Liberty Game Preview to Middle Tennessee
After an unusually close win, the Flames fly home to defend home turf
This past week, the Liberty Flames traveled westward to Las Cruces and took on New Mexico State University, eventually shooting down the Aggies in a slow and gritty 30–14 victory and improving their record to 8–1.
Now for those who were simply box score watching the matchup, this might have appeared like another easy victory head coach Jamey Chadwell can add to the win column of his impressive season. But for anyone who watched even the first half of the game, there is definitely a reasonable cause for concern. Time change and long flight aside, the Flames did not burn their brightest, despite this game getting flexed to ESPNU, putting them back into the national spotlight. So after returning to Lynchburg, Virginia, the Flames have a lot to work on before hosting the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders.
Flames Keys to the Game
Maximize Jaylon Coleman’s talents
If you have been keeping up with Flames football this season, that subheading might look idiotic. In no way is this taking a shot at coach Jamey Chadwell and his usage of the running back room thus far, as he has done that phenomenally so far. But these past two games have come with a few scares in that department so going back to the basics could do this team some real good.
To start, Kam Davis has been the centerpiece of this Liberty offense all season. He has eight touchdowns with 675 yards, not to mention his back-to-back performances against Coastal Carolina and Delaware in which he ran for 166 and 147 respectively. But as the season continues, it becomes clear that opponents are making it a priority to limit his production. To help him out, the team needs to look for someone else to draw attention, and that player is none other than Jaylon Coleman.
Now while Kam Davis played exceptionally well against New Mexico State, ending with 63 rushing yards and a touchdown, Jaylon Coleman was essentially a non-factor in that matchup. After not seeing action in the first quarter, Coleman only received one reception and three rushing attempts for a total of 21 yards. Coleman currently leads the running backs in receiving yards 115 and is third in rushing at 295. In order to help this offense produce a higher output, the first step needs to be addressing this issue.
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Coach Chadwell is no stranger to running his offense in split back and offset pistol this season, using these dual running back formations to unlock the full potential of a triple-option offense. Getting Jaylon Coleman involved early in this weekend’s matchup against the Blue Raiders will allow for all other parts of this offense to start firing on all cylinders. As Deshawn Purdie continues to gain confidence in using his legs as a weapon and opponents continue to circle Kam Davis as their number one threat, Coleman can come up big in the outside pitches and short yardage plays for easy first down conversions.
Let Vasko do Vasko things
At the beginning of the season fans learned that last year’s starting quarterback Ethan Vasko, who missed spring training due to a shoulder surgery, would be Liberty’s third quarterback on the depth chart behind starter Deshawn Purdie and backup Jaylen Henderson. However, it became obvious in the season opener that coach Chadwell had big plans for Vasko’s skills this season.
Since the opening game against James Madison University, Vasko has repeatedly and consistently subbed into the game when Liberty finds themselves within 10 yards of the endzone. Why would Chadwell do this? Ethan Vasko comes in at 6 feet 3 inches, 220 pounds, and is not easy to bring down.
The Flames have a package of plays revolving around Vasko who has six rushing touchdowns, one passing, and attempted a receiving touchdown from running back Kam Davis in the Coastal Carolina game, which was unsuccessful. Now while Vasko may not score on every attempt he makes, the Flames will double down with play calls throughout the season that include both handoffs and read options, only adding to the guessing game Vasko forces defenses to play whenever he sees the field. While there is definitely a method to the madness, it has gifted the Flames 42 points this season so there seems to be no reason to abandon the mindset at this point.
Improve third down efficiency and penalties
While the Flames have been able to sub out their starters and run up the score on many opponents this year, they are not a stranger to stalling out drives and settling for field goals. The Flames have only converted 47 of 105 (44.76%) of their third down opportunities and rarely attempt fourth down conversions, going for it just 10 times this season and finding success on only half of those.
A large portion of this is due to Liberty’s penalty numbers this season. Out of 138 teams, the Flames rank 131 of total penalty yards (710) and dead last in penalties per game (9.3). While there is the occasional personal foul for whatever reason, Liberty has been struggling with what coach Chadwell calls “undisciplined” penalties like false starts and offensive holdings, which can kill momentum on drives.
Now this past game, the Flames only committed seven total penalties for 50 yards, which for being in an away stadium, is an impressive and below average effort. Now that they find themselves in front of a familiar setting and a friendly crowd, there is no excuse to not have a similar performance. Should the Flames be able to keep their offensive penalties down, they can keep themselves from needing to gain extra yardage, allowing more opportunities for a trip to the red zone.
