The calendar has turned to April and that means we are only getting closer to the upcoming football season. The Liberty Flames have begun preparation for the 2025 season under third year head coach Jamey Chadwell as the Flames seek to get back on top of Conference USA.
It is also time to start previewing and looking ahead to Liberty’s 2025 schedule. Remember, it’s not just about who you play and where you play them but it is also about when you play them as well. Some teams are a lot easier to beat at certain weeks or points of the season for various reasons – especially if Liberty is well-rested. Let’s dive in – August 30th can’t come soon enough!
August/September
- Game 1 August 30th: Maine
- Game 2 September 6th: @ Jacksonville State*
- Game 3 September 13th: @ Bowling Green
- Game 4 September 20th: James Madison
- Game 5 September 27th: @ Old Dominion
Just like last year, the Flames will open the season at home in late August against an FCS opponent. This year, Liberty takes on Maine on August 30th. The Black Bears are coming off a 5-7 campaign where they were 3-5 in CAA play under fourth year head coach Jordan Stevens. Liberty and Maine have met once previously since the Flames moved to the FBS, with Liberty picking up a 59-44 win at Williams Stadium in 2019 behind 351 passing yards and 5 touchdowns from Buckshot Calvert.
We will begin to learn a lot about this year’s Liberty team in week two when the Flames head to Alabama to take on the defending CUSA champ Jax State. The Gamecocks will have a new look as Rich Rod has returned home to West Virginia and Charles Kelly has taken over as head coach. This will be the first time as a head coach for the long time defensive assistant, coming to Jax State after spending the 2024 season at Auburn as co-Defensive Coordinator.
Another first-year head coach will be on the agenda for Liberty in Week 3 when the Flames travel to Ohio to take on Bowling Green. Former Heisman Trophy winner and College Football Hall of Fame inductee, Eddie George was named the Falcons’ head coach in March. He comes to Bowling Green after four years as the head coach at Tennessee State where he compiled a 24-22 record, including a 9-4 mark last fall. Bowling Green was 7-6 last year and lost to Arkansas State, 38-31, in the 68 Ventures Bowl.
A former FCS rivalry will be reborn but this time at the FBS level when in-state foes Liberty and James Madison meet in late September in Lynchburg. The Dukes have gone to bowl games each of the past two seasons as they have had a successful early tenure in the FBS. Bob Chesney guided JMU to a 9-4 record in his first year last season, winning the Boca Raton Bowl.
The Flames will remain in state and in the Sun Belt, taking on Old Dominion to round out the season’s first month. Liberty has dominated the series history since moving to FBS, winning four straight including the most recent meeting, 38-10, in Lynchburg in 2023. Entering his fifth season, Ricky Rahne will be looking to have his first winning season at ODU after going 5-7 a season ago.
October
- Game 6 October 8th: @ UTEP*
- Game 7 October 14th: New Mexico State*
The Flames have just two midweek games this year, leading to just two games in the month of October. There will be an extended break prior to the first game of the month at UTEP and then an extra lengthy layover at the end of the month with just six days between the two contests. The Flames will play at UTEP in the Miners’ final season in Conference USA before they move to the Mountain West. Head coach Scotty Walden will be looking to build off a 3-9 rookie campaign in El Paso.
In his seventh year as a head coach, Tony Sanchez will be looking for his first winning season. He and the Aggies were 3-9 last year, struggling to a 2-6 mark in conference play.
November
- Game 8 November 1: Delaware*
- Game 9 November 8th: Missouri State*
- Game 10 November 15th: @ FIU*
- Game 11 November 22nd: @ Louisiana Tech*
- Game 12 November 29th: Kennesaw State*
Liberty rounds out the final month of the season with five games, beginning with two at home against FBS and CUSA newbies. Ryan Carty enters his fourth year as the head coach of the Fightin’ Blue Hens as they begin the transition to Conference USA. Carty and Delaware have won at least eight games in each of his first three seasons, including nine the past two years. Meanwhile, Ryan Beard is in his third year guiding Missouri State and coming off an 8-4 mark last season.
The Flames will then hit the road for two straight, the final two road games of the regular season. Liberty’s trip begins in Miami in the middle of the month, taking on FIU. The Flames have won each of the past two meetings with the Panthers, including a 31-24 victory at Williams Stadium last October. The Flames and Bulldogs will meet for the first time since 2023 as the two missed each other in the conference schedule last year. Liberty defeated Louisiana Tech, 56-30, in Lynchburg in the first meeting as the two will now meet in Ruston, Louisiana for the first time.
Liberty concludes the regular season at home in late November, taking on Kennesaw State. The Owls picked up their first win of the season and first win of their FBS era last October, upsetting the Flames, 27-24, in Kennesaw. Now, Kennesaw will try to pick up a win at Williams Stadium like they did in 2017, 42-28, when both teams were members of the Big South and FCS.
