Coming off an emotional loss at Rutgers this past week to fall to 5-3, the Liberty Flames are set to hit the road again this week with a trip to Amherst, Massachusetts to take on the Minutemen of UMass on Saturday at noon.
The Flames are big favorites against 1-7 UMass, with the line opening at 24 and currently sitting between 21 and 22 points. The Minutemen have struggled under first year head coach Walt Bell, finding difficulty keeping teams off the scoreboard. They opened the season at Rutgers, falling 48-21 followed by a 45-20 loss to FCS Southern Illinois. The Minutemen opened the season with four straight losses before getting a win against currently winless Akron, 37-29.
For Liberty, the Flames need two wins in its final four contests to become bowl eligible for the first time in program history, albeit the first season Liberty can become bowl eligible. With games looming at BYU and Virginia, who are both fighting for bowl eligibility and will likely be big favorites against the Flames, a win against UMass is virtually a must win.
“This stretch, we knew was going to be the most difficult,” Freeze said of Liberty’s current four game road swing which began last week at Rutgers. “You got four on the road, three against what I would consider to be Power 5 teams, and we’re beat up a bit to top it off, particularly defensively. It’s a great challenge and opportunity, but it’s one that we actually welcome. I like having my back against the wall for some strange reason. I don’t even know if we’re against the wall right now, but I don’t know, I kind of feed on that and look forward to seeing if we have what it takes to get up after a disappointing loss.”
Following the four game stretch on the road, Liberty will conclude the regular season at home against New Mexico State. The Flames beat the Aggies, 20-13, in New Mexico on October 5th earlier this season.
“It’s a one game season,” Liberty quarterback Buckshot Calvert said. “We know those games are tough (BYU & Virginia), but our main focus right now is UMass. This is a really big game for us right now for where we want to be at. We have to win this game for us to continue to reach our main goal, so, I think this is probably one of our biggest games this season.”
For the Flames, it won’t be a different mindset as they have been treating each every game as a one game season. It’s a philosophy Coach Freeze has been preaching to the team since he was hired.
“One thing Coach Freeze has been saying to us in the locker is, ‘It’s a one game season,'” running back Joshua Mack said. “We have to treat it like it’s the last game of our season. We’ve got to go out there and give it our all this upcoming weekend.”
