Entering the program’s first season under head coach Jamey Chadwelll, the Liberty Flames are looking to get back to a fifth straight bowl game in 2023. The Flames will also be competing for the program’s first ever conference title at the FBS level as the program transitions into Conference USA.

Here is the full 2023 schedule:

09/02 vs Bowling Green
09/09 vs New Mexico State*
09/16 @ Buffalo
09/23 @ FIU*
09/30 OPEN
10/05 vs Sam Houston*
10/10 @ Jacksonville State*
10/17 vs Middle Tennessee*
10/24 @ Western Kentucky*
11/04 vs Louisiana Tech*
11/11 vs Old Dominion
11/18 vs UMass
11/25 @ UTEP*
*CUSA game

What is the best case and worst case scenario for the Flames this fall? We offer our thoughts:

Best case: 11-1

This may seem optimistic, especially with Liberty only returning 8 starters (5 on offense and 3 on defense) from last year’s team that won 8 games, but the schedule is very manageable. There are no Arkansas’, BYU’s, Wake Forest’s, etc. There’s not even a UAB.

The Flames could very well be favored in 11 of 12 games this season, and, depending on how quickly the team gels and learns the new systems from the coaching staff, it could set up for a very special season.

The game at Western Kentucky is the most challenging contest on paper entering the season. The quick turnaround of just five days for the game at Jacksonville State will also be difficult, but there is a path, if everything goes perfectly (including Coach Chadwell finds his answer at quarterback) for a very special season. The best case scenario would also involve a conference championship in the program’s first ever season in an FBS conference as the Flames move into Conference USA.

Worst-case: 6-6

If the Flames struggle at quarterback and on offense, particularly early in the season, it could be a long year. Those first four games, before the bye week, could prove difficult. There could be an argument made that Liberty struggles out of the gates and is just 1-3 or even 0-4 by the end of September as the team adjusts to all the new faces, both on the sidelines and on the field.

Still, there are a few games on the schedule that should be notched in the win column even if the Flames under-perform and as the team adjusts to all the newness. The games at home against Sam Houston, Middle Tennessee, and UMass should provide very winnable opportunities to help boost the team’s floor for the 2023 season.

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 fifth straight bowl game. What do you think the Flames’ best and worst case scenarios are for this coming season, the first under Coach Chadwell and the first in Conference USA?