Since Liberty made the move from the FCS to the FBS level prior to the 2018 season, the Flames have played two FCS opponents each season. Liberty is a perfect 6-0 in those games over the past three seasons winning by an average score of 51.2-25.

This season, Liberty has only one game against an FCS opponent scheduled, Saturday’s season opener at Williams Stadium against Campbell. With the Flames coming off the program’s best ever season in 2020 with a 10-1 record and finishing ranked in the top 20 of both major college football national polls, many are expecting Saturday’s game against the Camels to be a cake walk.

Not so fast, my friend, Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze and defensive coordinator Scott Symons said in the words of ESPN’s Lee Corso.

“It’s a nervous opener for me,” Freeze said. “I mean that. I watched how athletic, big and physical they are. They played App State, I think it was 28 seconds left in the first half and they are up in the game, could have easily won the Georgia Southern game. We know how athletic they are. Played Coastal as well as a lot of teams did. Played and scored points on Wake Forest. It’s a nervous team for me.”

Coach Symons went even further than that when talking about Liberty’s opponent Saturday.

“By far the best FCS team we have played since we’ve been here, I don’t think it’s close” he said during his press conference on Monday. “It’s going to be a really big challenge. Our kids are going to have to be ready to play. These guys are going to plan on coming in here and beating us. It’s going to be a dog fight. They are a really, really good football team. I don’t think it’s even close, this is by far the best FCS team that we have played since we have been here as a staff.”

Liberty has played and defeated four FCS teams under Freeze and Symons, but a couple of those games have been closer than anticipated. In 2019, the Flames defeated Hampton, 62-27, and Maine, 59-44. Last year, Liberty knocked off North Alabama, 28-7, and Western Carolina, 58-14.

Campbell elected to not play in the 2021 FCS spring season and instead played four games last fall against FBS teams. They nearly knocked off Georgia Southern before falling 27-26 last September. The Camels then played Coastal Carolina, losing 43-21. Campbell led Appalachian State, 13-10, late in the second quarter before eventually losing to the Mountaineers, 52-21. In their 2020 season finale, the Camels lost to Wake Forest, 66-14.

Similar to the Flames, Campbell returns 10 starters on both sides of the ball, with all 100% of its rushing and passing yards returning as well as 92% of its tackles back in 2021. They have a number of FBS transfers on their roster, including defensive lineman Alexy Jean-Baptiste who played against Liberty when he was at FIU last year.

The Camels are led by Mike Minter who is entering his ninth season. Of course, Minter is familiar with Liberty as well as he spent the 2012 campaign on the Flames’ coaching staff under former head coach Turner Gill. After excelling in college at Nebraska, Minter was a second round draft pick of the Carolina Panthers where he spent nearly a decade on the field for the NFL team. Minter was Liberty’s special teams coordinator for one season before heading to Campbell where he has a 36-46 career record.

“I don’t have a deep relationship with Mike, but I have great respect for him, just the type of man he is and the way his kids play speaks volumes to me,” Freeze said of Minter. “They play really hard for him, they are a disciplined team. I think he’s done a heck of a job in building that program pretty much from scratch, I believe. He’s made them very, very competitive. I think Mike has done a heck of a job along with his staff.”

The Camels have an explosive offense led by dual-threat quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams who led the team in rushing during their four-game 2020 season. Williams rushed for 216 yards and four touchdowns while completing 53% of his passes for 662 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions.

“It’s not a comfortable opening game in my eyes in any way,” said Freeze. “We’re going to have to play really well. You never feel like you know a lot about your team until you get to play some games. It appears to me that it could be a game that we’re going to have to play really well to have control of it.”