No one, including the players on the field knew it at that moment.  Sometime during a ho hum win against a ho hum opponent on November 8, 2014, something happened.  An almost unnoticeable moment that would set off a chain of events, culminating in one of the more disastrous losses in Liberty football history.  As QB Josh Woodrum got up from the ground with a minor cut to his right knee, no one could have had a clue that it would ultimately keep the Flames’ star player out of a game that could have likely sent Liberty to its first FCS playoff berth.

How the rest happened is still a bit foggy.  An infection developed, and at some point in practice last Wednesday Woodrum took a hit that resulted in that infection flaring up.  Woodrum was unable to practice Thursday, and ultimately was seen on crutches Saturday as the Flames fell to Charleston Southern by a score of 38-36.  Backup QB, and Redshirt Freshman Stephon Masha performed admirably in his first start.  However, as we have chronicled this week, Liberty was simply unable to overcome the loss of their offensive leader.

Liberty controls their destiny for the first time since 2011.

Liberty controls their destiny for the first time since 2011.

Cue the panic.  Cue the “typical Liberty” comments.  Cue the “same story, new year” hysteria.  Cue the “fire Gill” madness.  Yes, last Saturday was tragic for Liberty football, but it wasn’t fatal.  Please…take…a…breath.

Who didn’t predict that this season was going to come down to a showdown against a highly ranked Coastal Carolina to finish the regular season?  It certainly seems like that was the overwhelming consensus in August.  Coastal is a little higher ranked than some thought (but only because NDSU finally lost).  Liberty may have lost a game that few would have predicted in August.  Nevertheless, it has come down to this week.  Liberty controls its own playoff destiny in the final week of the season for the first time since Danny Rocco roamed the sidelines.

Is that not progress?  No matter how terrible Saturday was, no matter how awful it feels to lose to Charleston Southern, Liberty is in a better spot in late November than it has been since 2011.  We as fans need to unite behind this team now.  They have a chance to do what no Liberty team has been able to do this Saturday.  They win one game and they’re in.  It gets better though.  They have a chance to do it against the #1 team in the country, a statement that no Liberty team has ever had the opportunity to make.  It gets better still.  That team happens to be our biggest rival.

Winning last week would have been great.  However, as fans, don’t we live for these moments?  If you had to pick one team to beat for Liberty’s greatest triumph to date, wouldn’t it be that school that pretends to be from Myrtle Beach?  This has been set up to be a beautiful weekend for Liberty football.  It’s a rivalry game where anything can happen, regardless of rankings, regardless of what happened last week.  So take a deep breath.  It’s almost time to beat Coastal.