It was another impressive night for the Heisman hopeful. Willis went 13-18 for 154 yards and two TDs through the air. He also led the Flames in rushing with 93 yards and one TD.
The offense was clicking, for the most part, in the first half of the game. On the first drive, Willis hit WR DeMario Douglas in stride as hugged the right slideline for a 32 yard TD. That capped off a 75-yard drive. The second Willis TD toss came halfway through the 2nd quarter when the QB pulled the ball on a fake hand-off from the 2-yard line and hit TE Jerome Jackson over the top, sealing a 90-yard drive.
Liberty’s offense hit a wall toward the end of the second half when they had the opportunity to go up by two scores. Coming into the game, it was announced that RT Cooper McCaw was out. This, mixed with other line injuries, led to Willis being sacked 5 times and 11 tackles for loss by the Trojan defense. Those offensive struggles continued into the 3rd, forcing Liberty to return to the run game and Willis to utilize his legs more. The third scoring drive, which came at the beginning of the 4th, started off with a 14-yard run from Willis. He would go on to add 28 more yards on the ground and the game-winning TD scramble.
Willis also surpassed 1,000 career rushing yards with his performance against Troy.
