A few quick thoughts on Liberty’s 35-26 win at North Texas on Saturday evening.

  • This game had all the ups and downs, all the momentum swings, all the highlight plays that come from an entire season. The Flames were able to overcome all of the ups and downs to pick up the win on the road.
  • Malik Willis left the game in the 2nd quarter with an apparent injury to his left foot. He was seen leaving the stadium and likely heading for x-rays. He completed all four of his passes for 60 yards and a touchdown before leaving, but was sacked 5 times and forced to leave the game after back to back sacks ended a Liberty drive.
  • He would return to the game in the 3rd quarter, and wow what a performance he put on as he led the Flames to the comeback win.
  • It looked like this game might get out of hand from the Flames in the first half, as North Texas led 17-7, had the ball in Liberty territory, and Malik Willis was headed to the locker room. The team was able to find a way and gutted through to the win.
  • Willis would finish the game completing 12 of his 18 passes for 222 yards and 3 touchdowns. His 13 carries went for negative 8 yards as he was sacked 6 times and facing pressure all night.
  • Liberty wide receiver CJ Daniels had a great night with 7 receptions for 135 yards and 2 touchdowns.
  • The Flames had just 31 rushing yards on the night entering the final possession of the game and finished the game with only 41 rushing yards.
  • Backup quarterback Johnathan Bennett did steady things and keep the Flames within striking distance while Willis was out. Bennett completed 7 of his 18 passes for 88 yards and 1 touchdown.
  • Liberty’s defense struggled to stop the Mean Green offense all night as they moved the ball up and down the field seemingly at will against the No. 5 total defense entering the game. North Texas racked up over 400 yards of offense on the night, but on seven trips to the red zone were held to just 19 points.
  • The defense was able to get a key stop late in the third quarter after Liberty cut the deficit to 26-21. UNT sent the punt away and Liberty’s Demario Douglas returned it 65 yards for a touchdown to give the Flames the first lead of the day.
  • A 10 play, 97 yard drive early in the fourth quarter put Liberty up by two scores for the first time on the evening. The drive began when it looked like Willis was getting sacked for a safety. He somehow found a way to get rid of the ball as he threw it over his head as he was being pulled to the turf. The officials ruled that it was not intentional grounding for a safety because he was out of the pocket and the ball reached the line of scrimmage. Willis would also find TJ Green on a 2nd and long play as he ran to his left to escape the pressure and just flicked the ball ahead to an open Green. Willis would then connect with Shedro Louis on a designed running back screen for the touchdown.
  • Liberty gets a little revenge against North Texas, the first team that handed Liberty a home loss at the FBS level, a 47-7 drubbing at Williams Stadium on Sept. 22, 2018. The Mean Green are also the only Conference USA team to beat the Flames. Liberty now improves to 8-1 against Conference USA teams. Of course, it was announced earlier this week that UNT is one of six teams to be leaving CUSA to join the AAC.
  • With the win, Liberty is now bowl eligible for a third straight year and has won at least 6 games for 16 consecutive seasons.
  • The Flames will return home next week to take on UMass from Williams Stadium in a game that kicks off at Noon. The Minutemen are 1-6 on the season following their 59-3 loss at Florida State on Saturday.

*photo courtesy Liberty Athletics