Liberty (6-1) plays host to BYU (4-3) on Saturday afternoon at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is one of the most anticipated games in school history and the largest crowd in the history of Williams Stadium is also expected.
The Cougars are led by 7th year head coach Kalani Sitake who sports a 52-32 overall record at his alma mater. Sitake and BYU have won at least 10 games in the past two years, finishing the season ranked in the top 25 polls in each of those seasons. BYU has also advanced to a bowl game in four straight season and five out of Sitake’s first six years in Provo.
“I’ve got some good friends in coaching with Nick (Saban) and Gus (Malzahn), Kirby (Smart) and some of those guys, but Kalani Sitake is one of the finest human beings that you will ever meet,” Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze said. “He loves his players. I just enjoy being around this guy. I love his core values, what he’s about. It will be fun getting to visit with him.
BYU began the season ranked in the top 25 and rose to as high as No. 12 following their 2-0 start that included a win over No. 9 Baylor in double overtime, 26-20. The Cougars dropped their third game of the season at No. 24 Oregon, 41-20, but would improve to 4-1 early in the season following wins over Wyoming (38-24) and Utah State (38-26).
Sitake and BYU have now dropped two straight, falling to Notre Dame, 28-20, in Las Vegas, and at home last week to Arkansas, 52-35. Those losses have dropped the Cougars out of both top 25 polls. Despite the current losing skid, Freeze knows this will be massive challenge for his team.
“This is big boy football, for sure,” he said. “We’re going to be really undersized in a lot of matchups. It’s going to take enormous straining to win on every play for us to have a chance to win this in the 4th quarter. It’s going to take all of our kids doing that. There’s no question that the physical presence of their team is daunting when you look at it, really.”
BYU has been able to score points against every one they have played so far this season. Their low has been 20 points in the losses to Oregon and Notre Dame, but the Cougars have scored 50 points in a game and are coming off a 35 point outing despite the loss to Arkansas last week.
“They are just really well coached,” Freeze said of the BYU offense. “They’ve got a really good scheme. They’ve got good athletes at tight end, receiver, and the running back position to go with their dual threat quarterback and a huge offensive line.”
The offense begins with quarterback Jaren Hall. The dual threat athlete has completed 155 of 229 passes (67.7%) for 1,914 yards, 17 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. He’s also rushed 45 times for 102 yards. Hall began his collegiate career playing two sports at BYU, as he also appeared in 32 games during the 2019 and 2020 campaigns for the baseball team.
“This quarterback is a true dual threat, he’s a problem,” said Freeze. “Really good running backs, OLine is huge, receivers are really talented. This is one of the best team’s we’ve faced. They are right there with Wake Forest is not maybe a little better at some places.”
5’11” wide receiver Kody Epps is Hall’s top target. He leads the team with 34 receptions for 423 yards and six touchdowns. Keanu Hill is a 6’4″ receiver who is second on the team with 21 receptions for 395 yards and four touchdowns. Four other receiving targets have at least 12 receptions so far on the season.
Washington transfer Puka Nacua has 12 receptions for 189 yards and a touchdown to go along with 120 rushing yards and 4 more scores so far this season while only playing in four games. Last week against Arkansas, Nacua had 8 receptions for 141 yards and a touchdown while adding 6 carries for 20 yards and two additional touchdowns.
Christopher Brooks leads the team with 73 carries for 437 yards and 5 touchdowns. He transferred to BYU from Cal after being their leading rusher in two of the past three seasons before joining the Cougars in January. Brooks played in 40 games for Cal from 2018-2021 and totaled 1,734 yards rushing with 14 touchdowns while adding 50 catches for 345 yards and seven touchdowns receiving.
“Defensively, they are very multiple,” Freeze said of BYU. “That is a little different. A lot of different pictures. Probably the best linebacker group we’ve faced, for sure. DLine is strong. They’ve done a lot of different looks depending on the games. We will have to figure out how they are going to play us.”
Teams have been able to find ways to put points on the board against BYU, highlighted by the 52 points Arkansas scored in their win on the road last week. LB Ben Bywater is the team’s leading tackler with 53 to go along with three tackles for loss, one sack, and two interceptions. His sidekick at linebacker, Max Tooley, is second on the team with 50 tackles. He leads the team with three interceptions.
“Those guys, their depth chart may look a little different than ours right now, currently, especially right now with the injuries we have,” Freeze said. “I’m not the one that chomps at the bit a whole lot with anybody right now. It’s hard for me to feel like that. We’ve got to block those guys. It hadn’t been typical for them to give up the number of points they have, for sure, but again they are playing some really good players.”
Winners of four in a row, the Flames will be seeking their first ever victory over the Cougars. BYU held off Liberty in Provo by a 31-24 score on Nov. 9, 2019 in the team’s inaugural meeting. Liberty has won its first three home games of the season to improve to 18-3 at Williams Stadium under Freeze and 23-4 since joining the FBS ranks in 2018. This BYU team could be the best that has played in Lynchburg during that time though.
“It is a tall, tall challenge. They are physically much larger than we are. They’ve got some full grown men. Obviously, they know what they’re doing. They have won a lot of football games at that place.
PREDICTION
Liberty 28, BYU 27
Line: Liberty +7
Picks results this year:
Straight-up: 7-0
ATS: 4-3
