Year four of the Hugh Freeze era gets underway with a road trip to Southern Miss on Sept. 3. Today, we continue our early look at Liberty’s 2022 schedule as the Flames take on fellow Independent, the UConn Huskies.
WHO: UConn (1-11)
WHEN: Nov. 12, TBD
WHERE: Pratt & Whitney Stadium (40,642)
SERIES: UConn leads 1-0
WHAT’S NEW: The Huskies dominated Liberty in the only previous meeting by a score of 59-0 in 2005. That year was a low point for the Flames, and the two teams have been on different trajectories the past decade. Liberty has made it to and won a bowl game each of the past three seasons while UConn has not had a winning record since 2010.
Jim Mora has stepped as the new head coach after spending the last four games of the 2021 season on staff as an assistant so he could get a head start on recruiting. Mora has some experience as he’s been the head coach of the Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks, and in college at UCLA.
WHO TO WATCH, OFFENSE: Wide receiver Cameron Ross started two games before a season ending injury last season. In those games, he caught eight passes for 60 yards. As a true freshman in 2019, Ross led the team with 60 receptions for 723 yards.
WHO TO WATCH, DEFENSE: In 2019, linebacker Jackson Mitchell led the nation in tackles per game among true freshmen with 6.5 and his 65 total tackles ranked third nationally among true freshman. Last year, Mitchell started all 12 games for the Huskies and led the team in tackles with 120 to go along with 6.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 1 interception, and 2 PBUs.
OUTLOOK: UConn has had six coaching changes in 11 years as interest and attendance has dwindled during that time. They lost their last 19 AAC games before becoming an Independent. The Huskies are 7-41 in the last five seasons with losses by an average of 26.2 points per game.
Leadership is hopeful that Mora can get things turned around, but it should take some time. He did retain defensive coordinator Lou Spanos, who served as the interim coach last season, so the knowledge of the roster is further along than most new staffs.
MORE SNEAK PEEKS:
Sept. 3: @ Southern Miss
Sept. 10: UAB
Sept. 17: @ Wake Forest
Sept. 24: Akron
Oct. 1: @ Old Dominion
Oct. 8: @ UMass
Oct. 15: Gardner-Webb
Oct. 22: BYU
Nov. 5: @ Arkansas
