We have reached the midpoint of the 2022 football season for the Liberty Flames who are 5-1 entering this week’s game against Gardner-Webb. Head coach Hugh Freeze and the Flames were able to overcome a slow start to a 42-24 win over UMass on Saturday evening.

Shedro Louis scored three touchdowns to help pace the Flames. Johnathan Bennett responded from his struggles in the first quarter to overcome a 7-0 deficit to lead the team to the victory. The third quarterback to start a game for Liberty this season, Bennett is now 2-0 all-time in his Liberty career as a starter.

Despite its win, Liberty fell two spots in ESPN’s Football Power Index to No. 66. The Flames are the second-highest ranked team in Virginia, behind No. 55 James Madison.

Per ESPN, the Football Power Index (FPI) is a “measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of a team’s performance going forward for the rest of the season.” FPI represents how many points above or below average a team is.

Before Liberty’s seventh contest of the season coming up this Saturday against Gardner-Webb, FPI gives the Flames a 9.5% chance to win out. Here is how the computer projection win model forecasts Liberty’s final six games of the regular season.