The 2024 Liberty football season will be remembered in a variety of ways as the Flames finish the year at 8-4. Coming off a 13-1 campaign a season ago, when the Flames won the CUSA Championship and reached the Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day, the season ended in disappointment as Liberty fell to 4th place in the conference standings.
Let’s look back at the journey that was the 2024 Liberty football season.
Game 1: Liberty 41, Campbell 24
A 30-minute weather delay in the second quarter was the foreshadowing of what was to come for the Flames throughout the month of September. Quinton Cooley ran for 110 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries while Treon Sibley hauled in a 70-yard touchdown pass.
The Flames trailed 10-7 in the second period before scoring 17 straight to take control of the game at 24-10. The lead ballooned to 41-17 with 4 minutes left before the Camels added a late touchdown.
Game 2: Liberty 30, New Mexico State 24
Liberty trailed 17-9 in the fourth quarter when Quinton Reese sacked the Aggies’ quarterback who fumbled. CJ Bazile scooped it up and returned it 22 yards for a score. Then, in the final six minutes of the game, Quinton Cooley broke free for two rushing touchdowns. Liberty racked up 117 yards on the ground in the final quarter. Cooley’s second and final score came from 44-yards out to give the Flames their first lead of the night with 1:05 left in the contest.
Game 3: Liberty 28, UTEP 10
Billy Lucas scored a career-high three rushing touchdowns and put the Flames’ first 21 points on the board. He finished the game with 21 carries for 104 yards on the ground.
The Miners cut their deficit to 14-10 early in the third quarter before Lucas capped a 7-play, 81-yard drive late in the period to push the lead to 21-10. Kaidon Salter would connect with Tyson Mobley midway through the fourth period for the final margin.
Game 4: Liberty 35, East Carolina 24
After just six plays to open the game, the teams went into what would end up being a nearly 5-hour weather delay, nearly causing the game to be canceled.
After the break, the visiting Pirates jumped out to a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter. They had a chance to extend the lead even further, but a trip to the red zone after a turnover resulted in a missed field goal.
Kaidon Salter would connect with Reese Smith for three touchdown passes helping the Flames to the comeback victory. A Williams Stadium record 24,076 fans filled the stands before the lengthy rain delay.
Game 5: Liberty @ App State canceled
Due to the effects of Hurricane Helene, Liberty’s trip to Boone, North Carolina on the final weekend of September was canceled and the game would not be made up. The canceled game put a damper on the Flames’ already weak non-conference schedule, and, unbeaten at the time, it also put a damper on the team’s hopes for a potential CFP bid as the highest ranked G5 champion.
Game 6: Liberty 31, FIU 24 (OT)
Liberty seemed to be in control of the game with a 24-10 lead in the fourth quarter, but the Pirates scored two touchdowns over the final 6:26 to tie the game and send it to overtime.
In the overtime period, Quinton Cooley’s three straight runs set up Kaidon Salter’s game-winning 9-yard touchdown score. When FIU got the ball, the Panthers faced a 3rd and 3 when Christian Bodnar got behind the line of scrimmage to force a fumble on a sack to seal the victory.
Game 7: Kennesaw State 27, Liberty 24
Playing just its second game in 32 days, Liberty suffered its first regular season loss in the Jamey Chadwell era. It was also Kennesaw’s first win as an FBS program. The Owls had 323 total offensive yards and scored a season-high three touchdowns.
Kaidon Salter helped pull Liberty within three points on a 17-yard touchdown pass to Elijah Canion with 1:49 left in the contest. Following a fourth-down stop, Liberty had two opportunities to score in the final 10 seconds of the game, but the Flames were unable to pull off the miracle last second comeback.
Game 8: Jacksonville State 31, Liberty 21
Trailing by three at 24-21 in the fourth quarter, Liberty faced a 4th-and-1 at the 17-yard line. Coach Chadwell elected to keep his offense on the field. Kaidon Salter, under center, mishandled the snap allowing the Gamecocks to get the key defensive stand. Chadwell later stated that the ball wasn’t supposed to be snapped but instead the Flames were drying to draw Jax State offsides.
After forcing a Jax State punt, Liberty got the ball back. However, on the third play of the Flames’ drive which started at its own six-yard line, Salter was intercepted. The Gamecocks tacked on the decisive touchdown with just less than two minutes remaining for the two-score lead.
Game 9: Liberty 37, Middle Tennessee 17
The Flames played one of their more complete games in early November, rushing for 339 yards for the win to snap a two-game losing streak and become bowl eligible.
Quinton Cooley ran 24 times for 136 yards while Kaidon Salter was 11 of 15 passing for 154 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also rushed 9 times for 94 yards and a score. Juju Gray added two touchdowns on the ledger with a 41-yard rushing touchdown and a 34-yard touchdown reception.
Game 10: Liberty 35, UMass 34 (OT)
In what was a reoccurring theme throughout the season, Liberty needed a come from behind rally to claim a victory at UMass.
The Flames fell behind 20-7 at halftime after the Minutemen scored off a Kaidon Salter fumble with 10 seconds left before intermission. Liberty would tack on the next two scores, both touchdowns, to take a 21-20 lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Minutemen would then regain the lead, 28-21, with a touchdown and two-point conversion with 7 minutes remaining. Salter got into the end zone with a one-yard touchdown run with 3:49 left in regulation to tie the game.
It would head to overtime after UMass missed what would have been a game-winning field goal on the final play of regulation. UMass got the ball to open overtime, scoring a touchdown in just two plays; however, the extra point was missed. Quinton Cooley got into the end zone from five yards out and Colin Karhu’s extra point secure the Liberty win.
Game 11: Liberty 38, Western Kentucky 21
On Senior Day, Liberty secured its third win in a row to improve to 8-2 on the season. Quinton Cooley ran for 166 yards while Billy Lucas had 131 yards and the duo combined for three touchdowns. The Flames forced four turnovers, intercepting Caden Veltkamp three times and forcing a fumble.
The win kept the Flames unbeaten all-time against WKU at 5-0, and, more importantly, kept Liberty’s hopes of a second straight trip to the CUSA Championship game alive.
Game 12: Sam Houston 20, Liberty 18
Needing a win to clinch a spot in the CUSA Title game, the Flames came up short in Huntsville, Texas.
Liberty scored twice during the final eight minutes of the game, but was unable to convert on a two-point play in the closing minutes. Liberty was held to a season-low 262 total offensive yards with 179 coming on the ground.
Kaidon Salter fought through an ankle injury suffered the previous week against WKU. Trailing 20-9 to open the fourth quarter, the Flames cut its deficit to 8 with a 43-yard Colin Karhu field goal.
Later in the quarter and after converting a fourth-down play to keep the drive alive, Salter escaped the pocket for a 33-yard touchdown run with 1:10 remaining. On the two-point try, Salter was forced out of the pocket and his forced pass to tight end Jacob Jenkins was intercepted.
Game 13: Buffalo 26, Liberty 7 (Bahamas Bowl)
Playing with a decimated roster due to the transfer portal and opt-outs, Liberty was dominated from start to finish by the Buffalo Bulls to drop a third straight bowl game. The Flames finished the game with its lowest offensive output of the season with 242 yards after entering bowl season ranked No. 26 in the country, averaging 434.5 yards per game. Liberty finished the game with 162 rushing yards with 112 of those yards coming on long runs by Ryan Burger (57) and Billy Lucas (55).
Burger completed just 4 of 12 passes for 40 yards. Nate Hampton took over at quarterback during the 4th quarter, finishing the game 2 of 9 passes for 40 yards. Hampton would connect with Reese Smith for a 36-yard touchdown pass with 7 minutes remaining to help the Flames avoid the shutout. Buffalo pushed its lead out to a commanding 26-0 lead before the Flames got on the board.
