Since joining Conference USA last season, Liberty has been a dominant Group of Five team with less than a stellar schedule. That doesn’t take away from what the Flames have accomplished.
Last year in its first season in Conference USA, Liberty emerged as a champion and earned a New Year’s Six bowl bid. The Flames took a 13-0 record into the Fiesta Bowl before losing to Oregon 45-6.
If there were a 12-team playoff last year, Liberty would have been the G5 representative.
Liberty didn’t play any power teams a year ago, and this year there are none on the schedule.
So the margin for error is thin for Liberty, which almost saw its season go up in flames before staging a fourth-quarter comeback during last week’s 30-24 CUSA win at New Mexico State.
That is an impressive win on the road against the same New Mexico State team that Liberty beat in last year’s CUSA title game, 49-35.
In last week’s win, Liberty trailed 17-9 entering the fourth quarter and was down 24-15 with 7:42 left after a two-yard touchdown run by Parker Awad.
This was a strong comeback against a quality CUSA team.
Still, with other G5 schools such as Northern Illinois, Boise State, and Tulane playing ranked Power Four teams this past week, it demonstrates how much tougher other teams’ schedules are.
Northern Illinois upset Notre Dame 16-14 while Boise State lost a 37-34 decision at Oregon and Tulane suffered a 34-27 defeat to visiting Kansas State.
With its schedule, it would seem as if Liberty would again have to go 13-0 (which would include a win in the CUSA title game) to have a chance to earn the G5 playoff bid.
That is the negative part of it.
The positive is the Flames put together a big comeback. While their schedule can be knocked, this is a talented team.
A year ago, the Flames led FBS squads in rushing, averaging 293.3 yards per game. In two games this year, the Flames are averaging 248 rushing yards per game, which is 21st.
During last week’s win, Liberty had only rushed for 100 yards through three quarters before gaining 117 in the fourth quarter.
Liberty’s most dynamic player is Kaidon Salter, a major dual-threat quarterback, but it was Quinton Cooley who spearheaded the win over New Mexico State, scoring on touchdown runs of 27 and 44 yards in the fourth quarter.
The 5-foot-7, 220-pound Cooley began his collegiate career at Wake Forest and was named the CUSA Newcomer of the Year and a HERO Sports G5 third-team All-American last year during his first season at Liberty. He rushed for 1,401 yards and 16 touchdowns last year.
In two games this season, he has rushed for 221 yards and three scores.
Salter, last year’s G5 Player of the Year, was an explosive runner last season, rushing for 1,089 yards and 12 touchdowns.
In the first two games this season, he has averaged just 3.7 yards per carry but also has not thrown an interception.
Both Cooley and Salter give Liberty a major edge against virtually all opponents.
Flames defensive end TJ Bush Jr., who started all 14 games last year as a true freshman, leads the team in tackles (11), tackles for loss (2.5), and sacks (two).
While this is an impressive team, here are the non-conference opponents for Liberty: FCS Campbell (who Liberty beat 41-24 in the season opener), East Carolina, App State, and UMass.
East Carolina is 2-0, and we’ll get a better understanding of the Pirates after they host Appalachian State this week. And even though App State got rolled last week by Clemson 66-20, the Mountaineers are a major threat in the Sun Belt after losing to Troy in last year’s title game.
While ECU and App State are solid G5 opponents, it’s still not like facing a quality P4 team.
That’s why every game for Liberty will be like a playoff matchup because one loss may be one too many to earn a CFP bid.
