Top 25 polls
The Flames moved up to a #10 national ranking in both the STATS FCS Top 25 Poll and the FCS Coaches Poll following Liberty’s 31-21 win over Montana who was previously ranked #8/7. The #10 ranking is Liberty’s highest since the 1990 season when the Flames were ranked #9. Montana dropped to #14. Coastal Carolina is ranked #1 in the Coaches Poll and #2 in the STATS poll.
Woodrum named Big South Offensive Player of the Week
Following his 16-of-30 passing for 260 yards and 2 touchdowns, Josh Woodrum was named the conference’s offensive player of the week. He also became the 2nd quarterback in program history and the 3rd in Big South history with 8,000 career passing yards.
Uzowihe sets career sack mark
With his 2 sacks against Montana last week, Chima Uzowihe is now Liberty’s and the Big South’s all-time career leader with 22.5 career sacks. He is currently leading the country with 1.83 sacks per game.
Opponents update
The Flames have one of their toughest nonconference schedules in recent memory, arguably the toughest in program history. Here’s a quick update on how the Flames’ 2015 foes are faring:
- Georgia State will be their final non-conference opponent in the regular season. The Panthers lost to Oregon, 61-28, last weekend. They have a bye this week before hosting the Flames next Saturday for their annual homecoming game. The game is scheduled for 3:30 and will be carried on ESPN3.
Football commits update
- Rud Yearick had a very impressive showing last week as he passed for 163 yards and 1 touchdown on 16-of-23 passing. He also added 196 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns on 14 carries.
- Brandon Tillmon was 5-of-9 passing for 129 yards and 1 touchdown. He also had 3 carries for 35 yards and 3 touchdowns.
- It’s difficult to find complete stats for high school teams, but I did find that DB commit Jalen Camp, who also plays wide receiver, caught a 37 yard touchdown pass in his game last week.
Flames in the NFL update
Walt Aikens finished with 4 tackles as the Dolphins fell to the Jaguars, 23-20. Meanwhile, Rashad Jennings had 9 carries for 12 yards and 2 catches for 12 yards in the Giants 24-20 loss to the Falcons.
Basketball commit & visits
Coach McKay and the men’s basketball team had a big weekend highlighted by commitments from Brock Gardner and Elijah Cuffee. Gardner is a forward for the class of 2016, and he joins point guard Xzavier Barmore and forward Josiah Talbert in the 2016 class. Cuffee joins Jay Barber as verbals in the class of 2017. The Flames still have one more opening for each class, if there aren’t any losses to those expected to return.
Other Sports update
Your weekly non-football Fall sports update:
- The men’s soccer team split their two games this week by a pair of 1-0 scores, falling to ETSU and defeating JMU. The Flames host Winthrop this weekend to open conference play.
- The women’s soccer team beat Radford in double overtime to open conference play. The Lady Flames host Charleston Southern and Campbell this week.
- The women’s field hockey team has dropped two straight to top 15 teams. After losing to Louisville a week ago, the Lady Flames fell to #8 Wake Forest earlier this week. They still have two more opportunities for a top 15 win this weekend as they face #15 ODU and #11 Boston College.
- The women’s volleyball team has now lost 6 straight and 8 of their past 9 contests. They look to rebound as they open conference play tonight at Radford.
- The men’s golf team won the Rees Jones Invitational this week played at Daufuskie Island, South Carolina. The 10-team event was hosted by Kennessaw State.
FlameFans thread of the week
This week’s FlameFans thread of the week is Game #4 Preview: @ Southern Illinois as we all get prepared for this weekend’s big matchup.
