Liberty lost to Old Dominion, 21-7, this past Saturday in Norfolk as the team has slipped to 1-4 on the season. Here’s how we have the team graded out for this game.

Quarterbacks: F

  • Ethan Vasko was sidelined due to injury making the way for Michael Merdinger to make his first career start. He completed 6 of 11 passes for 77 yards while also rushing 7 times for a net of -3 yards. Ethan Houck also got some limited snaps, throwing an interception in his only completed pass and rushing three times for 11 yards. Merdinger and Houck got a slight pass last week as they had to enter the game midway after Vasko went down to injury against a solid defense, but this week they had a full week to prepare to take the field and their output was virtually the same.

Running Backs: C

  • Evan Dickens left the game early in the second quarter with concussion-like symptoms. Before his injury, he had 10 carries for 33 yards (3.3 ypc). Caden Williams picked up the slack, rushing 19 times for 92 yards (4.8 ypc). He was pretty good, especially considering the defense knew the Flames were extremely limited passing the ball.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: D

  • Once again it’s difficult to give the pass catchers a fair grade. There were only 12 pass attempts the entire game for the Flames, and at least a couple of those were uncatchable. Donte Lee made a nice play that resulted in a 53-yard pass from Merdinger. Other than that, the receivers and tight ends combined for three catches for 12 yards.

Offensive Line: F

  • The offensive line gave up 3 sacks and 6 TFLs. On a night where Liberty rarely dropped back to pass, it felt like Merdinger was constantly feeling pressure.

Run Defense: C-

  • The Flames allowed 243 rushing yards at 4.8 yards per carry. Liberty did force two fumbles and kept the Monarchs out of the end zone on the ground.

Pass Defense: D

  • ODU’s Colton Joseph threw 18 of 26 (69%) for 271 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception. It was really the first time this season an opposing team had consistent success against the Flames through the air.

Special Teams: C

  • Jay Billingsley missed his only field goal attempt from 46 yards. With the weather conditions how they were and the distance on that kick, it’s hard to downgrade too much, though it does continue a trend of inconsistency in the kicking game. Max Morgan was solid in the punt game, averaging 43.7 yards per punt. Punt and kick coverage were pretty good while Juju Gray had a nice opening kickoff return that set the team up with good field position to begin the game.

*photo courtesy Liberty University Athletics