Liberty football has made enormous strides in recent years as the program continues to raise its profile nationally. As we prepare for the upcoming 2025 season, let’s take a look back at the 15 most important wins in Liberty football history, wins that has helped propel the program forward to where it is today. This list is presented in chronological order. It’s difficult to say any one win is more important than the other as they tend to build off each other, especially for a program as young as Liberty.
Oct. 25, 1973 – Liberty 29, Ferrum 7
First win in program history
Nov. 8, 1980 – Liberty 23, Morehead State 20
First NCAA Division I win
Oct. 14, 1989 – Liberty 25, Eastern Michigan 24
First win over an FBS opponent
Nov. 17, 2007 – Liberty 31, Gardner-Webb 0
Win clinched first-ever Big South Conference title
Nov. 22, 2014 – Liberty 15, Coastal Carolina 14
Win clinched Big South title and program’s first ever FCS Playoff appearance
Nov. 29, 2014 – Liberty 26, James Madison 21
First FCS Playoff win in program history
Sept. 2, 2017 – Liberty 48, Baylor 45
First ever win over a Power 5 school
Sept. 1, 2018 – Liberty 52, Old Dominion 10
First win as an FBS program
Dec. 21, 2019 – Liberty 23, Georgia Southern 16
First bowl appearance and win
Oct. 17, 2020 – Liberty 38, Syracuse 21
First win over an ACC opponent
Nov. 7, 2020 – Liberty 38, Virginia Tech 35
First win over in-state Power 5 school
Dec. 6, 2020 – Liberty 37, Coastal Carolina 34 (OT)
First win over a ranked FBS opponent
Oct. 22, 2022 – Liberty 41, BYU 14
Jerry Falwell Sr’s vision for Liberty was to compete at the highest level of collegiate athletics like Notre Dame offers to Catholics and BYU provides for Mormons
Nov. 5, 2022 – Liberty 21, Arkansas 19
First win over an SEC opponent
Dec. 1, 2023 – Liberty 49, New Mexico State 35
CUSA Championship, first at FBS level, helped propel Flames to Fiesta Bowl
