Every game is big for Liberty and it’s not a secret. There isn’t a conference championship to play for and the Flames will be looking to have an equally as successful season as the program’s best ever 10-1 campaign in 2020. Every year in college football, there are trap games that teams must come prepared for or they could suffer an unexpected loss.
There will be teams that have the Liberty game circled on the calendar and the Flames must be focused each and every week and not let their guard down. Games at Ole Miss and against Louisiana stick out when you first look at Liberty’s schedule on paper. This will be only the second game in school history the Flames will be facing an SEC opponent, and then there’s that whole Hugh Freeze going back to Ole Miss story line. Meanwhile, Louisiana could be ranked in the top 25 when they visit Lynchburg in November.
Then there are the back-to-back road trips to Syracuse and UAB. It wouldn’t be fair to call either of those a trap game. The Orange are still in the ACC and have been recruiting at a Power Five level for several years. UAB is a conference champion and among the best Group of Five programs in the country. Liberty would be fortunate to get out of those two road games unscathed.
A case could be made for the North Texas game to be a trap game. It’s the second straight long road trip coming after a trip to Louisiana-Monroe. North Texas has been in decline the past couple years since they embarrassed the Flames in Lynchburg in 2018.
After reviewing the schedule, the best argument for a trap game is Sept. 11 at Troy and Nov. 27 vs Army.
Liberty’s first road trip of the year comes in week two when the Flames head to Alabama to take on the Troy Trojans. Liberty is likely to be a favorite in the game and it will come between two home games in which you know the team will be completely focused for in the season and home opener and a renewed rivalry against Old Dominion. Both Liberty and Troy face an FCS opponent in the first week, so we won’t know a lot about the teams until they meet on September 11.
The Flames will face Army in the regular season finale, and the game comes immediately following the two biggest games on the calendar – Ole Miss and Louisiana. Depending on how the season goes, there’s a chance Liberty could have a letdown game against the Black Knights. Army will have an open date after Liberty before facing Navy in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Dec. 11.
