Game Summary: Liberty 28 vs UNA 7

Well, a win is a win and Liberty is now 3-0 to start the season but the game certainly wasn’t the dominant performance that most people (this writer included) were expecting from the Flames.

Offense:

Liberty struggled to move the ball in the first half and didn’t score their first touchdown until the 6:12 mark in the second quarter. Liberty had multiple opportunities to score or create big plays but missed them, to including a dropped pass by Yarbrough which could have been a score (he had a good 3-4 yards on the defender), a missed deep post which was thrown well behind the receiver and a missed field goal from 33 yards which bounced off the uprights.

The Flames were without standout Malik Willis today as he continued to recover from an elbow injury suffered last week against FIU. Standing in for Willis for most of the game, was Chris Ferguson who had an up and down day to say the least.

Ferguson was 12/21 for only 64 yards as he struggled to get on the same page as his wide receivers and to deliver the ball accurately. However, Ferguson also threw three TDs (all from short range) with no picks, helping the Flames to greatly improve their red-zone touchdown percentage.

With the score 21-0 late in the third, LU subbed in Johnathan Bennett to finish out the game. Bennett was also a mixed bag, as he threw for a touchdown on his first drive but threw a pick on his second drive (the first pick thrown by LU this season). Bennett finished the game 3/4 for 43 yards, 1TD and one INT.

Outside of the QB play, the receivers had a couple of nice grabs but nothing quite as spectacular as the previous two games. The running game was ok for LU but not as dominating as it could have been against an FCS foe in UNA. Joshua Mack managed to snag his third consecutive 100+ yard game with 130 yards and backs Louis, Pickett and Henderson were all productive at different points in the game.

Defense:

But for a pick thrown by Bennett which gave UNA a very short field, the Flames’ defense would probably have had a shutout in this one.

The Flames’ D had some very nice moments in the game which included 2 picks and a fumble recovery (the first turnovers of the season for the LU defense). However, in-between the picks, the Flames’ secondary struggled against UNA who was leaning on their backup QB after the first string, Dever, was injured after a targeting penalty.

One of the biggest misses on defense for the Flames was when they allowed a UNA receiver to get open by about 15 yards, and a huge momentum shifting touchdown was only avoided by a bad pass which hung up and gave the Flames’ secondary time to recover. Despite the woes in the secondary, a bright spot was Liberty’s D-line play, which was much better this week after struggling last week (Liberty only allowed 63 total yards on the ground).

Special Teams:

Yikes. To start with, Flames’ kicker Barbir continued to struggle with kicks outside of 30 yards, bouncing his only attempt (which was lined up straight down the middle from 32 yards out) off the right upright. Other Special teams miscues included: Liberty punter Alves being unable to get a single punt to stop inside the 20, the Flames returning their lone kickoff return for only 19 yards and the field goal block unit lining up over the snapper as time expired in the second quarter which allowed UNA to attempt a field goal (that they missed). The one thing the Flames did improve from last week was their kickoff coverage, which managed to hold UNA to a long of 28 yards on the returns and was overall much better at swarming down and not giving UNA good field position.

How did Liberty fulfill my keys to the game?

1. Improve on Special Teams: C

Liberty still has a lot of work to do in this department. Mistakes on special teams killed momentum for the Flames and contributed to UNA sticking around in this one for way too long. Freeze can’t have much faith in his kicking game right now.

2. Finish Drives: A-

The Flames struggled to get going in this one and saw their first drive inside the 20 end in a missed field goal. However, Liberty dramatically improved after this and saw their other 4 drives inside the 20 all end in touchdowns. Ferguson may have struggled to throw the ball accurately for most of the game, but inside of the 20 he was clutch.

3. Get Ferguson into the game flow: C+

Yes the Flames gave Ferguson the start and the majority of the reps, but that isn’t what I meant by get him into the game flow. Ferguson was called on right from the beginning to make throws downfield into often tight coverage. As a result, he never got into a groove and looked uncomfortable throwing all game. Liberty should have focused more on the run game and given Ferguson a variety of screen, slants and passes to the backs out on the flat to get him comfortable in the pocket and into a rhythm.

Final Summary:

Let’s hope Willis is healthy next week and stays healthy for the rest of the season because neither of the performances by the two Liberty backups inspired much confidence in their ability to win games against tougher opponents. As I stated before, Liberty is glad to get out of here with a win and without having to risk additional injury to Willis as he continues to heal, but film day on Monday is not going to be a good time for the offense, special teams or secondary. Let’s hope this game lights a fire under the Flames and they come back better prepared next week and going forward this season. Next week’s game against winless UL Monroe will be the last chance for the Flames to straighten out any creases before the schedule really stiffens up for the rest of the season.

Written by Mr. Exclamation Point