WILLIS THROWS FIRST INTERCEPTIONS OF SEASON

It had been 122 pass attempts since Malik Willis last threw an interception in a game, coming in the 2020 Cure Bowl against Coastal Carolina. He was picked off three times Saturday afternoon against Middle Tennessee in the Liberty 41-13 win.

After the game, Willis answered that he knew immediately what he did wrong on those three plays. On the first, he threw it to the wrong receiver as he had tight end Johnny Huntley open. On the second pick, the MTSU defender made a terrific play after biting on the play fake when Willis tried to drop it into the tight end over the middle. On the third interception, Willis left the ball short as he was throwing into the wind and it knocked it down. He said he did not account for the wind on the deep pass.

Despite those three plays, Willis still turned heads and put up solid numbers. He finished the game with 302 yards of total offense, including 80 rushing. He finished with three total touchdowns. It was his eighth career game with 300 or more total yards.

“Our defense played really well,” Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze said after the game. “I think they are playing at a high level. That is incredibly good to see because we are still a little inconsistent on offense. Obviously, we needed them to play well tonight with us turning the ball over. That’s something we haven’t done all year. It’s my job. I’ve got to get us more consistent offensively. Obviously, it was not our best game. We’ve got to watch the film and learn from it.”

JOSHUA MACK GETS RUN GAME GOING

Liberty running back Joshua Mack has struggled to find much consistency this season. He finally had his best game of the year through the team’s first six games, rushing for 91 yards on 14 carries to lead the team. Behind Mack and Willis, Liberty rushed for 227 yards in the win compared to just 35 rushing yards for MTSU as the Flames remain unbeaten this season when out-rushing their opponent.

19,935 FANS IN ATTENDANCE

Liberty’s homecoming crowd netted the highest attended game of the season and the most fans at Williams Stadium for a football game since the 2019 opener against Syracuse. With 19,935 fans in attendance, it was the eighth largest crowd all-time at Williams Stadium and the third largest crowd under Liberty Athletic Director Ian McCaw.

“Loved it,” Freeze said of the crowd and the atmosphere. “They were extremely energetic, passionate, and loud early on in the game. That was a huge advantage for us. It was awesome to see. Hope we can continue to build on that. Get your tickets for the next one. We will need you even more then because we will be running on some fumes with this 10 game stretch we have. It will be great to get back home after these two road games, but it was an incredible atmosphere. I’m thankful. Thankful to the students, to the fans, to all of our supporters for coming out this afternoon.”

HILINSKI’S HOPE

October is National Depression and Mental Health Screening Month, and the Liberty football team has partnered with Hilinski’s Hope to bring awareness to mental health issues. In January 2018, Tyler Hilinski, a football player at Washington State, died by suicide. Liberty safety Skyler Thomas was a teammate of Hilinski’s at WSU. As part of that partnership, the entire Liberty football team and the crowd held a moment of silence and held three fingers in the air (Hilinski’s jersey number) to honor him.

“It meant a lot to me,” Skyler Thomas said after the game. “Tyler was one of my friends, my teammate. We used to hang out, kick it. For us to honor him way over here on the other side of the country, he still has that impact even through his situation. That just meant a whole lot to me. We still honor him and remember him. He’s not forgotten.”

QUICK INJURY NOTE

Not much detail right now, as we will get more on Monday when Hugh Freeze has his weekly press conference, but the Flames were a little banged up in this game. Wide receivers DJ Stubbs and Demario Douglas, and offensive linemen Cooper McCaw and Jonathan Graham were all dinged up in the game. Freeze said after the game those were all ankle injuries. Safety Quinton Reese was also injured and Freeze said he is “worried about that one a little bit.”