The #25 Liberty Flames (6-0) hit the road for possibly the biggest game in school history as the Flames take on VIrginia Tech (4-2). Kickoff is scheduled for noon from Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia and will be televised on the ACC Network.

The two schools are located roughly 100 miles from one another but have played just once previously on the gridiron. The Hokies own the 1-0 series edge, knocking off Liberty, 36-13, on Sept. 3, 2016. Of course, LU was an FCS member at the time, and Stephon Masha got the start at quarterback while a baby-faced true freshman Stephen “Buckshot” Calvert made his collegiate debut. The game also served as Justin Fuente’s head coaching debut for Virginia Tech. Liberty was limited to 160 yards of offense, turned the ball over four times, and committed 13 penalties.

Playing a full ACC schedule so far this season, Virginia Tech won its first two games behind a total of 83 points in wins over NC State and Duke. The Hokies then fell to #8 North Carolina, 56-45, as their comeback attempt fell short after falling behind 42-17 in the third quarter. Virginia Tech then defeated Boston College, 40-14, to move to #19 in the Top 25 before they lost to Wake Forest, 23-16, dropping from the rankings. The Hokies rebounded last Saturday with a 42-35 win at Louisville.

The Virginia Tech offense is one of the best in the country, averaging 37.7 points per game which ranks third in the ACC and 14th in the nation among teams who have played five or more games. With four 40+ scoring games this season, the Hokies already have the most in a single season for the program since 2010.

The dynamic combination of quarterback Hendon Hooker and running back Khalil Herbert have Tech ranked fourth in the country with 290.2 rushing yards per game. Hooker has 359 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns on 62 rushing attempts. Herbert leads the nation in all-purpose yardage averaging 205.3 yards per game. He’s also second in the nation among players with five or more games played in averaging 133.8 rushing yards per game. Herbert is averaging 8.36 yards per carry.

Hooker has completed 63.4% of his 71 passes this season for 653 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 3 interceptions. He is 8-3 as the starting quarterback for Virginia Tech and his three rushing touchdowns against Louisville last week were a career high.

Herbert transferred into the program following a four-year career at Kansas. Virginia Tech added two running back transfers this season as former Rutgers back Raheem Blackshear has also joined the program. Blackshear is third on the team in rushing with 221 yards and 2 touchdowns on 52 carries.

“The quarterback and the back are both very talented,” Liberty safeties coach Corey Batoon said. “The two transfer backs, I think, are very exceptional. Both quarterbacks that they’ve played this year have brought their unique style to the run game, but are equally dangerous. We will have our work cut out for us on Saturday, just in terms of matching their physicality and being gap sound in our fits.”

If you’ve watched the Liberty offense this season, the system is very similar to what Virginia Tech runs. Both offenses feature dual threat quarterbacks and potent rushing attacks.

“I think they’re very similar approaches,” Freeze said of the two offenses. “Obviously, that tailback and quarterback are as good of athletes that we’ve seen anywhere. I think our approaches are very, very similar. They are going very tempo than maybe they have in the past and doing a heck of a job with it. The offensive line is playing very well. They are the 4th ranked offensive rushing team in the country and they’ve played ACC opponents. It’s an excellent plan, excellent athletes. Obviously, no one has stopped them yet. That will be our challenge to try to keep them out of the end zone and hold them to field goals.”

Liberty’s defense has been very strong all season, currently ranking No. 10 nationally in total defense. The Flames have also been very good on third down defense, ranking No. 8 nationally in holding teams to just a 30% third down conversion percentage. This will be a key battle in Saturday’s game. The Hokies have been very good on first and second downs on offense, putting themselves in very advantageous third downs if they even face a third down. Liberty’s defense must be able to win some battles on first and second downs, to put Tech in third and longs where the Flames can unleash their very talented pass rushers highlighted by TreShaun Clark, Durrell Johnson, Stephen Sings, and Aakil Washington.

“It’s going to be very challenging for us to be able to get them in those situations where they are more uncomfortable,” Batoon said of stopping the Hokies and forcing third and long. “You have to win first and second down, you have to win the right to rush the passer by winning first and second down.”

NOTABLES

  • Liberty is 10-0 under Hugh Freeze when outrushing their opponent, but just 4-5 when losing the rushing battle.
  • Freeze is facing Virginia Tech for the second time as a head coach. His Arkansas State squad fell 26-7 in Blacksburg on Sept. 17, 2011.
  • The Flames are going for its first ever 7-0 start. Liberty is 6-0 for the third time in program history.
  • Liberty has won 8 straight games dating back to last season, the second longest win streak in the country trailing only Notre Dame who has won 12 straight.
  • Virginia Tech and Liberty are both ranked in the top six in the nation in rushing offense. The Hokies are 4th with 290.2 rushing yards per game while the Flames are No. 6 with 255.5 rushing yards per game.
  • Virginia Tech is 9-1 at home against non-conference foes under Fuente. The lone loss was a 45-23 setback vs #6 Notre Dame.
  • Talented true freshman and former Virginia Tech commit Stephen Sings will miss the first half of the Virginia Tech game following his targeting penalty on the final drive of the game against Southern Miss.

QUOTABLES

Hugh Freeze on Liberty reaching the top 25 – “We’re honored and I will get the picture framed and mounted somewhere, but that’s old news now. We’ve got to get ready for the Hokies.”

Hugh Freeze on Virginia Tech – “”Their offensive line, their running backs, quarterbacks, they’re as good as I’ve seen even back when I was in a Power Five conference. That group measures up the right way.”

DL Coach Josh Aldridge on Virginia Tech – “We’re facing a great football team. We’re going to lean on every position group. We’re excited about the challenge, having an extra week to recover and prepare for these guys has been great and we’re excited for the opportunity.”

OL Coach Sam Gregg on Virginia Tech – “We’re excited about the game on Saturday. They’re a really good football team. I’m very excited to see how we measure up against what they’ve got.”

Safeties Coach Corey Batoon on VT’s success running the ball – “It starts up front. Their front is very physical. They do a great job in working in tandem with each other. Tight ends are big, physical players. Along their front, you look at the amount of games they’ve started as a unit, guys that have played meaningful snaps, I think that lends to their production up front.”

C Thomas Sargeant – “We know that games are won at the line of scrimmage and we have to impose our will.”

C Thomas Sargeant on Malik Willis – “He’s probably the most humble guy I know. He credits all of his success to us. After a play, we will tell him that was a great throw and he will say no I couldn’t have done it without ya’ll.”

C Thomas Sargeant – “Coach Freeze has challenged us this week to take each play and use six seconds of an insane amount of courage for 80 plays and we will like the result at the end of the game if we do that. That’s what it’s going to take. We’ll have to go out there and impose our will every play.”

QB Malik Willis on making the top 25 – “We’re not in the top 25 in our eyes. We’re just out here playing football, going out there every Saturday trying to go 1-0. That’s all that matters. We can’t really focus on too much what the media has to say. We can’t be reading our press clippings. People telling us how good we are or how bad we are, we can’t be focusing on any of that.”

QB Malik Willis – “There’s a lot of programs not playing right now. God blessed us with another opportunity to go out there and have fun, go out there and bring glory to His name and we just got to take advantage of it.”

PREDICTION

Virginia Tech 34, #25 Liberty 27

This is a game that could have some offensive fireworks with both offenses being very explosive and able to score points. Liberty will be able to score, the biggest question comes down to whether or not they can stop the Hokies enough to win the game.