GAME SUMMARY: LIBERTY 40 VS UL MONROE 7

Liberty became just the second team in the nation to advance to 4-0 with their blowout win over the Warhawks, a number that would grow to four by the end of Saturday. Almost as good as the win for the Flames was the fact that the two trouble areas of the team (special teams and the defensive secondary) had dominant performances.

OFFENSE:

Willis definitely showed the rust of two weeks on the bench nursing his elbow injury. Willis struggled throughout the game to hit wide-open receivers deep down the field, overthrowing multiple would-be touchdowns. He also struggled in the short game with many balls high or short to his intended targets, Willis finished the game 11/29 for only 171 yards and his first INT of the year. However, what didn’t look rusty at all was Willis’ legs as he showed the same speed and elusiveness which endured him to Flames’ fans in his first two games, managing to rush for 87 yards and a touchdown (as well as another TD which was called back for holding).

Other aspects of the offense were also shaky. The Flames’ WRs made some impressive catches and moves in space, but also dropped some catchable balls (including a perfect throw by Willis to Huntley in the end zone). As far as the ground game, Liberty appeared to struggle to run the ball against the Warhawk front which had given up almost 300 yards per game on the ground prior to this matchup. Part of the problem was a lack of commitment to the ground game which made it difficult for the Flames to build momentum. Also, ULM made it a point to stack the box and force LU to beat them through the air. At the end of the day, the Flames offense only managed to score 2 touchdowns and had a 50% touchdown percentage in the red zone.

DEFENSE:

Liberty’s defense finally showed up in all phases in this game. The D-line play was solid as usual with only 78 yards allowed on the ground and a forced fumble (which was recovered by UL Monroe). However, it was the Flames’ secondary which was the big surprise in this one. Liberty managed to hold UL Monroe’s QB Suits (who was 5th in the nation in passing coming into this one) to only 78 yards and no touchdowns. Liberty’s secondary also snagged 2 interceptions (which would have been 4 but for a dropped pick in the first half and another pick negated for defensive hands to the face). Freeze said this might be the toughest passing game Liberty faced this year and the Flames managed to match it with their best defensive performance to date.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

Definitely, the MVP award goes to the Flames’ special teams! What a performance! Liberty’s special teams unit scored 27 of LU’s 40 points! LU’s kicker Barbir finally managed to get his leg going from range and scored his first field goals longer than 27 yards with a 42-yard field goal from the same hash that he missed against both WKU and FIU. He finished the day 2/2 with a second kick from 30 yards (although he did miss an extra point). Liberty’s punt block unit also scored twice, with a punt that was flat out dropped in the end zone by the punter and recovered by LU and a second punt blocked into the end zone and recovered for a TD. Liberty’s special teams weren’t done though, after managing a punt return long of only 17 leading up to the game, Liberty’s return man Douglas had two electrifying punt returns, one for 38 and one for a touchdown after a 73-yard return! Liberty also managed to get 2/3 punts inside the 20 to wrap up a brilliant job by the special teams unit which certainly deserves a large share of the credit in this week’s win.

HOW DID LIBERTY FULFILL MY KEYS TO THE GAME?

1. LEAN ON THE GROUND GAME: D-

Liberty struggled to score points in this one and part of that was because of putting too much pressure on Willis and not allowing the running backs to get into a rhythm and wear down the UL Monroe front. Mack had his first game of the season of less than 100 yards with only 22 and no touchdowns. In fact, none of the Liberty backs had more than 34 yards with only the QB Willis finding success on the ground with 87 yards rushing. A more methodical ground game would have forced the secondary into more of a zone defense and opened up some holes for Willis to get into more of a flow with his receivers.

2. SECONDARY, SECONDARY, SECONDARY: A+

If Liberty’s secondary can continue the improvements from this game into next week, the Flames may have a good shot of knocking off favorite Syracuse!

3. DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE! A

After struggling against FCS foe UNA, the Flames showed they weren’t about to make the same mistake twice. Liberty dominated this game from the get-go and it never even looked close. Liberty had some struggles on offense but it didn’t look like it due to a lack of preparation but rather just readjusting to Willis being under center. Great game for the Flames!

FINAL SUMMARY:

Liberty surprised me again this week and actually performed better than they were expected to. After a rough game against UNA, Liberty’s coaching staff did an excellent job of diagnosing weaknesses and putting together a dominant game plan. We will find out how truly good Liberty is next week vs Syracuse but if they can get back their rhythm on offense from the first 2 games and carry over the defensive and special teams revival from this game, Liberty may have more than a shot at beating their first ACC team ever. Liberty is now 4-0 for the first time in their young FBS history and this might just be gearing up to be a very special season for the Flames!

Written by Mr. Exclamation Point