The Liberty Flames dropped their first game of the season, falling at Army, 38-14, to even their record at 1-1.
RANKING THE TOP PLAYS FROM THE GAME
- Liberty fell behind 24-0 early in the 3rd quarter, but quickly responded with touchdowns on consecutive drives to cut the lead to 10. With Buckshot and the offense rolling, the Flames quickly marched into Army territory threatening to cut the game to one score. Facing a 2nd and long, Calvert attempted to connect with Damian King for what would have been a touchdown. The ball sailed just out of King’s reach, and after a questionable 3rd down run play call and decision to punt, the Black Knights would put the game out of reach.
- B.J. Farrow made the first of two spectacular catches on the afternoon when he hauled in a 28-yard touchdown reception in the back of the end zone for the Flames’ 2nd score of the game.
- Buckshot connected with King for Liberty’s first touchdown of the game on a 28 yard toss and catch.
- The play has been overshadowed as it happened just a few plays before the sequence that came in #1 on this list, but Farrow made a terrific catch along the sideline and was able to get both of his feet down in bounds as he fell to the ground.
- While it wasn’t necessarily a great play for the Flames, it’s one that has certainly made the highlight reel all over the internet this weekend. Punter Aidan Alves chased down the Army punt returner after one of his punts and speared him with his helmet. He was ejected from the game for targeting.
WHAT IT MEANS
Welcome to the FBS? Hopefully this isn’t a sign of things to come as the Flames played their 2nd FBS game and first on the road of this 2018 season. The first two weeks marks the first time Liberty has ever played 2 FBS opponents in consecutive weeks. Army was the more physical team from the opening snap through the 4th quarter, and they imposed their will on the Flames.
Defensive coordinator Robert Wimberly switched his defensive alignment to a 3-4 for this game to try to slow down the Black Knights triple option attack. While the Flames held Army to 17 first half points, they were able to rush for 449 yards on the afternoon on 6.1 yards per carry. If it wasn’t for 100 penalty yards on Army in the first half, the game could have been decided by halftime. Fortunately, there aren’t anymore triple option teams on the schedule this year.
The play-calling on the offensive side of the ball was interesting. The Flames were extremely conservative in the first half. It could have been the coaching staff wanted to keep the offense on the field so the defense would remain as fresh as possible. It didn’t work. Liberty couldn’t get any rhythm going until they opened the playbook up and let Buckshot and his receivers go to work in the 3rd quarter. This led to 14 straight points and put the Flames in a position to make it a ballgame. Of course, that’s when the coaching staff took the ball out of Buckshot’s hands, and handed it off on a 3rd and 15 play. Once Army forced a 4th and long, the Flames elected to punt. The game was over once Army got the ball back and marched down the field and into the end zone.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Flames return to Williams Stadium to take on its first of two FCS opponents in Norfolk State. The Spartans are 1-1 on the season with a win over Division 2 Virginia State, 34-13, in the opener, and a 17-0 loss at home to James Madison on Saturday night. That loss against JMU was in just 1 quarter of play as the game was called due to lightning.
Liberty is 4-2 all-time against Norfolk State. Liberty won the last meeting, 17-0, in 2014.
Keep an eye on Hurricane Florence this week as it is threatening to make an impact on the game this weekend.
BY THE NUMBERS
449 & 6.1 | The Flames allowed the Black Knights to rush for 449 yards at a 6.1 yard per carry clip.
3 | Liberty had 3 turnovers on the afternoon, it’s incredibly difficult to beat solid FBS opponents on the road when losing the turnover battle by 3.
100 | Army had 100 penalty yards against them in the first half, but 0 in the 2nd 30 minutes.
417 | The Flames had 417 yards of total offense, 204 of which came in the 3rd quarter.
The coaching staff needs to make adjustments BEFORE halftime. They also have a tendency to move away from something that is working, for seemingly no reason. Hard to understand, even harder to watch.