The Liberty Flames (5-0) are back at home for a single game against Southern Miss (1-3). Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. from Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia and will be televised on ESPN3.

Starting last Friday, the game’s status has been up in the air with Southern Miss having to cancel last week’s game at UTEP due to an uptick in COVID-19 cases on the team. On Tuesday, interim head coach Scotty Walden announced he had tested positive for the virus, and on Wednesday it was announced that he would not make the trip to Lynchburg.

But here we are on Friday afternoon, the Golden Eagles are in the air headed to Lynchburg following five COVID tests this week, and the game appears to be on as scheduled.

Southern Miss hasn’t played since Oct. 3 when they defeated North Texas, 41-31. Since then, they’ve had games against Florida Atlantic and UTEP canceled because of COVID. USM began the season with three straight losses, opening the season with a 31-21 loss to South Alabama, and head coach Jay Hopson resigned just a few days later.

The Golden Eagles have also lost to Louisiana Tech, 31-30, and Tulane, 66-24, this season.

“I see a bunch of good athletes and that’s always unsettling to go into a game not knowing how you measure up with them athletically because films are hard to tell sometimes,” Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze said. “They are so athletic on defense and on offense. They are an athletic football team.”

Southern Miss is led by senior quarterback Jack Abraham who has thrown for nearly 7,000 yards in his career in Hattiesburg. In 2018, Abraham led all FBS quarterbacks with a 73.1% completion on his 305 passes. This season, he’s completed 64.4% of his 132 passes for 1,112 yards, 7 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions.

“This is the best quarterback that we have played,” Liberty defensive coordinator Scott Symons said. “He can run, he can throw, he’s a winner. He’s a guy that, probably if he’s two inches taller, is playing in the SEC. You can tell his teammates believe in him. He’s been in the moment. He’s made big plays. He’s very efficient running their offense. By far, I think, the best arm talent, as far as accuracy, that we have seen to date this season.”

The Flames will try to combat Abraham’s talent with their talented defensive line. Led by Durrell Johnson and TreShaun Clark, Liberty’s front has been able to disrupt opposing quarterbacks all season. It was most apparent against Louisiana-Monroe and Colby Suits a few weeks ago. Suits entered that game top 10 nationally in passing yards, but Liberty’s pressure early in the game got him out of rhythm and he never recovered.

USM has a three-headed monster at receiver in Jason Brownlee, Tim Jones, and Demarcus Jones. Tim has missed two games with a hamstring injury, but he is expected to play Saturday against the Flames. This trio has combined for 50 receptions for 783 yards and 6 touchdowns.

“The receiving room that (Abraham’s) throwing the ball to is probably the most complete room that we’ve seen up to this point,” said Liberty corners coach Rickey Hunley. “The Brownlee kid is a big kid on the outside, physical. They use him in a lot of different ways. The Tim Jones kid, we imagine will be back coming off injury. He’s one of the more dynamic young men we’ve seen.”

Frank Gore, Jr., the son of the NFL veteran running back, leads Southern Miss on the ground with 208 rushing yards and 1 touchdown on 46 carries this season. Don Ragsdale also factors into their running back room, rushing for 81 yards in 3 games.

“I think he’s a really good back,” Symons said of Gore. “Between him, and I think Ragsdale is a good back too, I think they’re both solid backs. I think Ragsdale is a little bit bigger. I think they both can run when you look at their skill in general. These are solid backs that are strong, that can also run.”

Defensively, the Eagles have struggled this season, allowing opponents to score 40 points and 486.5 yards per game. Those numbers rank near the bottom of the country, checking in at No. 72 in scoring defense and No. 69 in total defense out of the 77 teams that have played so far this season. The lowest point total they’ve held an opponent to is 31 points, doing so against Louisiana Tech and North Texas.

NOTABLES

  • Liberty is looking to move to 3-0 on the season against Conference USA foes after previously beating Western Kentucky and Florida International.
  • Hugh Freeze is a 1992 graduate of Southern Miss. This is his first time facing his alma mater.
  • The Golden Eagles are the third bowl team from 2019 Liberty has faced thus far this season (also WKU and FIU).
  • Liberty’s defense currently ranks in the top 10 nationally in total defense (#4), passing defense (#8), 3rd down defense (#7), red zone defense (#7), and scoring defense (#10).
  • Southern Miss will be the first ever team from the state of Mississippi to play at Williams Stadium. The Flames haven’t played a team from Mississippi since Sept. 4, 1982 when Liberty lost to Delta State, 16-13, at City Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia. Liberty is 0-2 all-time against teams from Mississippi, also losing to Delta State on the road on Oct. 10, 1981.
  • Liberty corner Emanuel Dabney originally signed with and enrolled at Southern Miss. He was on campus for a couple weeks before deciding it wasn’t for him and ending up at Hinds Community College.
  • The Flames are one of just four 5-0 teams in FBS football, joining BYU, Clemson, and SMU. #12 BYU plays Texas State Saturday night at 10:15. #1 Clemson plays Syracuse at noon Saturday. #16 SMU plays #9 Cincinnati Saturday night at 9 p.m.

QUOTABLES

DC Scott Symons – “I think this will be the best overall challenge, as far as an offense schematically, with all the pieces to test us, thus far this season.”

Safeties Coach Corey Batoon on USM QB Jack Abraham – “He’s a system fit for them. He’s a winner, won a lot of games. He understands what’s being asked of him. He knows where to deliver the ball. He’s not going to be frazzled out there.”

CB Coach Rickey Hunley on Abraham – “You’re talking about a quarterback that’s got that moxie, that winner’s mentality when he’s on the field. The way he moves, the way he delivers the ball, the way he calls the offense. You can just kind of see that. It stands out on film.”

QB Malik Willis on Southern Miss – “We can’t look pass them because of their record. Those are great players over there. We’ve seen it on the film. They can play ball, those boys are good. They are 1-3, but it easily could have been 3-1 if you go back and watch the film.”

QB Malik Willis on his stats – “I’m just trying to win. I don’t care about stats. Whatever has to go down on that field for us to get a win, that’s all I need. It could be 20 yards rushing and 20 yards passing, if we win, I don’t care, it doesn’t really matter.”

PREDICTION

Liberty 37, Southern Miss 24

Don’t expect a letdown for the Flames this week as Freeze will have them focused on knocking off his alma mater who definitely want to be Freeze and Liberty. The Golden Eagles have had struggles stopping opposing offenses this season, expect more of the same Saturday as LU looks to improve to 6-0 before a bye date.