Forget all of the rivalry games against Coastal. Forget the last couple of JMU’s trips to Lynchburg. Forget any other date in the history of Williams Stadium. Saturday, against Danny Rocco’s University of Richmond Spiders, is the biggest home game in Liberty history.
This game cannot send the Flames to their first FCS playoff bid, but it can bury any chances of an at-large. It meets the “must-win” criteria pretty much any way you slice it. However, it’s so much more than that, both for the guys on the field, and for the administration at Liberty. For many of the players, it’s another chance to prove something to their former Head Coach. Last season some of those guys had a chance to beat Rocco on the road. In that contest poor defensive game planning in the first half made it difficult for the Flames to come away with the win. Despite that, Liberty was in the game until a fumble deep in their own territory turned the momentum.
Former Liberty Coach Danny Rocco will be coming to Lynchburg in what could be the biggest game in Williams Stadium’s history.
This is the last chance for Rocco’s former players still at Liberty. The current Richmond coach has made it clear he would prefer to never play Liberty, so this is likely the last meeting between the two schools for the foreseeable future. So if the team needs any extra motivation, they should definitely have it.
It could be even bigger for Liberty’s Athletic Department and administration. Much of what we now know as Liberty football was built under Danny Rocco. The expectations only rose when he “left”. The Flames never could get over the playoff hump with Rocco, and are still looking for that first playoff appearance. Twice failing to make the playoffs under Turner Gill, twice spurned by FBS conferences in the off-season, beating the former Head Coach at Liberty wouldn’t cure all of the Athletic Department’s ills…but it would help ease the pain.
For the first time in a while, Liberty football would have something significant to hang its hat on. A big win against a ranked opponent that shows progress, that shows the Liberty fan base that the program is moving forward. It may not last long, but it would definitely take some of the heat off for now. This is a Liberty team that comes in a little beat up after a tough loss to Indiana State. There are definite question marks about this Flames team. However, a win on Homecoming night sure will make a lot of those doubts disappear.
