Liberty (1-1, 0-1 CUSA) was knocked off in its CUSA opener at Jax State (1-1, 1-0), 34-24 on Saturday afternoon at AmFirst Stadium in Jacksonville, Alabama. The Flames were unable to overcome two turnovers and 338 rushing yards by the Gamecocks.
Miscues prove costly
On Liberty’s second offensive play of the game, quarterback Ethan Vasko was hit from behind, causing him to lose the ball as he attempted to get the ball out of his hands. A Jax State defender grabbed the fumble out of the air. It set up the Gamecocks’ offense, who has been struggling to find its identity early this season, in plus territory. They took advantage and punched it in the end zone just five plays later. That miscue set the Flames behind on the scoreboard and would be a reoccurring theme for the afternoon.
Later in the first half, with the game tied at seven and Liberty’s offense starting to click, Vasko misread the defense and threw an interception as the JSU linebacker stepped in front of his pass. That halted the Liberty momentum, helped the Gamecocks score again on a short field as they took advantage of both of Liberty’s turnovers, and regained the lead, 14-7.
A missed chipped shot field goal, confusion on a 4th and 2 play call, and a penalty that wiped a Liberty touchdown off the board were all added to those two turnovers. These are some of the main reasons why Liberty lost by 10 points despite out-gaining the Gamecocks in total offense, 534-390. For this team at this point in the season, all of that was far too much to overcome to beat a good Jacksonville State team on the road.
Defense couldn’t get stops when needed
It was a bit of a mixed bag for the Liberty defense. Ultimately, the Flames couldn’t get stops when needed in the fourth quarter to get the ball back to the offense only down one possession to have an opportunity to tie the game up. In the first half, Liberty gave up 14 points with both touchdowns coming off Flames’ turnovers and short fields, and a 50-yard field goal the Gamecocks made following a relatively short 33-yard drive following Liberty’s turnover on downs.
In the second half, particularly the fourth quarter, Liberty couldn’t get the necessary stops needed to get off the field. One time in particular, following a 52-yard Evan Dickens touchdown run that cut the Jax State lead to 24-17, Liberty had a prime opportunity to get off the field. The first play of the ensuing drive, Jax State QB Gavin Wimsatt threw an incomplete pass. On a 2nd down run play, the Gamecocks were whistled for holding. It set up a 2nd and 20 for a team that only passed for 52 yards all game. Cam Cook rushed for 11 yards to make it 3rd and 9. Then an illegal substitution penalty on the Flames made it 3rd and 4, and Wimsatt was able to found a receiver as he rolled to his left to pick up seven yards the first down. That drive ended in a Jax State touchdown.
Cam Cook finished the game with 29 carries for 195 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Gamecocks had 338 yards rushing on 50 carries, averaging 6.8 yards per carry on the afternoon. The Flames are now 0-4 under Coach Chadwell when being out-rushed in the game after Liberty finished with 199 rushing yards.
Uphill fight to get to CUSA Championship
It’s early, only Week 2 of the college football season, but as we said all week, this loss puts Liberty in dangerous territory of not being able to reach the CUSA Championship game. The Flames now are one game behind Jax State and won’t have the head-to-head tiebreaker against them. Liberty also does not play Western Kentucky who looks like it will be competing for the conference championship and now stands one game behind the Hilltoppers.
Liberty could win the rest of its seven conference games and not make the conference championship game. The Flames no longer control their own destiny but now will need some help while also racking up conference victories.
Turning Point
On the team’s 2nd offensive play, Ethan Vasko was hit from behind as he didn’t feel the pressure, causing him to lose the ball. The fumble was recovered by Jax State. The Gamecocks scored on the short field just five plays later. The Flames were playing catch up the rest of the way, never able to get over the hump.
Player of the Game
Cam Cook: Jax State’s running back was too much for the Liberty defense to contain. The TCU transfer carried the ball 29 times for 195 yards and 2 touchdowns as he averaged 6.7 yards per carry. His long was only 31 yards, so he was routinely picking up yards, breaking tackles, and moving the pile forward.
What They Said
“We did have a lot of yards, but had (two) turnovers in the first half that didn’t allow us to get points. When we started getting some points in the 4th quarter, we couldn’t get a stop defensively, disappointing. I give a lot of credit to Jax State. We had some opportunities in this game to win it,” said head coach Jamey Chadwell.
Up Next
Liberty will step out of conference for the next three weeks, staying on the road next week to play at Bowling Green in Ohio. Under first year head coach Eddie George, the Falcons are 1-0 on the season following their season opening, 26-7, win over Lafayette. They play at Cincinnati today.
