We were unable to write our usual  “Quick-hit notes” game wrap-up following the Flames’ 34-13 loss Saturday night to previously winless Southern Illinois, but here are some takeaways:

  • This loss stings, no doubt. I wrote last week several things we could prove with a win, but we were unable to do so. What does it mean going forward? Well, we got manhandled pretty badly last season against Indiana State in a similar fashion, and we were still able to recover to have the most successful season in program history. There’s still plenty of season left.
  • Southern Illinois is a good team. I don’t know what type of record they will end up with playing in the top FCS conference, but they are a playoff caliber team. It wouldn’t be shocking for them to get to 7-4 and make the playoffs.
  • The game got out of hand in a hurry, but if the outcome of 2-3 plays change, then it’s a much different game. It started with the 4th and 2 play at the Southern Illinois 10 yard line where Des Rice got stuffed and the Flames finished the drive with no points. If we could somehow punch that in for a score, we’re up 10-3 early in the 2nd quarter. The Salukis responded with another field goal, then Woodrum fumbles, and it goes from 3-3 to 13-3 in just over 1 minute of game time. Throw in 2 missed Lunsford field goals before intermission, and the rout is on.
  • Speaking of Lunsford. What’s up with him? Sure, he made a 57-yarder, but he’s now 5/11 on field goal attempts this season. He’s already missed more field goals than a season ago when he was 19/24 for the season.
  • Our defense didn’t play terribly, but we couldn’t get them off the field before they scored points. Their first 4 drives all went for scores and 5 of their first 6 possessions ended in points. Couple that with the offense’s inefficiencies in the first half and it makes for a long evening.
  • Woodrum didn’t play his best game and I’m sure he would admit as much. He finished 26/47 passing for 277 yards and 2 lost fumbles. Not shown on the stat sheet are the several passes he missed when receivers were open. Is he to blame for the loss? Of course not, but being a 5th-year senior and 4th-year starter at quarterback, expectations are extremely high for Josh. I’m sure he’ll bounce back just fine.
  • The most concerning thing to me through the first 4 games of the season is the ineffectiveness of the running game. Against Southern Illinois, the Flames finished with 81 rushing yards on 37 attempts. That’s 2.2 yards per rush. Pathetic. Liberty has now finished 3 straight games with less than 100 rushing yards. Even against Delaware State, in the opener, the Flames struggled early to get much traction on the ground. Sure they finished with 229 rushing yards against DSU, but most of those came in the 2nd half when the game was in hand.
  • Any hopes Liberty has at securing an at-large playoff bid rests solely on the Georgia State game. With a win, the Flames should be fairly secure on securing a spot in the playoffs should they not win the automatic bid. With a loss, those odds diminish drastically.