Gamecocks have had already had 2 bye weeks

Jacksonville State opened the season a week earlier than most, facing Chattanooga on August 26th. A bye week followed their season opener, before JSU matched up with Georgia Tech on September 9th. When they meet up with Liberty on Saturday, it will have been two weeks since their game with the Yellow Jackets. Having just 2 games in a 4 week stretch is very unusual especially compared to the Flames who have faced 3 opponents in consecutive weeks, including 2 games that were decided on the final play of the game. While the Gamecocks will be more fresh, Liberty should be in more of a rhythm.

Liberty has played well in the first half of all 3 games this season, and the Flames need to do the same thing Saturday against the 5th ranked Gamecocks. Playing well early and keeping the score close early is a key for the game according to Coach Gill. That was something LU was unable to do against JSU last season, when they fell behind 27-3 in the first half.

JSU is led by their defense

Jacksonville State has been incredibly successful on defense so far this season, holding opponents to 308 yards of total offense and only 165 passing yards allowed per game. On the other side of the ball, Liberty’s offense has been racking up plenty of yards and points through the first 3 games. The Flames currently rank #1 in the FCS in passing offense, #5 in scoring offense, and #9 in total offense.

“These guys are really, really, really talented,” Liberty offensive coordinator Joe Dailey said of JSU’s defense. “It’s a group full of veterans. Guys that have played a lot of football. Guys that have really, really bright futures ahead of them. This is a defense that has played a lot of football, won a lot of football games. These guys know how to win and do so at a high level. These guys don’t give up much. They’re going to make you earn every single yard you get.”

Flames’ continue to struggle with penalties

Liberty has committed 21 penalties for 260 yards this season. The Flames rank 109th out of 124 FCS teams in penalty yards. Most of those penalties have been of the personal foul variety. The past two weeks, getting penalties under control has been a priority for Coach Gill and his staff. Gill has set a goal of 35 penalty yards or fewer for the Jacksonville State game.Three defensive linemen were whistled for personal fouls against Indiana State.

“We know we’ve got to address some issues of how we attack the quarterback,” defensive coordinator Robert Wimberly said of the penalties. “The thing I was very proud of is those 3 young men Sunday, stepped before this team and apologized to them – DiaVante Brown, Tolen Avery, and Juwan Wells. That’s maturity. They realized, at the end of the day, they hurt the team. When you look at that, I think that’s going to take care of it because they’ve already acknowledged we can’t keep doing this. I feel very confident that we’re going to get those alleviated.”

Injury update

Solomon McGinty, Lucas Irons, and Kimani Donaldson were all listed on the injury report earlier this week, but all have been cleared to play. Wide receiver Cephas Reddick is currently questionable.

Notable quotes.

Turner Gill on injured running back Todd Macon’s playing status – “There hasn’t been a specific date. I think next week there’s a legitimate chance, but the doctors are going to make that decision at that particular time. So, I would say in the next week or two he has a great chance to be back in play.”

Turner Gill on JSU’s first year starting QB Bryant Horn – “They have a new quarterback. He’s very athletic, he’s tough. He’s thrown the ball fairly well, he’s had 1 or 2 picks, but he’s a tough young man. I’ve seen him run and do some things of that nature. He’s only played 2 ball games, but I think he has some very good talent.”

Robert Wimberly comparing this year’s JSU offense to last year’s– “Still very dynamic. Roc is a very exceptional running back. Their receivers are still just as good. They’ve only played 2 games. I think the quarterback, Bryant, they’re still trying to learn him a little bit more, but he’s very efficient. He did a nice job, in my opinion, in both games. You know they’re well coached. They had a bye week, so we know we’re going to get their best shot because they’re a very dominant team and they play very well. I don’t see where it’s going to be a fall off. They do what they do, and they do it at a high level.”

Joe Dailey on Jacksonville State – “Its going to be exciting Saturday to watch our guys compete against the best team that we’re probably going to play this season.”

My prediction:

Liberty 37, Jacksonville State 31