would end there on a turnover on downs as Salter was sacked and had 3 incompletions on the final four plays of the drive.

The Liberty defense then forced another three and out, calling all three timeouts in the process, forcing a Sam Houston punt from its own 26 with 2:27 left. The Flames moved the ball into Sam Houston territory and got into the end zone when Kaidon Salter rushed it in from 33 yards out, bringing the Flames within two at 20-18. Liberty would try the two-point conversion with just 1:10 left in the game, but Salter was forced out of the pocket and had to throw the ball into the end zone where it was intercepted. Sam Houston would recover the onside kick and kneel on the ball to finish the game.

QB WOES AFFECT OFFENSE

Kaidon Salter hurt his ankle late in the fourth quarter against Western Kentucky last week. It kept him hobbled and limited throughout the week at practice.

Coach Chadwell elected to go with his starter, but it was clear he was not his typical self. Salter did not have one rushing attempt in the first half and was just 7 of 21 passing for 43 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception in the opening half.

Trailing at the break and with Salter limited, the Flames handed the reigns of the offense over to backup quarterback Ryan Burger. Without much playing time this season, the offense was unable to get jump-started behind Burger. He would finish the game 0 for 2 passing and rushed 5 times for 7 yards. After a couple of unsuccessful drives, Salter came back into the game. He had more success in the fourth quarter but not enough to get the team over the hump.

The Liberty quarterback finished 12 of 35 passing for 83 yards 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. He would rush it 3 times for 23 yards and the one score.

RUSHING OFFENSE STRUGGLES

Liberty rushed for 419 yards last week and has surpassed the 300 yard rushing mark in each of the past three games, all wins. It helped vault the rushing attack to the number two offense in the country entering this weekend’s games.

Unfortunately, it did not translate to Friday’s game. The top rushing defense in Conference USA, Sam Houston held the Flames to its lowest rushing output of the season at 179 yards with most of that coming in the fourth quarter.

Liberty’s previous low in rushing this season was in a loss at Kennesaw State, rushing for 180. The lowest last season was 168 in the Fiesta Bowl to Oregon and the lowest of the regular season was 191 on the ground to this same Sam Houston team last year.

REGULAR SEASON ENDS IN DISAPPOINTMENT

The Flames entered the season with extremely high expectations. Many expected Liberty to repeat as conference champions and contend for a College Football Playoff spot. The CFP chances ended with a loss at Kennesaw State in October and it looked like the conference championship race was over after a second straight loss to Jacksonville State that came the next week.

Liberty did fight back to win three straight, including an impressive win over Western Kentucky last week. Unfortunately, with the loss to the Bearkats on Friday, those championship dreams come to an end, as well.

It’s hard to take anything but disappointment from a season that failed to meet its expectations. Finishing with 8 wins, even with the one game cancelled due to Hurricane Helen at Appalachian State, is a tough pill to swallow heading into bowl season and the looming off-season.

Up Next

Liberty is officially eliminated from Conference USA Championship contention with the loss and now awaits the team’s bowl destination.