The 2022 Liberty football season and schedule has been one that fans, players, and staff have had circled for years since the full slate of games was announced. Home dates against in-state ACC member Virginia Tech and soon to be Big 12 member BYU will do that, but those aren’t the only tough opponents on the Flames’ slate this season.
It started with the two opening games of the season at Southern Miss and against UAB this past Saturday night. Yes, Southern Miss has struggled in recent seasons, but they are expected to be much improved in 2022 and they have showed that through their first two games of the year. UAB has become one of the more consistent programs at the Group of Five level and looks to be headed towards another strong campaign.
Now, the stakes get much tougher and larger for Liberty as the Flames head to Winston Salem, North Carolina to take on the No. 18 ranked Demon Deacons. After pulling two one score victories, including one in four overtimes, the Flames have put themselves in a strong position to make a statement during the 2022 season.
“It’s a great challenge, but also a great opportunity,” Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze said earlier this week of his team’s task this week. “I think our season is going to be full of that with the likes of (Wake Forest) and BYU and Arkansas. They are all going to be ranked in the top 15 or so, it appears, whenever the polls come out. You are playing three top 20 teams, for sure. It’s a great, great challenge. Sometimes I wish it was easier so we could rest some this week, but there will be no rest as we’ve got our hands full.”
Easy it will not be for Liberty this week. Wake Forest has opened the year at 2-0 following wins over VMI and at Vanderbilt. The Demon Deacons return most of their production from last year’s team that finished 11-3, won the ACC Atlantic Division, and won the Gator Bowl.
Wake opened the season ranked in the top 25 and has seen that ranking slide into the top 20 over the first two weeks of the year. Liberty owns one win over a ranked FBS opponent all-time, topping No. 9 Coastal Carolina in the 2020 Cure Bowl. The Flames are 1-4 versus FBS Top 25 foes.
The Flames have recorded two ACC victories all-time, both of which came in 2020 (at Syracuse, at Virginia Tech). Liberty is 2-10 all-time against the ACC but 2-2 in its last four meetings.
Saturday’s game will give Liberty the chance to make a statement on the national stage against a team expected to win a lot of games this season. If the Flames, who are 15-16 point underdogs, are able to pull the upset, it will only set the stage for increased exposure and opportunity throughout the 2022 campaign.
Liberty should be favorites in their next four games, which would give the Flames the opportunity to have a gaudy record and potential national ranking heading into the home stretch of the schedule. On Oct. 22, BYU, who is currently ranked in the top 15 and already owns a win over a previously ranked top 10 Baylor team, comes to Williams Stadium in Lynchburg. Making that game (and others in November) mean a lot on the national stage, begins with a win on Saturday in Winston Salem.
“You’re not going to win all the games when you play Power Five opponents at a Group of Five school, but I think it’s been proven on the last few weekends that it certainly is possible,” said Freeze. “I think we’ve proven it’s possible here a few times. I think that does breed some confidence that you can go in and enjoy the opportunity and kind of see where it leaves you in the fourth quarter.”
