Liberty (4-5, 3-2 CUSA) was defeated by Missouri State (6-3, 4-1 CUSA) on Saturday afternoon, 21-17 in front of a Williams Stadium crowd in Lynchburg, Virginia of 18,407. The Flames led 10-7 entering the final quarter, as Liberty drops its first game under Chadwell after leading entering the fourth period. The Flames were previously 18-0 in such situations.

Bears Win 4th Quarter

Liberty was 18-0 when leading after the third quarter in the almost three seasons under Jamey Chadwell. Leading 10-7 entering the final period tonight, that streak came to an end.

The Bears scored early in the fourth quarter to take the 14-10 lead before the Flames quickly answered, going back on top at 17-14 with 8:10 remaining. The Liberty defense, who was solid most of the game, got a stop, forcing a Missouri State punt. The Flames took over on their own 17 with 5:23 to play. A few first downs, and the game would be over. However, Liberty was unable to get the needed first downs, allowing the Bears to take over at their own 30 with 1:27 remaining.

Missouri State and quarterback Jacob Clark made it look easy, marching down the field 70 yards in four plays to score the go-ahead touchdown with 27 seconds remaining as Clark hit Tristian Gardner for a 13-yard score.

Offense Unable to Get on Track

After struggling for much of the first half of the season on offense, it looked like Liberty was beginning to figure things out. The team had 17 days off before playing Delaware last week, exploding in that game against the Blue Hens with a season-high in yards and a Chadwell-era high in points with 59. The opening drive Saturday afternoon against Missouri State made it looked like the offense would continue its strong play. Liberty scored after just 8 plays, going 75 yards very efficiently, capping the drive with an Evan Dickens rushing touchdown.

After that, there wasn’t much success going on the offensive side of the ball. Liberty had to punt on three straight drives before setting up a last second field goal to enter the halftime locker room with a 10-0 lead. Then three more punts followed after halftime. It was only one drive, coming midway through the fourth quarter, that the offense showed life and was able to get back into the end zone to retake the lead it would only squander later.

We are now nine games into the season, and Liberty has failed to reach 20 points scored in five of those. It seems like that is the more true Liberty offense than what we saw against Delaware.

Flames Left Searching for Answers

With the loss, the Flames have now suffered losses to first year FBS and CUSA programs in consecutive seasons after also losing to Kennesaw State last year. Of course, Missouri State is in a much different place this year than the Owls were a year ago as they are now 6-3, but the loss still stings.

The loss hurts even more after Liberty was rallying around a chance to get back and remain in the CUSA Championship race. That appears to be gone barring a miracle. Liberty slips down the standings and are now in serious jeopardy of missing a bowl game. The loss also solidifies the fact that Liberty will have a worst record than it did last year, already suffering five losses. This is a second straight year going backwards in regards to overall record after the 13-1 2023 CUSA Championship and Fiesta Bowl.

How will the team respond?

Turning Point

The Flames held a 17-14 lead coming out of the two-minute timeout. Facing a 3rd and 3, Ethan Vasko lined up in the shotgun but appeared to run to his left before he secured the snap. He lost the ball, a Missouri State player was able to pick it up and looked like he was going to return it for a touchdown. Liberty tight end Caleb Ryan punched the ball out from behind, causing it to go into the end zone where Vasko recovered it for a touchback.

Ultimately, the play resulted in a 33-yard loss for the Flames. After the offense was unable to pick up a first down, Liberty had to punt from its own 29. Missouri State needed little time, able to traverse 70 yards in just 4 plays for the game winning score with 27 seconds remaining.

Player of the Game

Jacob Clark: The seventh year quarterback for Missouri State struggled through much of the first half, but he figured it out in the second half. He finished the game completing 20 of 33 passes for 286 yards and 2 touchdowns including the game winning touchdown drive in the closing minutes.

What They Said

“We did not make enough plays,” said head coach Jamey Chadwell. “In the first half, we had an opportunity, we had them on the ropes a little bit. We didn’t make enough opportunities there to separate the score. In the third quarter, they came out and made some adjustments. We took a little while to make some adjustments offensively. We needed to make some more plays.”

Up Next

Liberty hits the road for the first time since early in October as the Flames head to Miami to take on FIU. The Panthers are currently 3-5 on the season and 1-3 in conference play entering their game Saturday at Middle Tennessee. Kickoff from Pitbull Stadium is scheduled for 5 p.m. on ESPN+.