OFFENSIVE STRUGGLES IN RED ZONE

Tuesday’s game against New Mexico State could be decided by red zone efficiency. Liberty is currently 104th in the country in red zone offense, scoring just seven touchdowns on 14 red zone trips. The red zone inefficiency has been one of the key reasons why the Flames’ offense has failed to score points like it has in the past, as Liberty has failed to reach 20 points scored in four straight games. Meanwhile, the Aggies have been one of the best red zone defenses in the country. They enter Tuesday night’s game as the 8th best red zone defense in the country, allowing opponents to come away with points on nine of 13 opportunities. Finishing is one of Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell’s key themes for the offense this week.

“One of the things we’ve challenged our offense is finishing,” he said. “We’re getting on people but we’re not finishing the blocks. You’ve got to be able to finish blocks to have longer runs or bigger plays. We had some opportunities in the red zone where we had 3rd and 2 a couple times and didn’t get them. It wasn’t because we didn’t have some good play calls on, we just have to execute those calls that we make. You’ve got to be able to finish the blocks, finish the drives, whatever it is – finish it. That’s one of the things we’re struggling to do is finish.”

LIBERTY-NMSU A RIVALRY?

Liberty and the Aggies will be meeting for a 9th time since the Flames moved up to the FBS level. The two teams played an in-season home and home series in both 2018 and 2019 when they were both FBS Independents. Then, they both joined Conference USA prior to the 2023 season when both advanced to the CUSA Championship game. Last year, the two met on ESPN2 when the Aggies took an early lead before Liberty made a comeback with two touchdowns in the final 8 minutes to pull out the win.

The Flames are 6-2 against the Aggies, having won three straight in the series, all of those meetings having come since the two joined CUSA. Tuesday’s game in Lynchburg will mark New Mexico State’s sixth road game at Liberty since 2018 and the first visit to Williams Stadium since the 2023 CUSA Championship game. Both teams are currently 1-1 in conference play and coming off conference wins as they look to both remain in the conference championship hunt.

“They’ve always been really competitive games,” said NMSU head coach Tony Sanchez. “I think it will be more of the same. Our guys will be fired up ready to go. We’re playing for a lot. We’ve got to learn how to win on the road. We’ve got to get a road win. It’s going to be an exciting atmosphere, national TV. We will be ready to roll.”

INJURY REPORT

Here’s an update on Liberty’s current injury situation:

  • RB Evan Dickens was injured and left the ODU game with “concussion-like” symptoms. He also missed last week’s game at UTEP. He has been limited in practice much of this week, but Chadwell says he is “cautiously optimistic” he can be cleared for Tuesday night.
  • LT Trey Bedosky returned to the lineup last week playing limited snaps against UTEP. We should expect to see his role continue to increase.
  • S Brylan Green remains out after suffering a lower body injury in the loss at Old Dominion.
  • Backup QB Ryan Burger is done for the season as he is medically retiring due to repeated concussions.
  • Backup C Cal Grubbs suffered an injury late during training camp and is out for the season.