Liberty (3-4, 2-1 CUSA) scores a late touchdown and withstands a final play field goal from New Mexico State (3-3, 1-2 CUSA) on Tuesday night, to pick up the win, 30-27. Attendance at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia was announced at 16,312.

Special Teams leads the Flames in the win

Liberty had its first kick return touchdown under head coach Jamey Chadwell, scored 10 points off two NMSU muffed punts, and was a perfect 3/3 on field goals. Add to that the kickoff by Max Morgan at the end of the game for a touchback which came from the 20-yard line following a Liberty penalty on the extra point, and it was the special teams units that helped propel the team to a win for a second straight week.

Juju Gray took a second quarter kickoff that was bouncing inside the 5-yard line, raced through the NMSU kick coverage, and made his way 96-yards down the field and into the end zone, giving the Flames a 10-3 lead. It was Liberty’s first kick return for a touchdown since Shedro Louis accomplished the feat in 2022 against Virginia Tech. On the following Liberty drive, the Aggies muffed the punt and it led to an Evan Dickens 8-yard touchdown run, pushing the advantage to 17-3 and looking like the Flames might win going away. Jay Billingsley followed up his 4 for 5 night in El Paso against UTEP last week with a perfect 3 of 3 on his field goals against NMSU.

Defense struggles, gets stops in 4th quarter

New Mexico State entered the game as the worst rushing offenses in the country, averaging just a hair over 50 yards on the ground each game. They surpassed that mark in the first half on their way to a season high 146 yards rushing, the first time the team has gone over 100 yards through the team’s first six games. Still, Liberty held the Aggies to just six first half points, but that changed after halftime.

Trailing 20-6, New Mexico State took advantage of two Liberty turnovers which created short fields as they scored touchdowns on their first three drives of the second half, storming ahead to take the 27-20 lead. After a Liberty field goal cut the lead to four, the Flames’ allowed NMSU to move into their territory before flexing and forcing a punt. The defense took the field again with 36 seconds remaining and the Flames back in front at 30-27. The Aggies were able to pick up 45 yards on six plays to set up a 47-yard Ryan Hawk field goal attempt which was no good.

New Mexico State finished the game with 388 yards of offense, outgaining the Flames both in passing (242-179) and rushing (146-114).

Offense overcomes turnovers, ineffectiveness with late TD drive

It wasn’t pretty for the Liberty offense. The Flames had three turnovers and struggled to move the ball consistently throughout the night despite scoring 30 points. Liberty took advantage of NMSU miscues, capitalizing on short fields thanks to muffed punts on two occasions. Ethan Vasko had arguably his worst performance in a Liberty uniform, completing 20 of 30 passes for 179 yards, 2 interceptions, and a lost fumble. The Flames were also ineffective on the ground, being held to 3.8 yards per carry on 30 rushing attempts.

Trailing 27-23 with 3:46 remaining, Vasko took the field confidently and helped engineer a 13 play, 92 yard drive to take the lead and ultimately secure the win. He connected with Donte Lee five times for 49 yards on the drive while Dickens ran for 21 yards, including the final eight as he bounced around the left side and won the race to the pylon.

Turning Point

Liberty’s offense was inept for much of the second half with two turnovers and two punts on the team’s first four drives of the second half. Trailing 27-23 with less than four minutes remaining, the Flames amassed a 13 play, 92 yard drive capped by the 8-yard Dickens run to give Liberty the 30-27 lead and, ultimately, the win.

Player of the Game

Evan Dickens: After missing last week’s game at UTEP due to concussion-like symptoms, the Liberty running back returned to the lineup. He rushed 13 times for 50 yards, but more importantly had two touchdowns including the game winner when he bounced outside for the 8-yard run with 36 seconds remaining.

What They Said

“We can’t handle prosperity from the first half, I can say that. I guess we wanted to keep the TV and the gamblers watching the whole game,” said head coach Jamey Chadwell.

Up Next

After playing these past two games in six days, Liberty now has 17 days before playing again. The Flames have an open date next week before transitioning back to the normal Saturday schedule for November, beginning Nov. 1 against Delaware. The Blue Hens, in their first year at the FBS level and participating in CUSA, are currently 3-2 on the season and 1-1 in conference play before playing at Jacksonville State Wednesday night. Delaware will then host Middle Tennessee on Wednesday, Oct. 22 before heading to Lynchburg. Kickoff on Saturday, Nov. 1 is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network.