Entering the program’s fourth season under head coach Hugh Freeze, the Liberty Flames are looking to get back to a fourth straight bowl game in 2022. The Flames will have to do so with a bit of a new look roster this season as a record 10 players agreed to terms with NFL teams as part of the 2022 NFL Draft class including third-round selection Malik Willis.
2022 will also be the final year for the program as an FBS Independent before joining Conference USA beginning with the 2023 season. There is much anticipation surrounding the upcoming season as the Flames will play its most anticipated home schedule in school history with Virginia Tech and BYU each coming to Lynchburg to take on Liberty.
Here is the full 2022 schedule:
09/03 @ Southern Miss
09/10 vs UAB
09/17 @ Wake Forest
09/24 vs Akron
10/01 @ Old Dominion
10/08 @ UMass
10/15 vs Gardner-Webb
10/22 vs BYU
10/29 OPEN
11/05 @ Arkansas
11/12 @ UConn
11/19 vs Virginia Tech
11/26 vs New Mexico State
What is the best case and worst case scenario for the Flames this fall? We offer our thoughts:
Best case: 10-2
The Flames are facing their most challenging schedule in school history with three games against Power Five programs and that doesn’t include BYU. Liberty will also play a very solid Group of Five program in UAB and traditionally strong Southern Miss.
If Coach Freeze can work his magic at quarterback and with his offense, then the Flames could, in theory, have an all time season to end the 2022 campaign as an FBS Independent with a bang. In this scenario, Liberty would be able to take care of business against teams it should be favored against, win the toss-up games, and spring an upset or two including knocking off Virginia Tech and BYU at Williams Stadium.
Worst-case: 5-7
If the Flames struggle at quarterback and on offense, particularly early in the season, it could be a long year. The first three games of the season – at Southern Miss, UAB, at Wake Forest – could all go in the loss column if things go wrong. This could set the team up for a rough season.
Still, there are a few games on the schedule that should be notched in the win column even if the Flames under-perform. Games against the likes of Gardner-Webb, Akron, UMass, New Mexico State, and UConn, should help with a solid number of wins as a baseline.
These are the best case and worst case scenarios that we see on the realm of possible this coming fall. In reality, Liberty is likely to finish somewhere in between and advance to the program’s fourth straight bowl game.
