Tag: Liberty football

Independent Football Rankings: CFN 2021 Pre-Spring

The pre-spring version of the CFN 2021 rankings with a first look at all the Independent teams.

The pre-spring version of the CFN 2021 rankings with a first look at all the Independent teams.

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2021 Independent Rankings: Pre-Spring

1. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Why To Be Happy: The defense should be fine. There are just enough losses to matter, but if Kyle Hamilton isn’t the best safety in college football he’ll be up there, and the line gets back the interior with Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and Kurt Hinish coming back. QB Ian Book might be gone, but Wisconsin transfer Jack Coan and newbie Tyler Buchner are interesting options to go with. However …

What To Work On: The Irish lose a ton. The offensive line has become a factory, but there’s a lot of work to be done up front, the linebacking corps has to replace key parts, and the receiving corps loses the top wideouts.

Bottom Line: The Irish will be fine. They’re still full of talented players working around a good group of talent waiting to step up, and the recruiting classes have stocked the shelves. The issue will be the expectations. Notre Dame has done the College Football Playoff thing – it wants to win it. It’s going to take a whole lot of reworking to get there.
– 2021 Notre Dame Schedule Analysis, Best & Worst Scenarios

2. Liberty Flames

Why To Be Happy: Almost everyone has decided to come back. Total yard star QB Malik Willis – back. RB Joshua Mack – back. All the 2020 seniors on the O line, almost all of the top receivers, and everyone on D? Back, back, and close to all back full. Throw in a few interesting transfers – like Utah RB TJ Green and defensive backs Skyler Thomas (Washington State) and Cedric Stone (UTEP) and the Flames should once again be outstanding.

What To Work On: Expectations? Liberty – think about that for a moment … Liberty – will be in a whole lot of preseason top 25 rankings and will be expected to repeat the huge 2020 and be a killer every time out. The turnovers have to slow, and the explosion has to be there against big boys, but now the spotlight is on.

Bottom Line: With all of the returning talent and with head coach Hugh Freeze still around – and not at Tennessee – anything less than another amazing year will be a massive disappointment.

3. BYU Cougars

Why To Be Happy: This might not be the high-flying fun show of last year, but it’ll still be a tough team with a great group of skill parts despite some huge losses. The running backs are good, the defensive should be fine in the back seven, and the team will still be physical on the lines. However …

What To Work On: Last year’s powerhouse loses a ton. QB Zach Wilson, OT Brady Christensen, WR Dax Milne, OG Tristen Hoge, and on and on and on. The Cougars have enough good players to be more than just good and not drop off all that much, QB Baylor Romney isn’t going to be Wilson.

Bottom Line: It’ll be another strong season for the Cougars, but the high-end talent loss is too much to expect a special repeat season like 2020.

4. Army Black Knights

Why To Be Happy: The running backs return. The Black Knights are expected to get back their top five rushers, QB Tyhier Tyler, and for what it’s worth, almost everyone who caught a pass. Eight of the top ten tacklers should be back, but …

What To Work On: The offensive line needs a ton of reworking. It’s Army, so plenty of players have been trained over the years to be ready to fill in, but it’s still going to take a bit to mix in four new starters to get all the timing down.

Bottom Line: You know exactly what you’re getting. The Army D might not be quite as nasty as it was throughout 2020, but it won’t be all that far off. The offensive side will do what it does, but again, it needs the line to gel in a hurry.

5. New Mexico State Aggies

Why To Be Happy: It’ll be a very, very interesting season for the Aggies. They not only get a season again after missing 2020, but they’ll have a real spring football session with three games from late February to early March to tune things up for the real thing this this Fall.

What To Work On: Since winning the New Mexico Bowl at the end of the 2017 season the program has won three games against FBS teams. The program has to find an offense that can keep things moving, and the nation’s second-worst run D in 2019 has to be a whole lot better.

Bottom Line: It’s one of the most interesting situations in a long, long time thanks to the three game spring session. There are a whole slew of new, young parts who weren’t around in 2020 ready to get a chance.

6. UConn Huskies

Why To Be Happy: There might not have been a 2020 season, but almost everyone is expected to be back. This was going to be a very young team last year, and now the program has had a year of upping the weightlifting and conditioning. But …

What To Work On: The program has just one win over an FBS program since 2017 and is 1-27 in its last 28 games against the big-league teams. That one win? UMass. It all starts with figuring out a defense that did nothing for a few years before the 2020 cancellation.

Bottom Line: It’s going to be a rough year, but it’s a young team in full reboot mode with no expectations and a whole lot of players ready to start playing again.

7. UMass Minutemen

Why To Be Happy: The coaching staff has been active in the transfer portal. It got its quarterback – maybe – in Tyler Lytle from Colorado, it’s running back in – maybe – Kay’Ron Adams from Rutgers, and with a whole lot of help for the defensive front and the secondary. However, on the other side …

What To Work On: Around 18-to-20 players are expected to be gone through the transfer portal. It’s not like the Minutemen were able to do much of anything with that group in place, but it’s going to take a full offseason to figure out any semblance of a proper depth chart.

Bottom Line: After scoring one touchdown and 12 points in four games, and after going 1-17 in the last 18 games, the program still has a whole lot of work to do under head man Walt Bell. He’s fighting the good fight, but this is going to be a grind.

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Liberty 37, Coastal Carolina 34 OT: FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl 10 Things To Know

Liberty 37, Coastal Carolina 34. 10 ten things you need to know about the Liberty win over Coastal Carolina in the FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl.

Liberty 37, Coastal Carolina 34 OT. The 10 ten things you need to know about the Liberty win over Coastal Carolina in the FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl.

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Liberty 37, Coastal Carolina 34 OT: FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl

10. Of course this ended on a blocked kick. In one of the wildest and weirdest college football bowl games ever, Liberty was stuffed on its overtime possession – there was a whole lot happening just before that, we’ll get there in a moment – got hit for a delay of game, and Alex Barbir calmly hit a 44-yard field goal for a 37-34 lead. Coastal Carolina was stuffed, but Massimo Biscardi’s field goal try was blocked.

9. There were a ton of missed holding calls, some questionable replay calls, and a few other rocky moments. The two teams combined for 12 penalties, Liberty turned it over three times, Coastal Carolina once, and … oh yeah. They also combined for 958 yards and more fun plays than we’ve seen throughout the first part of the bowl season.

8. There were so many fantastic performances that will be overshadowed by the quarterbacks and the finish. Coastal Carolina WR Jaivon Heiligh caught 13 passes for 178 yards, and Liberty RB Joshua Mack ran 14 times for 105 yards – but with a BIG fumble. Coastal Carolina WR Isaiah Likely caught five passes for 84 yards and a touchdown, and yeah …

7. The quarterbacks showed up. Coastal Carolina’s Grayson McCall completed 21-of-32 passes for 318 yards and three scores with a pick, and he led the team with 96 rushing yards and a touchdown. But ..

6. No, the quarterbacks really showed up. Liberty’s Malik Willis was unstoppable – at least running the ball. He threw for 220 yards, but gave up two interceptions – and there should’ve been more. However, he ran 21 times for 137 yards and four touchdowns.

5. That was the fourth season of Coastal Carolina football. So what if it lost a thriller of an overtime bowl game that could’ve gone either way? The team stepped up, made a monster comeback, came up with a goal line stand for the ages, and put together a whale of a performance against a very, very good Liberty team. Remember this season for all of the amazing wins – including beating BYU – and the great comebacks. Mostly, remember this as everything the program could’ve possibly have dreamed of.

4. This is the third year of Liberty football at the FCS level, It now has two straight Cure Bowl wins and no losing seasons. The Flames tried way-hard to give this game away – more on that in a second – but they beat two ACC teams on the road, came within a blocked kick of beating a third, and it took down an unbeaten Coastal Carolina team. Hugh Freeze’s team went 10-1, lost that one game to NC State by a point, and yet all of it was about to be totally forgotten because …

3. To whiteboard this in case you didn’t see it, with the score tied at 34 in the final moments, Liberty had the ball at the Coastal Carolina 1. The Chanticleers were going to let the Flames score, but LU RB Joshua Mack wouldn’t go in and took a knee on first down. On second down – with around 45 seconds to play – it got messed up. Mack tried to bleed the clock, then he got shoved into the end zone, seemed surprised to be hit from behind, fumbled, and Coastal Carolina recovered.

2. The goal line debacle at the end of regulation is on the Liberty coaching staff. If there’s a mistake, or a miscommunication, or if everyone isn’t on the same page, that’s on the multi-millionaire head football coach and not on the college kid. Don’t blame RB Joshua Mack for that fumble on the goal line debacle at the end. That was a messed up situation, Mack seemed like he tried to stop short, and it all got screwed up from there.

1. My goodness did we deserve this 2020 Cure Bowl. After a pure load of yuck over the first seven bowl games, this was everything you could possibly want out of a non-playoff bowl game. Excitement, controversy, overtime, offense, big plays, big moments, great performances – good luck beating this, remaining 2020-2021 bowl season (and let’s hope you do).

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Chargers place EDGE Uchenna Nwosu on injured reserve

Another defensive end was placed on the injured reserve.

The Chargers made a few roster moves ahead of their Week 16 matchup against the Broncos.

Los Angeles placed edge defender Uchenna Nwosu on the injured reserve list. In correspondence, the team signed EDGE Jesse Lemonier to the active roster.

Lemonier has appeared in four games for the Bolts this year after signing as an undrafted free agent out of Liberty.

Nwosu and Joey Bosa were both ruled out for Sunday. Nwosu is dealing with a knee injury while Bosa was diagnosed with a concussion.

L.A. also activated EDGE Joe Gaziano and tight end Matt Sokol from the practice squad.

This will mark the first time that Gaziano and Sokol have appeared in a regular season game.

The activation of Sokol means that the chances of TE Hunter Henry playing are slim. Henry was placed on the COVID-19 list a couple of days ago.

WATCH: Former Auburn QB Malik Willis scores first TD for Liberty

The former Auburn quarterback scored Liberty’s first touchdown of the season.

It took exactly one drive for Malik Willis to show off his talents for Liberty.

The former Auburn quarterback led the Flames down the field on 2-for-2 passing and 44 yards then rushed for a touchdown from four yards out.

College Football News Preview 2020: Liberty Flames

College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Liberty Flames season with what you need to know.

College Football News Preview 2020: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Liberty Flames season with what you need to know.

CFN in 60 Podcast: 2020 Liberty Flames
60 second Liberty Flames preview

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– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

– What You Need To Know: Offense | Defense
– Top Players | Key Players, Games, Stats
– What Will Happen, Win Total Prediction
– Schedule Analysis
– Liberty Flames Previews 2019 | 2018

2019 Record: 8-5 overall
Head Coach: Hugh Freeze, 2nd year, 8-5
2019 CFN Final Opinion Ranking: 104
2019 CFN Final Season Formula Ranking: 65
2019 CFN Preview Ranking: 116

NOTE: Obviously, no one knows what’s going to happen to the 2020 college football season. We’ll take a general look at where each team stands – doing it without spring ball to go by – while crossing our fingers that we’ll all have some well-deserved fun this fall. Hoping you and yours are safe and healthy.

5. College Football News Preview 2020: Liberty Flames Offense 3 Things To Know

– The offense was able to find a good consistency and balance last year, but there’s some overhauling to do. QB Stephen Calvert is gone along with RB Frankie Hickson and new Washington Redskin WR Antonio Gandy-Golden.

Head coach Hugh Freeze knows how to put together a high-powered attack with an up-tempo passing game, but he and co-offensive coordinators Kent Austin and Maurice Harris need to come up with their man men to run the whole thing.

CFN in 60 Video: Liberty Flames Preview
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– There might not be any sort of a drop-off in the overall offensive production if Auburn transfer Malik Willis can playtime part right away. He had to sit out last year, and he’s not going to be the passer that Calvert was, but he can move. Sophomore Brandon Robinson and redshirt freshman Johnathan Bennett will be deep in the hunt. They’ll get their chances, but Bennett is coming off a knee injury, Willis has been waiting his turn, and Chris Ferguson is a big passer transferring in from Maine.

There isn’t another Gandy-Golden in the receiving corps – even with hopes high for redshirt freshman CJ Yarbrough – but four of the top five receivers are back, including TE Johnny Huntley. The passing game might not average 289 yards per game again, but it’ll be effective.

– The right side of the O line has to be replaced, but three starters are back from a group that wasn’t bad in pass protection and did a decent enough job for the ground attack to get by. Getting Ole Miss transfer Bryce Mathews for one tackle job helps.

Senior Joshua Mack is a terrific veteran back who should statistically explode. The former Maine transfer will share the rotation a bit, but if all goes according to plan, he’s the main man. If Wills really does grab the starting quarterback job, he’ll be one of the team’s better runners.

NEXT: College Football News Preview 2020: Liberty Flames Defense 3 Things To Know

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2020 NFL draft: Antonio Gandy-Golden scouting report

Everything NFL draft fans need to know about Liberty wide receiver prospect Antonio Gandy-Golden

Antonio Gandy-Golden | WR | Liberty

Elevator Pitch

Gandy-Golden was productive for his last two seasons at a small school. At Liberty, he produced back-to-back 1,000 yards and 10 touchdowns seasons for the Flames. He is a big wide receiver prospect who can be a jump-ball and red zone threat for a team that could potentially develop into more of a complete prospect.

Vitals

Height | 6-4

Weight | 223

Class | Senior

College Stats

College Bio

Combine Profile

Strengths

First thing that stands out about Gandy-Golden is his his size. At 6’4″ with 31 3/4″ arms, he is a long wide receiver prospect that can catch passes outside of his frame. Climbing the ladder poses no problem for him. He is also known to make the circus catch with one hand when corners are draped all over him. Catch radius is another big trait that scouts will absolutely love. Shows good body control when airborne.

His 2019 tape is much better in terms of his ability to catch the ball, despite the fact that his numbers in 2018 were better. Does show some down the field speed on deep routes. Just throw the ball near him and he likely will come down with the ball. Great target for jump balls and back shoulder fades in the end zone.

Weaknesses

He is somewhat a one trick pony at this point in his football career. Deep routes and jump balls are the name of his game. AGG’s route tree development leaves a lot to be desired. He won a lot against lesser opponents with his ability to out jump and muscle smaller defenders. He will struggle with the NFL’s physical cornerbacks.

Along with needing to develop as a route runner, Gandy-Golden needs to work on his release at the line. Despite his size, he will likely struggle with press coverage knocking him off his route. Contested catches at Liberty were much of a problem but with cornerbacks in the NFL that remains to be seen. He struggled when Liberty played Auburn.

Projection: Day 3

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Liberty defeats 10-time defending champion Bishop Gorman in overtime

Liberty High School took down Bishop Gorman football in an overtime battle on Friday.

For the first time in a decade, Bishop Gorman will not win the Nevada state football title.

Liberty (Henderson, Nevada) running back/linebacker Zyrus Fiaseu rushed home a touchdown in overtime to give the Patriots a 30-24 victory over the 10-time reigning champions.

The Patriots overcame their 0-5 season start to run through Nevada competition undefeated and pull of an upset win over the Las Vegas and national powerhouse.

Though Liberty was behind 17-3 in the first half, the team outplayed Bishop Gorman but made a few mistakes that gave away points. In the second half, the Patriots brought forward the same stifling defense, effective offense and energy to score a pair of touchdowns in the third to tie the game.

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In overtime, Bishop Gorman missed a field goal. Fiaseu rushed home the winner on the second play of Liberty’s drive.

Here are some takeaways:

Liberty’s tough schedule paid off

Liberty’s first five games came against out-of-state competition that included now-No. 12 Chandler (Arizona) and now-No. 4 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, California). The Patriots lost all five.

Against Nevada competition … well, it was no competition. The Patriots gave up a total of 24 points over its next six games, which included the first round of the playoffs. Last week, Liberty won 52-21.

With that adversity Liberty figured out how to come back from adversity. After starting 0-5 on the season, a 17-3 deficit in the first half is nothing. It took just one quarter for the Patriots to come back from that on Friday, tying the score at 17 in the third quarter.

They made mistakes in the first half – but simply correcting those while keeping the energy and dominance in other facets helped them catch up in the second.

Liberty’s first half

It wouldn’t be unfair to say the Patriots outplayed Bishop Gorman in the first half despite the score discrepancy. There were just a few costly mistakes:

They forced Bishop Gorman to fumble – but then promptly fumbled themselves. Later, quarterback Daniel Britt had an open lane to the end zone; the ball slipped out of his hands and Bishop Gorman recovered and took it to the six-yard line. Liberty limited the Gaels to a field goal on the ensuing drive, which might have ended up saving the game.

As the first half came to a close, Liberty missed a last-second field goal.

But Bishop Gorman struggled to get going. Quarterback Micah Bowens and wide receiver Rome Odunze couldn’t light the spark that they have so often. Liberty’s offense, though it wasn’t scoring, moved down the field well enough and ate up time, which allowed its own defense to rest, Bishop Gorman’s to exert energy, and keep Bowens and Odunze off the field.

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Glancing at the score during halftime, it would look like a predictable blowout.

It wasn’t. Liberty looked good in the first half. But Bishop Gorman takes advantage of mistakes and jumped ahead.

The Patriots minimized those in the second half

Second half and overtime

Against Nevada competition this season, the Gaels scored 40 points in every game. They hadn’t given up more than seven points.

In the third quarter, Liberty not only scored a pair of touchdowns, the team kept Bishop Gorman off the board completely. With an impressive throw and catch from Britt to sophomore wide receiver Germie Bernard, the Patriots tied the game at 17. Both teams scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter, with Britt running home a touchdown with under four minutes on the clock.

Bishop Gorman was content to take its time and run the clock down as it drove down the field. Liberty made another stop, forcing overtime.

Bishop Gorman got the ball first. A snap was bumbled, resulting in a loss of yards, but Liberty had a pass interference in the end zone. Bishop Gorman settled on a field goal.

It missed. After Liberty missed an easy field goal to end the first half, Bishop Gorman’s sailed left at the costliest of times.

On the second play of Liberty’s drive, Fiaseu got the handoff. He had been all over the field on both sides of the ball throughout the game, and he bolted through the line of scrimmage and into the end zone. Fiaseu ran to the sideline and crumpled to the ground in emotion.

Liberty did it.

The last time Bishop Gorman didn’t win…

The date was December 6, 2008. McQueen (Reno, Nevada) defeated Palo Verde (who had beaten Bishop Gorman two weeks prior) by a score of 13-12.

Barack Obama had just won the presidential election and was preparing to serve his first term. “Live Your Life” by T.I. ft. Rihanna was on its fourth straight week topping the billboard, and “Single Ladies” by Beyonce, which had been released a month and a half prior, was about to take the spot.

Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco were rookies in the NFL. Tim Tebow was a junior at Florida. Kobe Bryant was still a three-time NBA Champion and midway through the season that would net him his fourth, while LeBron James hadn’t yet left Cleveland.

Liberty’s senior class was in first grade.

Little did those six-year-olds know they would one day take down a high school dynasty.