Liberty got back in the win column Wednesday night, defeating UTEP, 19-8. in EL Paso as the team improved its record to 2-4 on the season and 1-1 in CUSA play. Here’s how we have the team graded out for this game.

Quarterbacks: C+

  • Ethan Vasko returned to the game after missing 1.5 games due to a shoulder injury. He completed 19 of 33 passes for 243 yards while also rushing 14 times for 31 yards and a touchdown. He did not turn the ball over but did miss on a couple of deep shots that could have put the game out of reach much earlier.

Running Backs: C-

  • Evan Dickens did not play after suffering concussion like symptoms at Old Dominion. It made the way for Vaughn Blue to have the best game running the ball of his career, rushing 17 times for 75 yards (4.4 ypc). Caden Williams had 12 rushing attempts for 36 yards (3.0 ypc), and the team had 50 rushes for 160 yards (3.2). The backs were explosive catching passes out of the backfield as we saw Juju Gray had 3 receptions for 63 yards and Jaylon Coleman caught one pass for 31 yards. Most of that damage was done in the first quarter. The running game couldn’t get on track in the second half when the team was trying to grind the game away.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: C

  • Not counting the backs, nine different pass catchers had at least one catch in the win, led by Jamari Person’s 5 for 52. Donte Lee had 2 catches for 28 yards, a number that should have been higher as he was well behind the defense on one deep post pattern but Vasko overthrew him.

Offensive Line: D

  • The offensive line play was improved but still leaves room for growth. The group gave up 1 sack and 6 TFLs while the Flames were unable to get the running game going, especially in the second half when the team was trying to ice the game.

Run Defense: A

  • The Flames were really good against the run, as UTEP rushed 25 times for 56 yards at 2.2 yards per carry, and did not allow an explosive play. Can’t ask for better than that.

Pass Defense: A-

  • UTEP had one explosive play in the pass game (44 yards) that came in the fourth quarter which set up the team’s only points of the day. Otherwise, the Miners were unable to have much success at all passing the ball, completing 13 of 27 passes for 111 yards and 2 interceptions while the Flames had 3 sacks.

Special Teams: B

  • Jay Billingsley may be the biggest single reason why the Flames won this one. He made his first four kicks with a long of 50 that helped put Liberty in control, extending the lead from 7-0 to 19-0 during that time. He did miss his final field goal attempt of the game, but finished 4 of 5. The rest of the kicking game was solid, especially dealing with the wind most of the night.

*photo courtesy Liberty University Athletics