GAME SUMMARY: LIBERTY 45 VS UMASS 0
A lot of people wondered how Liberty would respond this week and the answer to that question was provided in force Friday afternoon. Liberty’s offense amassed 629 yards (their most against an FBS opponent this season) and the Flames’ defense held the Minutemen scoreless for the first shutout by LU this year.
OFFENSE: A+
Liberty saw 6 different players score Friday as the Flames offense performed efficiently in route to a 45 point victory over UMASS. It was just what Flames’ fans were looking for after the poor offensive showing against NC State. This week’s game couldn’t have been more different as Liberty returned to their normal offense Friday, mixing in a multitude of underneath routes, out routes, comeback routes and hitches. The phenomenal short passing game opened up big opportunities over the top and Liberty had 4 different receivers catch passes of over 25 yards. Key to the offensive success as always was Malik Willis who had a much better game this week with 223 passing yards for 3 TDs and 63 yards on the ground with a rushing score. Willis wasn’t perfect as he took a while to get in rhythm with his receivers and also fumbled once on a run to the outside (which went out of bounds thankfully). However, once Willis got a few completions in he looked fantastic and highlighted the night with a beautiful deep ball on a go route which dropped perfectly into the basket of Douglas for a 41-yard score.
The passing game was prolific, but the Flames’ run game wouldn’t be outdone. Both Pickett and Mack each ran for over 100 yards and a score. Mack had an impressive 59-yard scamper to score the second touchdown of the game for Liberty and Pickett had a very impressive 16 yard run for a TD to finish off the scoring for LU. A nice surprise for LU in the rushing game was fourth-string back Troy Henderson who has found it difficult to get on the field with the Three Horsemen that Liberty has heading its run game. However, with Shedro Louis out for the Flames Friday, Henderson performed well as the third back for Liberty’s carousel of rushers. Henderson showed good speed and elusiveness, often making the first man miss, and may have earned himself some additional playing time with 79 yards on the ground.
Photo Credit Liberty Athletics
DEFENSE: A+
The Liberty D followed up their impressive performance against NC State last week with a shutout on Friday. The Flames held UMASS to 172 yards passing, despite having to adjust to a rotating duo of QBs from UMASS who each had very different skill sets to have to defend against. In addition to the minimal yards allowed, Liberty also forced a pick. As impressive as the secondary was, the run defense by the LU line and linebackers was even more impressive. Liberty held UMASS to just 55 yards rushing, which is the Minutemen’s second-worst rushing total of the season (44 against #21 Marshall).
Highlighting the defensive performance for the Flames was Ralfs Rusins who had 2 tackles for loss (most on the team) and a forced fumble. Also performing well for the Flames were Javon Scruggs (7 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss) and Quinton Reese (6 tackles and an interception). Overall Liberty tallied 2 sacks, 7 tackles for loss and 5 QB hurries as well as 2 forced turnovers.
SPECIAL TEAMS: B-
The only less than A+ unit performance for Liberty Saturday was their Special Teams which had a fairly standard inconsistent game. As far as the positives go, Liberty had a nice day punting the ball with Aidan Alves averaging 37.5 yards on his two punts (long of 49), one of which ended up inside the 20. The coverage unit for the returns also performed well with only 12 yards allowed per kick return and no punt returns allowed.
On the negative side, however, Liberty only managed to return their lone kick-off return 15 yards and Alex Barbir again missed from outside of 29 (this time from 47). Although Barbir did make a kick from 24 to remain perfect inside of 29 (6/6) he is now 2/9 between 29 and 49. Liberty plays their first Top 25 opponent next weekend in the form of talented rival Coastal Carolina and that game may indeed come down to field goals. If Liberty is in a 4th down position where the kick isn’t less than 30 yards or more than 50, they may want to think about keeping the offense on the field based on the inconsistency of Barbir’s leg from mid-range this year.
HOW DID LIBERTY FULFIL MY KEYS TO THE GAME?
1. GET WILLIS BACK ON TRACK: A+
Willis showed some of the same rust from last week early in this one but he managed to shake it off and by the end of the game was throwing highlight real worthy passes. Willis looks ready to go for next week’s matchup and assuming the play calling stays consistent he should have another great game next week against the Chanticleers.
2. GET BACK TO BASICS OFFENSIVELY: A+
251 passing yards, 378 rushing yards, 629 total yards and 6 TDS, enough said.
3. SUB EARLY: A+
Liberty asked some new faces to step up today on offense and defense due to the absence of key players in (RB) Louis, (WR) Yarbrough, (CB) Dabney and (LB) Butler. As a result, even before Liberty subbed in the bench multiple backups were getting playing time. However, once Willis led his 5th TD drive of the game to put the Flames up 38-0 with 6:14 left in the third, Liberty put in mostly backup players with plenty of time left to get quality reps for the alternates.
SUMMARY
Liberty had the highest margin of victory over UMASS of all the Minutemen’s opponents this season. I had predicted a 45 point victory but I never thought it would be a shutout. Even against subpar competition this season, Liberty’s D had allowed at least one score but Friday showed just how far this defensive unit has come since the beginning of the season. The Flames have transformed their defense from a liability into one of the greatest strengths of the team. When Liberty’s offense is clicking, they are almost impossible to defeat. Next week Liberty plays an opponent who is averaging 37.4 points per game and only allowing 17.1 points per matchup. If Liberty wants to take on the aggressive Coastal defense and the truly unique Chanticleers option(ish) style offense (their “option” QB has 1593 yards passing, 18 TDs and one INT), Liberty is going to need to bring their A+ game in all phases. For right now, Liberty has momentum and a victory to get to 9-1 on the season.
Written by Mr. Exclamation Point
