NCAAF 2020 Week 11 Western Carolina vs Liberty

you're watching the allstate saturday kickoff a beautiful day for football in central virginia as the liberty flames ranked 22nd in the nation put their unbeaten record on the line against western carolina the catamounts playing for the first time in 2020. with that we welcome you up into the booth high above williams stadium alongside former north carolina and cfl wide receiver joe yacht i'm matt warner and joe liberty has become one of the better stories in college football this year hugh freeze has his team playing at levels they have never before reached as you take a look at what they've accomplished what's been the key to it all this is a really good liberty football team they play well defensively and offensively they have a three-headed monster at the running back position explosive receivers but most importantly they have a heisman contender at quarterback in malik willis this guy can beat you through the air and he can also beat you with his legs really fun to watch [Applause] gotten here winning their last seven games none more important than their last game a week ago in blacksburg a thrilling win over virginia tech biggest win in program history last second field goal to knock off the hokies and they bring that momentum with them into today's matchup against western carolina well first and foremost let's welcome western carolina catamounts to the 2020 college football season it's been a long time to get you here but we're about ready to kick it off for you excited to have you on board and the catamounts will receive to start the ball game first game of 2020 it's been a unique year to say the least for everyone across college football but certainly for western carolina one of three games that they'll be playing here this fall so alex barbier first time we've seen him since his historic field goal against virginia tech a week ago he kicks it away and the catamounts will take it out to the 25. you mentioned that schedule for the catamounts three games here in the fall they'll play eight more beginning in february liberty eastern kentucky and then december 11th at north carolina for mark spears squad they've been trying to get game ready stay game ready since august facing so many of the coveted challenges that programs across the country are facing right now yeah i can just see all the fans right now getting ready to yell at the tv and yell at the coaches and the refs and the bad calls and what are these broadcasters talking about they're gonna sling it on first down that's complete near side mark wright getting the start at quarterback completes it to reggie jones on first down we had thought we might see will jones start at quarterback but we also know they expect to play multiple qb's here this afternoon that's what keeps it fun right that's right western carolina's saying they're going to throw a lot of people out there as a handoff up the middle room to run that's donovan spencer no surprise there he's a guy that's going to get the ball a lot here today yeah donovan spencer really good running back what western carolina does a good job is being able to spread the field offensively he saw right there have a motion man come through be able to get the linebackers to start to chase that and then hit the ball back up the middle give you a lot of different looks in this offense right is a dual threat quarterback he'll get out and run flames face one of those last week and hendon hooker had some pressure delivers a strike and another first down so the catamounts come out firing and their offense is looking sharp that was completed to owen kosinki the tight end offensive line you see they're a big strength they bring back everybody up front this season and then you've got your playmakers on the outside a group that is continuing to grow and they hope to get big things from here this year they're gonna throw it again another quick completion kosinki again on the catch as these catamounts come out firing and perhaps caught this flames defense a little bit on their heels speaking of that liberty d they have been good this season 32nd in the nation and points allowed for ball game just over 23. two really good defense uh ends in darrell johnson and treyshawn clark they're not having a chance to get to the quarterback with this quickly as it's coming out of mark wright's hands reggie jones with the second reception of the ball game yeah really like the thought process early on from western carolina you look at these plays like you said matt they're trying to get the ball out of the quarterback's hands right away first play was a quick out then you had a little conversion over the middle now these short passes trying to keep that liberty defensive pressure off of them another first down a little pressure now and that's going to be thrown away is right at a defender jerrell johnson in his face yeah potentially had a play right there with the inside slot he he uh slipped about ten yards down the field like said they were trying to hit with the short passes and then now that was an opportunity then where they ran four verticals and were looking to take a deep shot but the guy potentially wanted to go to had slipped on that play wright's juco transfer spent last season at hutchinson community college 27 touchdowns there a year ago 20 through the air seven on the ground as he faces second and long he's gonna keep it and slips a tackle and is able to get four or five look like jaquan treadmill well had a hand on it there momentarily but why not able to get him to the ground and he's able to make some yardage out of him yeah jakon treadwell had a beat on him right there did a great job showing patience on the defensive side of the ball but then able to slip that tackle and pick up three or four yards and put themselves into a third and six situation talking with western carolina's coaching staff you know they basically said we're using these games in the fall to get ready for the spring so that means you can expect anything from it it's four down territory trick plays you know what they might pull out here today on the move firing downfield and he overshot his intended target he was looking for mihari stribbling there on the deep route great job by liberty defense right there on the boot action is able not allowing him to break contain and did a good job in the secondary covering downfield interest to see they're going to try a really this a 51-yarder mat long fieldful opportunity 51 yards does that sound familiar for liberty well liberty nailed one a week ago to win their ball game over virginia tech that did not have a chance well short and the flames defense manages to hold that was richard mccollum on the kick it was low as it often is from that distance and look the holder even lost the handle a bit that one was sideways by the time he put his toe into it yeah got to get those first game jitters off when especially for holder be able to get that ball put down the right way and give your kicker a chance but so there's the man everyone's talking about malik willis you mentioned it joe has put himself into the heisman conversation who would have thought that coming into the year the transfer from auburn he's done it with his arm he's certainly done it with his legs as well yeah this kid is really special and if you don't have the opportunity to see him play this year uh you're in for quite a show looks to throw it on first down completion far i believe side was noah frith on the reception it was good to have frith back and healthy he played against virginia tech a week ago it was the first time they had both he and cj yarbrough probably bet you'd say best receivers on the field at the same time so they're getting healthy at the right time of the year [Applause] [Music] yeah that receiving core is has incredible depth along with a lot of explosive players they're only going to continue to get better josh mack takes the handoff has increased and has the first down that's the one thing that we've really seen this year with liberty as their offensive line has gelled together and they've really established a good running ring game seeing something we did not see it all against virginia tech that's a little tempo from this liberty offense as mack takes the carry another solid pickup on first down take a look at this western carolina defense they struggled a season ago they gave up just under 40 points per ball game 120th in the fcs and scoring defense willis in the pocket has time now fires near side and that's caught along the sideline by cj yarbrough see right there matt that is one of the most impressive parts of malik willis game he took a first read to a second read didn't panic in the pocket because the protection was there and then was able to come to his throat to his third read and make a completion willis time again fires into traffic and going up and snagging it was noah fritz so that's what you get with fritz back on the field that long rangy type of receiver that can make those plays in a little bit of congestion yeah that's when they they've had cj yarbo and noah frith both battled injuries all year long and you look out there right now both of them on the field together that makes them a different football team willis has come out sharp completing his first three pass attempts we said last week they really slowed things down very deliberate against virginia tech trying to limit the number of possessions in the ball game would not expect to see that today willis pulls it out drops it to his tight end the one-handed snag johnny hundley turns it up a race to the end zone he's in but a flag comes down behind the play there there there wasn't a there wasn't a hold on that play matt there was a tackle on that play by dj stubs blocking on the pro this one's come back offense number five 10 yard penalty first out so that will take the touchdown off the board great snag by the titan huntley but it's all for naught he put the one hand on this didn't he yeah wow that was a rodeo time yeah that's the old bowl kind of thing you know what i'm saying well we've seen liberty really incorporate their tight ends a lot more in recent weeks all three have caught touchdowns in the last couple of ball games so especially you get down to this part of the field if you're that western carolina defense you have to be aware of those tight ends yeah hugh freezes traditionally like to have the tight end very involved in his offense really really interesting to see how wes western carolina can hold up in the front seven with liberty's run game that had done such a good job this year running the football with with three really good running backs and that one's josh mack makes the first man miss cuts it back lowers the shoulder and hits five or six on first down and that's what i think that western carolina has to do is liberty when you watch them on film they really love the running backs really love the cutback and so the western carolina linebackers need to play with great eye discipline and be able to fit into their gaps properly in order to stop those cutback plays mac had been battling an entry earlier this year but healthy last week ran for 90 yards against virginia tech and when he's right yes talk about that three-headed monster at running back but he's kind of the key when he's going good everybody else it makes them that much better yeah j mack is is the total package he can he can run the ball in between the tackles and put his shoulders down yet he has bret enough breakaway speed so yeah he definitely leads the crew take it to him rolling out connecting that's the tight end jackson on the reception so there's another one of those tight ends making plays he gets up slowly and the flames move the chains now jackson's developing into a really good football player jackson had a touchdown grab a week ago in blacksburg his first of the year and i think i think right here matt as as liberty moves the ball into the red zone this is gonna be critical for western carolina that is their liberty is going to move the ball they're gonna complete passes make plays but you have to win in the red zone and off to josh smackles stutter step and he's thrown down to the turf that was willie hampton getting there and finishing the tackle yeah willie hampton played that really well he didn't shoot up into the gap right away he let the play develop as a guard pulled around and was able to slide in there and make a good stop that was good patience by him hampton a kid they originally signed with and redshirted for a season at nebraska okay that has some talent making plays of that linebacker position for western carolina today flames slow getting johnny huntley on the tight end spot now a little confusion from western carolina as they try to substitute one guy running in now running back out six on the play clock willis pulls it out fires big time catch by yarbrough keeps his feet and fights his way down to the three-yard line boy he took a shot somehow manages to absorb it yeah i think malik willis as he released that football right here you can see him release that football while the ball's in there he yelled to cj yarborough look out because he was coming but a great catch over the middle by cj sorry about that yeah yarbrough another guy has been trying to get healthy during the early part of this year but when he is right he is dangerous as virginia tech learned a week ago and off josh mack gets down to the one-yard line yeah once again this is where the catamounts have really got to bow their neck defensively they're going to be put in these situations where you get deep into the red zone they're going to have to find a way to make liberty kick a field goal and a few of these possessions and keep him out of the end zone and this is where liberty is so good and dangerous too because willis is so dangerous with his legs mack picking his way through and he's in josh mack with his third touchdown of the season and the flames score on their opening drive of the ball game [Music] yeah josh mack has a nose for the end zone along with peyton pickett in short yardage situations but what a start for liberty you can see right here just a simple give up the middle able to move the offensive line able to move back that catamount defense line and get into the end zone good start by liberty and malik willis accuracy and throwing the football is on point alex barbier in for the extra point it is up and good and the liberty flames 7-0 on the year go in front early in lynchburg the josh mack touchdown puts liberty on top of western carolina 7-0 with more on this challenging season for the catamounts we check in for the first time with emily austin yeah this defense looks a little different with andy mccallum at the head of it when head coach mark speer was looking for a new defensive coordinator he wanted to find a young guy full of energy well guess what guys 60 is the new 40. they went with six-year-old annie mccullum who coach spears says has the passion of a 40 year old brings energy coach is hard and really a player's coach he's not just focused on getting to know the defense you see him talking up the o-line at practice guys it doesn't hurt that he has almost four decades of collegiate coaching experience which coach speer admits he's already leaned on quite a bit yeah and in talking with both of those coaches they say this year has been probably the toughest year ever to bring in a new staff they have a lot of new staff members on the defensive side of the ball as you see there but coach mccollum saying we're having to try to meet guys zoom calls he goes we didn't have our whole defense with him on the field until october it's unreal the circumstances their situation he talked about having two the first and second string guys in the meeting room the third and fourth string guys are on a zoom call right listen it's just it would put it trying to work with an impossible situation but what a great attitude he had about the whole situation toss to reggie jones trying to get around the end that's not happening as he is hit and dropped by that flames defense you're watching the all-state saturday kickoff matt warner joe yacht emily austin here in lynchburg virginia second down for the catamounts of western carolina again if you're just joining us mark wright juco transfer getting the start at quarterback for the catamounts he's still in there along with donovan spencer in the backfield here comes some pressure off the edge hit and dropped quinton reese came off the corner and he gets in the backfield for his first sack of the season yeah quentin reese coming off on that corner blitz but i really think western carolina needs to get back what they did on the first drive and that is get the ball out of the quarterback's hands right away had a little check down to the tight end through the quick out that's where they were having their success on that play they're trying to be able to stretch the field vertically and they just don't have the time especially when you bring those blitzes off the edge they moved the ball well on their first possession got into flames territory before missing a long field goal right now they are heading the wrong direction third down and 25 to go flame just three down lima now brings well johnson in off the edge swinging to the back out of the backfield makes the first man miss and then donovan spencer is bumped out of bounds well shy of the first down and western carolina will be forced to punt i think you're getting ready to see right here where one of the most difficult positions that western carolina's in is on special teams this is a team that hasn't played a game right yeah special teams are the hardest thing to practice live and liberty has seven games under their belt so we'll see how they can hold up on this punt return brandon dickerson in to punt it away demario douglas awaits it douglas already took one to the house earlier this season flames will play for a return [Applause] douglas bringing it near side flag comes down and he's wrapped up and dropped that was a really good job of being able to stay within the umbrella right there and not allow demario douglas to be able to get to the sidelines good job on coverage douglas rocking the hoodie today oh yeah he's going for that uh who's that green bay i was trying to think of somebody's guy yeah he started it remember he started it was uh that's going to drive me nuts man during the return illegal block in the back by the return team number 14 10 yard penalty first down time out so now back to flames up just a bit james jones was the answer you're looking for we knew we'd get it in before the break flames all offense when we returned the allstate saturday kickoff is presented by allstate you've never been in better hands [Music] what a game a week ago against virginia tech biggest win in program history alex barbier 51-yard field goal to clinch it just a bizarre set of circumstances in the last minute or so of that ball game led to it as you get a look at the flames kicker i mean he did the run he did the kick he did the run and he went to the roll before they ever even got to it he was ready for the pylon you're not bringing it down you're not getting him down with an arm tap right there it's going to take more than that so liberty scored on their first offensive possession they get it inside their own 25 here a little sweet pass pat it in the air a couple of times and the flames fortunate that wasn't intercepted as it was off the hands of dj stux flames trying to get stubs involved here this afternoon we talk about the number of receivers they have willis has already hit four of them that was his first thing completion six of seven so far in this ball game to four different receivers and now you have cj yarbrough noah firth back and then you're talking about dj stubs i mean i mean it it is you can go across the board to mario douglas kevin shaw they go across the board they are loaded at the receiver position [Music] willis gonna roll to his right pump fake now looks further downfield and it's broken up trying to complete one in there to and that's broken up we talked about liberty's kicker let's hear a little bit more about him from our own emily austin emily yeah guys barbier isn't your average looking kicker he has the build of like the rock you know he can bench press 412 pounds he's only five nine 220 and his legs are just as jacked when he found out that the kicker position was open here at liberty guess where he was the student gym yeah weight room that's right started his career at penn state injuries just kind of said he started to uh just dislike football yeah well i'll tell you this much right now when that nobody's kicking sand in that kicker's face not at all willis rolling see if he decides to keep it he does a foot race and he picks up the first down being chased but had just enough to get the yardage needed i mean that that is a perfect example of what malik willis does western carolina plays great on first down plays great on second down third and long they have it covered and he just breaks oh it looks like he's about a yard short so he's putting a fourth down situation but hasn't covered a pick given the opportunity to go for it on fourth down looked like he had gotten it by at least a yard for the flames will leave that offense on the field so fourth down and talk about a big opportunity for this western carolina defense peyton pickett in the backfield with willis they pitch it to him and he didn't get there i think he got it the defense with some penetration and that was darius smith shooting in there for the tackle so the flames elect to go forward on fourth and it backfires really really nice play by smith right there [Applause] so you're western carolina you need a little momentum you need a spark early on you may have just gotten it they'll have great field position when we come back [Music] fresh off their big double overtime win against clemson we'll have the second ranked fighting irish in boston college today 3 30 eastern 12 30 pacific and then at 7 30 eastern 4 30 pacific it's number 13 wisconsin and michigan at the big house in ann arbor both games on abc and the espn little history lesson for you here joe you take it back to the last time notre dame was coming off a win against the top ranked team 1993 they knocked off florida state their next ball game boston college they lost those don't sleep on the eagles no history or doom to repeat it joe that's all i'm saying so you don't sleep on the eagles you can bet notre dame is aware of that as western carolina taking the field after a big defensive stand now running for his life right just getting out of the clutches of that liberty defense and able to make something positive happen well how big was that fourth down stop for western carolina liberty on the yeah 14 of 16 on fourth down this year they were four or four against virginia tech a week ago but not able to get the job done against the catamounts yeah liberty has no hesitation whatsoever going forward on fourth down and that is a major stop for the catamounts looking to throw swings into the running back spencer near side he's bumped out of bounds he'll be shy of the first down by a few yards as he took a shot right along the sideline yeah catamounts have been calling a lot right there they went to a horizontal play but they've been caught a lot of plays where they're trying to get guys downfield the previous play before on the scramble he had man coverage and trying to go downfield i really like to see him get back into the underneath stop they go quick now and he's in trouble dropped jerrell johnson got there and mark wright did not stand a chance yeah now this puts you in a strange situation you're looking at fourth and 10 with the balls on what the 32-33 yard line looks like they're planning on leaving the offense out well it's there first game of the season you're only playing three in the fall might as well take one chances let's go got mad to man coverage in the bottom here there's the bottom of the screen that's mahari stribling three wide receivers to the left as they look to the sideline five seconds on the play plot with timeout they may need to take a timeout and they will yeah i looked in that situation that liberty was playing man across the board and planning on bringing some pressure they may have been given that as a pre-snap look and then bail out and play zone so just take some time to think over the right play at the right time right now so mark spear going to talk things over spear ninth season he's done a good job at western carolina has a history of being an app state really when their program was getting up and rolling and he's doing a nice job here as well western carolina when he talked about it when we chatted with him this week they were struggling when he took this program over and he has led them to some solid success you take a look at really those three seasons to highlight struggled last year only three and nine and they're young again this season they don't have a lot of veterans on this team so in some ways the way the schedule breaks down for them this might be ideal you get three games on your belt they really don't mean a lot for you here in the fall then you have until february to kind of reevaluate and figure out what you saw and what you have and then you go from there well yeah i learned one thing about coach spear he whatever the positive spin is on it he's going to take that span he's kind yeah this is your only choice you're exactly right now this is the opportunity the catamount fans are on the edge of their seat for fourth down are they going well they're not now they're punt oh they're punting i mean if you're a big special teams fan i guess you still would i thought we're gonna get an exciting call here on fourth down they're gonna try to pin the flames deep that checks up inside the tent and they play it perfectly lanes will have it at the nine yard line really like to see him go for it on that fourth down that situation this liberty offense is so explosive they can gain back that 20 yards and 20 30 yards and a blink of an eye we're talking about mark spear on one sideline on the other hugh freeze what a job he's done for the flames in fact he's done so well he's gotten his second contract extension in 11 months got one earlier this week through 2026 says he is just loving what he has here at liberty you hear so many rumors swirling around the country about could he be you know plucked by a power five he says hey right now i just my both family they love it here in lynchburg and he thinks this flames program can be one of the best group of five programs in the nation within the next couple of years i bet athletic director ian mccaw said tried originally to go with the 20-56 handoff nice run on first down that's josh mack continuing to turn those legs as he gets about 13. yeah you're going to see right here i know you want to play you know play good defensive football but at the same time to be in liberty side of the field and have the opportunity to go for it on fourth down they can make this ground up really quick and off again max trying to pick his way through for a few yards and he'll get about four that run a moment ago from josh mack this offensive line gets so much credit for the flame success this season and that's one of the things they do really good is they're able to wash a defensive line down then you look johnny huntley pulling that tight end to be able to come out and kick out the defensive end good strike on the slant to cj yarbrough and the flames move the chains see it's just too it's just too easy western carolina if they want to be in this game they got to take those chances and so now in three four plays they've moved the ball all the way up to the 42-yard line you're gonna have to take some risk on the offensive side of the football in order to give yourself a chance in this game four wide receivers set now for liberty willis last time the pocket fires into traffic and that was intended for cj daniels but broken up and that was aj rogers on the play i like what rogers did right there and they've shown this some early is that they are sitting on some routes right now you can make some plays and bat some balls down potentially get a battle ball of an interception those type of things but you're also leaving yourself to the deep ball and liberty has the threats to take the ball deep downfield free mark count got a free play here's a chance to take it deep downfield they'll do so launching it far side jump ball shoving going on in his drop they may get offensive pass interference on noah frith on top of that he gave a shove to the db so that's just an offsetting penalty replay the down correct i look to you for all of you you like the opportunity one on one deep down there are two fouls offside number 99. offensive pass interference offense number 81. fouls will offset replay second he had his big receiver down field grit got a little physical yeah there's the offside malik just chucks it deep a little cover two look safety comes off the hash and he says get off me jacob harris taking a shot to the chest there so after all that still second and ten willis pulls it out delivers a little strike there to johnny huntley for about three yards and the flames will face a third and long you know you look at that play right there i know that was a design boot play to johnny huntley but the hole that joshua mack had right there he would have just handed the ball off to him he might have been running ran right into the goal post for a touchdown flames needs seven willis trying to hard count again we'll do the rest on the other side of the break head to the second quarter low scoring first quarter here lynchburg flames lead by a touchdown [Music] kick off your weekend nfl sunday at 10 a.m eastern with the countdown crew on espn and the app with record-setting comebacks across the league they'll explore the mystery of momentum no mystery there just play the falcons or the chargers i think is the way it goes joe plus the best miced up moments from the season's first half they'll have all the early breaking stories injury updates and preview each game right up to kickoff flames looking to add to their lead malik willis going to keep it across midfield and ducks under a tackle as he picks up about 12. what a great play call on third down a big third down conversion for liberty what they do right there is they run the inside receivers on short hook routes that be able to pick up that seven yards that causes when you play zone coverage causes the outside the inside linebackers to expand out which then opens up that quarterback draw lane from malik wilson picks up a quick 12 yards willis has rushed for 18 so far in the day eight of 11 throwing the football [Applause] pulls it out looking downfield takes a shot wide open tied in johnny huntley 10-5 touchdown [Applause] liberty's becoming tight-ended you with as much as they're using their big tight ends offensively yeah they like to throw that ball down the seams the tight ends they've had a lot of success with that play i think there was some confusion on the defensive side of the football right here the nickelback expanded out way too far and they had no safety in the middle of the field and johnny huntley is able to take to the house former wide receiver at colorado has really turned himself into a good pass catching tight end for the flames had one wiped off the board earlier in this game you'll remember because of a penalty alex barbier in for the point after [Music] good just like that early second quarter flames cap off the seventh play drive with this touchdown toss to johnny liberty offense just keeps on rolling [Music] liberty on top of western carolina 14 to nothing now let's take a look at this week's college football playoff rankings brought to you by goodyear take a look at the top 10 ap poll how about indiana what a season they've had you know there's certain programs like that you just even if you have no connection to them you're kind of thrilled for them and for their fan base to get to experience what they have so far this year oh yeah great year for them byu as well there made a lot of noise cincinnati saw them play last night i mean they can they can put some points yeah liberty flames trying to continue to inch their way up the top 25. first time ever they had cracked top 25 i mean they all have been playing fbs football now you know three years they've been playing and already have worked their way into this position right 22nd the nation yeah you look around liberty university it's the university that's totally committed to football and they've built the facilities and bringing in hugh freeze and the contract extension and they're doing all the right things to build a top-tier fbs football program all right looks like we're gonna get a change at quarterback now for western carolina we thought we would see will jones at the outset we did not we got mark right on the first few possessions but jones will now take over the redshirt junior out of greensboro north carolina see if he can inject some life into this catamount offense hands it off to caleb ferguson his first carry trying to get the edge and is just able to turn the corner for a couple of yards on first down yeah you take a look at will jones right there you watch him on film he is like is six for 220 pounds more of a pocket passer he's not going to have as much scrambling but what he does a really good job he throws the vertical seams very well his timing's good he puts the ball on the line he's able to clear linebackers he does a really good job with that play he's gonna keep it this time as a flag comes down he's hitting drops just across the 30-yard line but first we'll see what the call is on the field [Applause] personal foul hands to the face defense number 55 15-yard penalty added on to the end of the run and an automatic first down penalty on elijah james as it will move western carolina 15 yards downfield with more on the catamounts and some of the challenges they face this year we check in once again with emily austin yeah matt it's been difficult for all football programs to manage this season with coven 19. coach mark spears said i'm on my 58th schedule i quit buying pens only use pencils i even put in an order for those separate you know big pink erasers with all of these changes but regardless he's thankful for the day and hoping to attack this one and off once again caleb ferguson short pickup yeah you know he's told us we as a coaching staff look at this like if we can lead our team with all of these challenges what kind of life lessons are we going to impart to these guys that they can take with them for the rest of their life if we can lead during this kind of adversity right now we can do it anytime time in the pocket open tight in down the middle of the field caught by kosinki and he rumbles inside the 25. yeah perfect example of it right there with will jones unable to stretch the field vertically patient in the pocket then deliver a strike this offense is moving they pick up the tempo a bit third reception for kosinki on the ball game as he's been a big part of their offense looking downfield again throwing a little back shoulder nice snag on the near sideline catch made by daquan patton and you're seeing will jones inject some life into this offense yeah those are two really good throws by will jones he has back shoulder hit the vertical seam and then comes back and hits a back shoulder fade put it right on the money good job they got to get points in the red zone if they want to stay competitive in this game make the handoff rolling out throwing across his body and probably fortunate that didn't have enough to get it there was trying to target daquan patton yeah good play call first down after a long throw on the on the back shoulder fade to be able to come out and then run that boot action get three receivers he had a shot early in the throw waited on a little bit at least didn't throw throw an interception there and ball is able to fall to the ground harmlessly second goal from the nine yard line jones played in six games last season so he's got some playing time under his belt [Applause] certainly gonna throw it again pressure coming on the move man wide open touchdown the back up tight end clayton vardahl all by his lonesome and the catamounts are on the board the other thing that you watch on film with jones is his ability to stay alive but on this play they're trying to throw a slant early got pressure up the middle he's able to stay alive bring the linebacker up and throw the ball over top of his head just a veteran heads he play by him so the catamounts about to cut this flames lead in half richard mccallum on for the extra point and it's through seven plays 75 yards will jones leading western carolina to the end zone first touchdown of the 20 20. there you go for the catamounts [Music] liberty on top you're watching the saturday kickoff coming to you from lynchburg virginia picture perfect day for football these teams have met six times previously in their history all knotted up three wins a piece back the last time they met 2008 one rashad jennings was toting the rock for the flames he went on to have a nice career in the nfl and beyond hey maybe more famous for his victory on dancing with the stars that's true so something has to give as they say this series won't be nodded any longer after today's ball game western carolina gets on the board it's good to see western carolina get their first touchdown of the season the fans back home watch and gave a little fist pump maybe spill a little popcorn on the floor a little college football get him pumped up two catamounts fans making their way here to lynchburg only about a thousand fans allowed in the stadium for today's ball game there's a few folks wearing purple that kick gonna bounce out the back of the end zone as malik willis and company will take the field once again willis with that touchdown toss earlier in the ball game is now accounted for 20 touchdowns this season for liberty missed one game due to injury so he's only played now a little over six games you talked about the heisman hype that's building around him hard to do from a place like liberty without a lot of tradition and a lot a lot of buzz early in the year but he has with his play on the field generated a lot of attention here's the thing with it it you could say oh you're trying to get a little heisman height but after watching him play so much it is legit heisman height he is that good cheddar lewis in the ball game for the first time running back malik gonna roll out plants his feet looking downfield has demario douglas all alone comes back to the football then drops it still loose on the deck was he able to fall back on top of it the officials come together and he did that there was no one within three or four yards of him when he caught that football and it was gonna just be a race to the end zone must be good angler here see if he actually no i think about that completion [Applause] and they're gonna take a look at i believe no they're actually a time-out call by western carolina i think to give them an opportunity yeah i'm sure liberty is going to try to snap it as fast as they could he never had possession of that football at least based on that look one more look as we head to break demario douglas all by himself maybe two open unable to haul it in [Applause] this is going to be ruled ain't complete the chain gang has already moved back to the original line of scrimmage so perhaps looking at the uh how much time was on the game clock as you get another look demario douglas wide open yeah you can see right here he was so wide open he had his eyes looking towards the end zone before he looked that catch into the tuck and wasn't able to hold on gotta always you young receivers out there always remember this take your eyes or the one that catches the football take your eyes to the tuck all the way in with the football so a big play taking off after further review the receiver never had firm control of the football therefore it's an incomplete pass the ball will be brought back to the previous spot sega down and game clock operator please reset the game clock to 1202 and the clock will start on the snap i hear a smattering of boos and western carolina will not be charged their second timeout because replay was contacting us before the timeout oh there you go all you all you get is a smattering with a thousand fans you don't get smarter than that there's nothing to boo about right now that's clearly the right call so one damario douglas would like to have back certainly that's right demarco douglas a really good football player he's made some great plays a deep threat explosive he's had some outstanding games he'll shake that off and and be ready to roll so second down give it to shedro lewis they have to pick up a couple of yards not much there schedule the smallest of the running backs but also the most explosive for liberty yeah shed rules can flat up get up and go he you give him a crease there's a good chance you're not going to stop him but really like what western carolina is trying to do defensively and their four-man front they're taking their two inside linebackers showing that they're coming up for a blitz giving a leak some different looks and then plugging up that middle right there on those inside runs good job so third and long liberties converted one of their two third down opportunities so far today willis with time steps up looking deep downfield looking for kevin shaw can he get there the diving attempt and he made the grab he laid it out there for shaw and he's able to haul it in [Music] now this liberty offense wants to go [Music] quickly [Music] willis pulls it out fires catch made for a short pickup [Applause] that was trevor hobbs the senior tight end his first reception of the season they're getting all the titans they got everybody involved what a great post route run by kevin shawn a great job by malik willis to be able to hold the football there was nothing there under lease underneath and then he was able to throw that deep post [Applause] like to see the replay they're moving so fast we can't get to a replay to see him make sure he made that catch [Applause] yeah that may have been part of the reason for the tempo the fast pace we saw from the flames now the handoff going to shed ro lewis able to pick up a few yards and it looks like it'll be about two or three yards shy of the first down that's a big third down stop here for for western carolina look at the deep throw by malik willis he'll throw the ball probably 60 yards what a nice catch by kevin shaw be able to get his hands under it look it all the way in pick up the big play really nice job but that's what malik willis does is not only can he run the football he can throw the underneath stuck and throw the wide field outs and yet at the same time throws a deep post with great accuracy third and two willis gonna keep it turning it up great blocking and he walks it in and then he does that you know that is that's how they set that play up you look at those short yardage games with shimmer lewis running up the middle keeping those inside linebackers in that now all of a sudden as they stay in on the third and two he pulls the ball out gets the edge and with his athleticism it's a touchdown you look right here you fake inside hold those two inside linebackers in defense and needs to stay at home he squeezes down and just you're not going to be able to stop the speed of malik willis unless you stay home and force him back inside extra point up and through willis now with eight rushing touchdowns on the season [Music] once again showing why he's one of the most most dangerous quarterbacks in the country and he's done it against everybody yeah i mean it's not like i know early in the year people were saying oh liberty hasn't really played anybody yet listen he played well against syracuse virginia tech had no answer for him everyone he is running for this year he has sliced and diced malik willis is not just athletically confident he is athletically arrogant that's all i have to say about that well he has reason to be he puts the flames in front by two scores again a kid coming from auburn he wanted to play last year transferred to liberty they tried to get the waiver didn't come through for him once he kind of shook off the initial disappointment now he says yeah that was the best thing that could have happened to me you're really able to get in and understand you freeze his offense and he talks about you just growing just in maturity as a young man just as a person and it's all come together he and hugh freeze have been a dynamic duo for the flames this year and the biggest reason they're sitting at 7-0 right now yeah hugh freeze is has the schemes to give malik willis the best chance to win and ken austin the offensive coordinator has the fundamentals he coaches the fundamentals so well western carolina will have to try to answer now good possession last time this offense was on the field will jones coming off the bench let them on a nice scoring drive getting the titans involved we've seen a lot listen if you're a fan of tight end play this is the game for you on both sides the tight ends have been heavily involved see right there will jones does a great job just keep the play alive keep the play alive and then force the linebacker put in position where you break contain he steps up and you throw to good savvy so he remains in at quarterback mark wright started the game got the first few possessions for the catamounts pressure coming and can't get away from that hit dropped that was trey sean clark getting to him and taking him to the ground yeah treyshawn clark johnson that was a nice little move to the inside right there and be able to get to the quarterback collapse the pocket the two defensive ends actually there's depth at the defensive end position for liberty but the two defensive ends uh uh trey sean clark i'll tell you what they can rush the passer flames already with three sacks on the day clark johnson won a piece quentin reese also with one coming off the corner of qb design run now able to get across the 15 and get back a little bit closer to that original line of scrimmage you know definitely not the situations that the catamounts want to be in in these third and longs especially after after a quick touchdown by liberty on the deep throwing run so they need to figure out a way to convert this third and 12. [Applause] tight end has been a big part do they go that way no they come near side the catch made and it's going to be it looks like just shy of what they needed daquan patton the redshirt senior making the grab yeah they're going to be a full yard and a half two yards away looks like they're bringing up the punt team looks like they will so fourth and short they like to punt it away pat you may remember his dad david patton played 12 years in the nfl a lot of time with with the uh patriots actually yeah got a few super bowl rings with them daquan started as a walk-on has really worked himself into that that guy could play yeah he was great daquan one of the better receivers on this squad now he had some super bowl games so mario douglas awaits the punt and fly the whistle they may not have snapped it in time yeah delay of game worth out so that'll back them up a little bit more joe you talked about special teams being something if you haven't played for a long time what is it that it's hard to get back in sync special teams there's a timing thing because we saw it really across the country as teams have started playing and conferences have started playing special teams have been very shaky sure sure the special teams part of things gets difficult because especially in the first game punt team i think is the most difficult not only have to protect you got to cover get down there you have to snap the punt all these things there's so many moving parts to it brandon dickerson has the left foot into it low driving big hop douglas scoops it up now reverses field trying to make that one-man miss just tripped up and he'll be shy of the 40-yard line where the flames will take over liberty up a couple of scores malik willis set to lead that offense back on the field when we come back [Music] fresh off their big double overtime win against clemson we'll have the second ranked fighting irish at boston college later today 3 30 eastern 12 30 pacific and it's 7 30 eastern 4 30 pacific is number 13 wisconsin and michigan at the big house in ann arbor both games are on abc and the espn f wisconsin just wants to play some football they have had a struggle just getting back on the field since that's the big win back on october 23rd you see that there the games are cancelled and for michigan our boy rhys davis on game day said if they lose today it'll be the worst start since pre-bo shim beckler how about that they are struggling right now in ann arbor as malik willis with a nice run on first down i mean you think things are running a little tight ann arbor right now a night game against wisconsin with what you just said on the line yeah i don't know if i'd want to be in those hotel meetings right now things are tight and that is the first down it's a look at malik willis his day so far he's thrown for a buck 76 in a score he's also run for 39 in a score this is one of liberty's favorite formations and they can do so many different things out of them oh balls loose on the deck willis has to fall on top of it well if there's been one knock one criticism of malik willis this year it's been just hanging on to the football ball security is put on the deck a number of times in fact this week hugh freeze said i made him take off all his wristbands bracelets he was i don't know if that'll help or not but we're just trying something and they had a play right there they had to play the run a little counter boot action bringing the the inside receiver across he was wide open and just put the ball on the deck yeah that would be the one and only thing you can't get on him for running you can't get on for decision mate you can't get on for accuracy across the board but he will put the ball on the turf every once in a while although it looks like he put the bracelets back on so maybe that didn't stick a little pressure willis jumps out of it now weaving his way through traffic and he's about three yards shy of the first down as a late flag comes in vlad coming in from the secondary so we'll sort this out [Applause] it would be about third and three if the play stands [Music] personal foul targeting defense number 33 that play is under further review wow well that's curtis roach sophomore linebacker let's have a look as he came in right at the end of that play is he 33 there was contact helmet to helmet it didn't appear to be as we get one more look there yeah he caught him in the hill man it wasn't that's kind of that's tough you know that wasn't a dirty play quarterback getting taken down you're trying to get in and and that's that's a tough break for the young man curtis roach yeah i'll be interested to see how this one plays out because you know if you go by the the letter of the law you could say yeah it's there and the contact is there but let's take another look at it yeah i think he's probably pops he's probably going to be done for the day basically i hate to see that looks that we see there and you know sometimes you feel like you can judge intense yeah on something you see that it is so yeah uh obvious and flagrant this is not one of those no he's trying to get his shoulder in there and do a good job tackling no intent whatsoever but at the same time it's it's the day and age that we live in now with the targeting role trying to protect the player's safety and just hate it for that young man roach his dad is actually a western carolina hall of famer kicker his dad kirk one of the greats here at western carolina his son playing linebacker now for the catamounts and unfortunately looks like his day is going to come to a uh early close well you know what though yet at the same time i've also seen other ones that have looked a lot worse than that and they haven't thrown the player out of the game so we'll see here number seven will have to go out one play due to the fact that he lost his helmet it'll be third down at the dead ball spot and the game clock will start on my signal so he said no targeting he did say no time oh he hears mike was on so in the end it is there we go benefit for western carolina no targeting and because the helmet came off from malik willis third down he's got to come out of the ball game i think with i think liberty has all three timeouts although somebody might want to tell malik because he's out there right well i think what you can do is call a timeout in order to keep him in the game i imagine that's what they did oh no the ref wow on the clock so obviously didn't call timeout and haven't noticed that malik is still in the game so after all that it's third and three yeah he stopped now he's watching him hold up hold up he went to the whistle to the mouth and then he pulled it away then he went back again and you hey go to your room young man here's what i love about hugh freeze do not be surprised right now ferguson comes in the ball game and throws a 50-yard scene right in the middle of the field he doesn't care we've seen it before where you think are they gonna go conservative run the ball and they take a shot so chris ferguson an accomplished quarterback in his own right from the university of maine this time he hands it off and the flames will pick up the first down on that run by josh matt yeah he's done that we've seen that happen before so now willis will come back in it's kind of like in basketball where a guy gets fouled but you see if you can slip in the better free-throw shooter if anybody notices wait you weren't fouled if you can get away with it yeah another one of liberty's favorite formations with the offset tight end they run a wide variety of things in both the run game and the pass game right here bring the tight end back in motion sometimes let him kick out boot with him malik back to the other side this is one of their absolute favorite formations they give mack runs into a wall he stood up and taken down for no game there's been times where western carolina's defensive front has done a good job holding up at the line of scrimmage they talk about defensive lineman building a flat wall across the across the board and be able to hold their gap gap integrity and they've had some plays where they've done a really good job of that looks like there's an injury catamount here darius bell redshirt freshman who was in on the tackle down on the field young man out of gilbert south carolina so the catamount training staff will come on and check him out yeah you hate to see that working on his knee hopefully that's that's not too bad but you never like to see that and i imagine the depth issues for western carolina has got to be a concern for coach speer so far today while liberty's had a lot of success through the air you kind of almost say you know western carolina has done a decent job yeah with this liberty ground game yeah have a big fourth down stop malik willis has had some success but josh mack averaging four and a half yards of carry as a team liberty right around five which you know normally isn't great yeah with the explosive running game liberty has shown throughout the year western carolina they're hanging in there yeah and but the the issue with it is what hugh freeze does and and offensive coordinator ken austin do such a good job they'll set you up yeah set you up for this they'll hit you in the middle hit you look at the last touchdown run by malik willis they set the used plays in the beginning of the game to set up plays later in the game and that usually has something to do with malik football with malik willis running the football a very long distance knack remains in the game at running back back to the offset tight end formation right here here comes pressure off the edge flames pick it up taking a shot downfield cj daniels behind the defense and he's in malik willis dropping it in the bucket daniels hauls it in for the score yeah you look at it right here what liberty does a great job in pass protection they tried to bring a blitz off the outside daniels gives you elysian man-to-man coverage no free safety in the middle daniel just has too much speed malik willis just has too much accuracy when you take those chances you got to get to the quarterback right away and what a great job by liberty and pass protection that's a little bit like well as russell wilson deep falls high arcing dropped it right in on target and quickly the flames score again seven different receivers have caught passes now today for this flames offense check in once again with emily austin you guys were talking about malik and his improvements this season i asked coach freeze about how much malik's decision making has improved he said monumental since spring even fall camp quarterback coach ken austin added that malik has also corrected his lower body and not compensating with his arm delivery as much he's also not over exaggerating his pocket movement and now he's able to stay and slide in the pocket with much more confidence that way awesome with a detailed report on the sidelines love it when it comes to quarterback mechanics there's nowhere does nobody like him we appreciate that yeah totally great but that is true and what emily the point that emily's trying to bring right there as we talked about earlier ken austin develops the fundamentals of quarterbacks as good as there is and to see the improvement because what was the knock we talked about this before the season how accurate is he how well can he can he throw the part if it was just the unknown the unknown of it but he didn't have a historically when they first worked with him he didn't have a uh his accuracy wasn't his best attribute obviously he was he was athletic but to see that develop and what hugh freeze does such a good job is for example he'll take half the field and eliminate it in an offensive play say oh do you have to read the whole field no he'll eliminate half the field and give his reid over here to make it to a one-two read so they've just done such a good job coaching of malik willis reggie jones on the return [Applause] hit and dropped i believe that was matt terrell on the tackle it was senior linebacker matt terrell a local product here from lynchburg went to liberty christian academy so right now in western carolina you're saying four minutes left if we can just get some points yeah here finish out the half put some points on the board here before the break kind of put yourself in at least a manageable situation heading to the second half as we already get a flag on the field illegal substitution by the offense five yard penalty first out well that'll drive a coach crazy you don't want those but western carolina right now like you said needs to move the ball down the field get back to the do what they do well just throw the short passing game real well the vertical game real well through the throw behind the ball to the outside really well and but then the other thing i think is really going to help them is his ability to extend place create big plays by extending plays and off coming donovan spencer near side breaks a tackle across the 30. i thought i might see look almost like a face mask there on that run and no flags down they're gonna try to go real fast now you pick up those six seven yards on first down allows you to pick up the pace of your offense empty backfield now five wide they're gonna have the quarterback run it and looks like he's gonna still be short of that first down about a yard shy as will jones try to muscle his way for the yardage a little urgency now third and one and that'll get the yardage they need spencer once again spencer a guy last year rushed for over 500 yards four scores and they call him really the on the field leader yeah this team they look to him for that leadership he's a veteran redshirt senior out of charlotte let's see if they can continue to keep him in the mix the rest of the way not much happening there as he's hitting drops you're watching the all-state saturday kickoff number 22 liberty to move to 8-0 for the first time in program history around to a good lead against western carolina here [Applause] mass falls incomplete along the near sideline he was looking for daequan patton and it'll bring up third down so now you're in that dangerous spot where you go quick you're trying to get points on the board but oh no now long and you could be giving the ball back to liberty with plenty of time yeah they they really need to convert this third down i like the play calls early in this drive he went run run run for a first down didn't get into panic mode feels it we got to score right now they created a first down through the running game now they've been put themselves in this third and eight this is a big conversion for western carolina right here three wide receivers to the left they throw it to the right for the tight end it's picked off picked up by darrell johnson the defensive end have some room to run bringing it near side steps out of bounds and help out the athleticism from your d end you think the players are happy over there did you see that mop and the thing about on this play matt is jones had him they slipped the back out of the backfield right there jerrell johnson was a little bit behind him if he's able to throw that over the top to his outside shoulder it would have put darrell johnson in a very difficult situation but he's got to get a little more arc and a little deeper but like he said what an athletic play by a defensive end all right darrell johnson we talked about him as a pass rusher six sacks coming into the game dropping into coverage you know he played in the defensive backfield put on a lot of weight and it's moved into that defensive end spot but he shows you they're not too bad in coverage so the flames now with great field position peyton pickett gets the carry and he is stuffed pickett has not been able to get much going on the ground for the flames today a little surprise right there that hugh freeze didn't take a take a shot on their side of the field after a turnover usually that's when you first down you take a shot for a touchdown after quick turnover so a loss of three pickett will remain in there willis pulls it out fires and it's dropped looking for his tight end jerome jackson put it right between the eights yeah after that turnover and loss on first down incomplete drop pass on second down western carolina able to get a stop here on third down this would uh this is a big time for them to be able to make that stop and not have any points after after a quick turnover so third and 13. see if yeah you got noah frith at the bottom here but they're playing the safety over the top so look for him to take a shot down the middle of the field has some time now he's gonna try to tuck it even get some yards get to the edge picked up a little block but steps out of bounds shy of the first down looks like he'll be about five or six yards shy of it but did he get enough to make it a more manageable field goal yeah looks like they'll send the field goal unit on here comes 405 pounds of bench press that's right alex barbier he can throw that weight around it's going to be about a 40 5-yard field goal he made one from 51. to beat virginia tech not quite the same amount of pressure here [Applause] [Music] but he'll give it a go snap is down low had the distance what what is the accuracy what a big stop for western carolina come after a turnover like that and then be able to go one two three miss field goal that's a boost of confidence for that defense so now their offense comes back on still with plenty of time still shot at timeouts [Applause] so the catamounts with another opportunity you know they started this ball game and you talked about just the quick passes the boy was getting out of mark wright's hand so quickly looks like rike's back in yeah here you go so he's going to get another shot he had the first few possessions mark wright back in there now [Applause] more athletic so certainly he gives you that that aspect because he's a dual threat guy the give to spencer breaks the initial tackle and is able to pick up about eight on first down let's check in once again with emily javon scruggs said that darrell johnson is a workhorse anywhere the ball is he thinks he needs to be the one making the play and with that mindset it makes his job much much easier as you can see true on that last interception a little pitch boy that was dangerous as they pitched that one wide [Applause] calvin jones ended up snagging it but [Applause] that was a little bit off the mark here to reach up and grab it looks like they'll be shy of what they need for that first down so once again third and short yeah a minute clock ticking not choosing to use a timeout here got to get this third down conversion then you can look into potentially using your timeouts and not giving liberty a chance to get the ball back but this they need to make a third down conversion have something positive happen before the end of the half be able to kick a field goal whatever it may be let's see if this is where they utilize mark wright's athleticism if they can get him out of the pocket see if he can pick it up with his legs a lot of their success is gonna be i said it's to be on extended plays when they break down get outside the pocket get into the scramble drill [Music] they call timeout second timeout western carolina that is their second charge of this half so they're going to talk about it big play coming just 38 seconds left though [Applause] and you said you pick up the first down then you start taking some shots i hate to see him have to use the timeout right there that leaves him with what one timeout left yeah one left and hates him wait run the clock all the way down like that use the timeout but if they can pick up the first down here could give an opportunity to get into field goal range yeah donovan spencer the running back may get an opportunity here in short yardage as well we talked about what he did last year both running the ball and catching the ball he had a game against bmi last year where he had 110 yards receiving so he can do it out of the backfield a little bit you know one of the most impressive things about donovan spencer which he's watching is he's small but he runs within the tackle this very quick feed he does very shifty in between the tackles as he runs well he's not going to be getting the handoff it appears they're going empty backfields now they bring the tight end across the formation keeping it is right as the first down and he'll get up just shy of the 45-yard line yeah well executed play right there on third try to empty it out spread the defense out block them well up front able to get a double team open up the hole good job good execution now they got to pick up the tempo and look to get some points only 25 seconds left looking downfield climbing the pocket boy about got his head popped off there someone had his face mask and spun him around they're no flash boy that was i worry did i see that right they just about i mean he got his head screwed his head right off wow yeah that's how do you miss that that's a big i mean how do you miss that that's elijah james that had a handful of the face mask western carolina that is their third and final timeout of this half i mean those fans we talked about yelling at the refs and they're yelling at the rest right now mark spear might have a few words for him too game clock operator please reset the game clock to two seconds two seconds with two seconds left but that was yeah you want about player safety that's player safety right there yeah i mean put him in the owl technique almost spun the house spun the head all the way right did you just come up with the owl technique that's good trying to go all the way around unfortunately mark wright is okay after that we'll take a moment take a look at today's protection spotlight brought to you by allstate and it comes on the touchdown toss to johnny huntly and the protection from the offensive line allowing willis to sit in that pocket take a look at it right here joe yeah really good job he's the back and there look at that nice tight pocket willis is able to step up in the throw that is the all-state umbrella policy right there total protection offensive line and they're deep they rotate a lot of guys through sam greg often survived coach for liberty feels like he's got a special group as you take a look at liberty now this is the complete prevent he's got guys back at the 20-yard line nothing getting behind you or at least it shouldn't in this defense might be a lot of tosses final play of the half the handoff up the middle and spencer will be drugged down around midfield and that will get us to the break so liberty will head to the half with the 28-7 lead malik what he does best putting the flames on top when we come back we'll kick it back to the studio kevin connors gym for with you there but first we step aside for this timeout [Applause] you're watching the allstate saturday kickoff we came into the day talking about the liberty flames and what they've been able to accomplish this year the number 22 in the country so far today living up to that billing leading 28-7 over western carolinas were about set to start the second half of play liberty offense led by malik willis has been dynamic to say the least take a look at the first half stats jumps out to you there joe yeah you look at the the balance by the liberty offense 216 yards through the air but still rushing the ball for 102 yards and a big part of that obviously is malik willis you know 14 first downs looking at the time possession was pretty even but uh and then look at that bottom stack bottom step four sacks by the liberty by the liberty defense and on top of that a defensive end that got a one-handed interception on the zone drop so the flames will get the ball first to start the second half liberty trying to go to 8-0 on the season all leading up to next week's showdown with nc state we'll get in to that match up a little bit more as we move forward in the second half [Music] our emily austin caught up with the two coaches we'll hear from her in just a bit to see what they had to say at the break you know matt one of the most explosive kickoff return guys in the country is cheddar lewis he just hasn't had a lot of chance to do it this year but if he gets a ball in his hands he is capable of going the distance every time he touches it standing at the goal line waiting for this one jackson robertson to kick it away and he's going to get his chance slight bobble at the outset but here comes shedro coming near side lookout he's got some room across the 40 to midfield and couldn't quite keep his feet in bounds as he steps out in western carolina territory you called it joe yeah you give you give shedro lewis a crease he's going check in with emily austin matt i caught up with both coaches on liberty side head coach hugh freeze said we need to wake up it looks like we're sleepwalking out there and just going through the motions and he also said we have to execute within this system offensively if you knew how many things we've messed up you know why i feel this way fortunately we're up 28-7 on the other side western carolina needs to sustain drives they can't have negative drives and we got to take the ball away from one of the best quarterbacks in the country but coach did say that he does feel a little positive about how his team has played and that they've played he's played they have played better than he thought well they said we're gonna use this to shuffle a lot of players through it's kind of like a spring ball situation these three games in the fall for western carolina as their defense does a great job standing up josh mack there for a loss so yeah you want to win certainly but they also realize listen liberty's played seven games they're playing they're playing very well they're playing hard or they're competing love the interior just like that play right there love the interior competitiveness on their defensive line malik willis gonna sling it catch made by johnny huntley will be about five yards shy of what they need for first down yardage you know you look at plays like that i'd say i agree with me you want to play sound you want to play fundamental but i would love to see western carolina when you get those quick speed ups one guy just try to take a chance jump underneath that thing create a turnover make a play that could give them that spark three wide receivers now four as they motion mac out of the backfield to the near side [Music] malik steps up look out nobody in front of him 20 10 see you later [Applause] malik willis 43 yards to the house that's just a well designed football play you'll see right here what you want to be able to do is go empty spread the defense they try to bring a five-man pressure once there's no linebacker play there so once they're able to create that crease malik willis is going and there's no catching him just a well-designed football play by hugh freeze and his offense [Music] so much depth so much explosiveness for this liberty offense you just can't take it all away malik willis now with 1 000 rushing yards it feels like this season but no that's in his career including his time at auburn he didn't play a lot at all and he didn't he crosses the 1 000 yard mark willis up to 97 yards on the ground today as he is over 300 yards of total offense have his total for the season right now at liberty do you know what that is now you're going to make me do something on the air but it looks like he is at uh 700 even actually that math wasn't too hard total touchdown today now two through the air two on the ground it's just so it's it's so beautiful to watch when you have a guy as athletic as malik willis and then you have a coach like you freeze able to design the offense around him that was a perfect example using motion to to go to bring josh mack out of the backfield and split him out wide get those people outside of the box and then open up that lane from elite quills to run well designed well executed kicks it away [Applause] [Music] western carolina trying to get a good return of their own they'll get it out close to the 30-yard line yeah did you see who was in the thick of that right there ah who was it barbie came here listen he came in head hunting right there i know you people have said what boy he struggles to get into the end zone at times this year but i think he also likes getting it on the test i think he might do it on purpose sometimes you know the first one he kicked eight yards deep in the end zone now he lets him return that thing and he's coming in there at 100 miles an hour trying to get them them guns connected [Music] he is a big dude so western carolina running will jones back out there at quarterback he and mark wright split time in the first half jones with a handoff to spencer up the middle short pick up more on western carolina we check in once again with emily matt you'll see a logo on western carolina's helmets tnp it stands for the next play coach was saying that it's about the next play and that's what cobit has been about too uh offensive coordinator john holt said that we're still competing for jobs so these guys better be playing the next play [Applause] keeper some room to run now cutting it back jones across midfield still on his feet now will slide out of bounds pushed out by treadwell as a nice pickup not the athlete that mark wright is but athletic enough to make something happen with his feet that was a really well designed play what they tried to do is they tried to give a bubble screen look to the outside where jones is going to throw that screen which then made the linebacker expand out towards that bubble screen which didn't open up the lane and got him to cut back once he was able to get through the line of scrimmage well well designed just look to sling it out to his tied in cuts it up nice pick up on first down i've seen the tight end kosinki heavily involved his fourth catch on the day over 50 yards receiving he's a guy two years ago in 2018 he had eight touchdown reps he was a third team all american last year put up similar numbers yardage-wise about 250 but only two touchdown receptions near side caught and they're saying he was down where the contact initially happened that was calvin jones on the reception freshman out of forest creek north carolina that was a really nice tackle in the open field you know when you get into these games in the modern day game where they try to stretch the field horizontally and make you tackle their athletes in space defensive backs that are able to tackle in space are the ones that are going to play and that was a really nice tackle in open space brings up third and six [Music] you got the man coverage down below on the bottom here they like that back shoulder fade earlier so pull it out under pressure trachon clark he gets the pass away his receiver was blocking on the far side and somehow he had the arm strength to get it out there and same time fortunate that it wasn't intercepted i mean that was a good job by jones just to be able to get the ball getting the ball rid of the ball and put him into a fourth and five and a little surprise we're looking at a long field goal right here at this yard this position on the field surprising western carolina is not trying to go for it 49-yard field goal would you run a fake here joe fourth down saw them attempt a one near 50 earlier in the ball game it was not close richard mccollum in good snap it's down kick is away and it's going to be short online but short as it bounced in the back of the end zone yeah once again had that same sort of similar situation in the first half and didn't go for it and even in that one had a fourth and four fourth and five and would like to see him get the opportunity to get a first down have a chance to score a touchdown move the ball come up empty flames lead at 35 7. [Music] [Applause] some of the highlights from the first half of action here in lynchburg virginia alvin involved number seven in blue he comes out slinging it here to demario douglas he was wrapped up for a loss but the flag is down on the play [Applause] get a holding call oh face mask maybe personal foul face mask 15 offense penalty is half the distance to the goal line first out i guess they did have a face mask call to make up for yeah yeah that that the one at the end of the first half was a brutal miss on the face mask but that'll back the flames up as you get a look at hugh freeze classic coach answer we heard our emily austin say he was not pleased at the half you know your offense has done some nice things you're up 28 seven as you get a look there bear getting up into the face mask of curtis roach but freeze is a perfectionist when it comes to his offense yeah and even after some of the great games malik willis has had this year first thing in po in the pr postgame press conference he'll say well you know he missed a few reads he's like well he had seven touchdowns you know he is a perfectionist when it comes to his offense and how it should be run willis standing in the pocket gonna let it go deep down the field that's kevin shaw snags it reaches out and grabs him it's her foot race and he's gone kevin shaw on the connection from malik willis oh my 84 yards i mean [Music] out there where kevin shaw had to go after that full speed reach out into a perk position look at that pocket and he's got a guy up in his face and be able to catch a thing that's as far as you can throw it reach your hands out at the last second and then it's just speed on speed all the way to the end zone well executed play well shaw had a reception on a deep ball earlier in the game but that yeah you could not have placed it any better did not have to break stride whatsoever the extra point up and through from barbier and one play the flames find the end zone you talk about explosive number seven is explosive for the flames that time doing it with his arms it's all liberty here today the vikings won two straight the five and three bears trying to stay within striking distance of the packers in the nfc north they square off at soldier field in our week 10 monday night football matchup 8 eastern 5 pacific on espn espn deportes and the espn app our coverage begins with monday night countdown at six o'clock and that chicago defense good luck slowing down dalvin cook that guy has been on fire he's tough lately he is can i give you a little trip i'm not tripping something i wanted to i'm sure i mean there's you're looking for numbers yeah the vikings aren't my team they're your team they're my team you know why the vikings why because my dad played professional football in the cfl and for the winnipeg blue bombers and guess who his coach was who's that bud grant oh really legend yes legendary blood grass minnesota so we all so i grew up being a huge minnesota vikings man short kick taken just inside the 30. well we talked about malik willis you and i kind of talking before that drive that last if you call it a drive it was one play say you know but at what point in the game if it starts in that handy you take him out you're probably getting pretty close to that point now aren't you 42-7 42-7 there's almost 11 minutes left in the third quarter i was thinking hey let's play him through the end of the third quarter if you're you freeze uh but at this point you know with 400 yards of total offense yeah you might see him leave the game here pretty quickly kai stanley in the backfield along with will jones they're going to give it to him not much happening as he is hit and dropped right there at the line of scrimmage [Applause] there'll be actually two here in the second half and talking with got him out offensive coordinator john holt he said you know we're we're not in football shape we've been practicing and doing things since august but liberty is in football's shape it's different and so now you get into the second half do you does that you start wearing out a little bit does fatigue start becoming an issue because these guys haven't played yet this year yeah that the grind of going through seven games and becoming a football shape is a very good point but as as coach spears said what's on their helmet as emily had said the next play you have to play all the way into the game and play the next play every single down that incomplete jimmy falk's in coverage knocking it away yeah amazingly we talk about this being western carolina's first game of the season they have not played in 357 days their last game was against alabama november 23rd of last year that is insane and that's not a great memory well that's probably not one yeah you want to think back fondly on if you're a catamount fan either but but yeah to go that long they're just happy to be they're happy to be on the field getting better keep getting better third and long pressure comes able to slip out of it looking downfield firing a little too tall for his intended receiver daquan patton so they'll bring up fourth down and the punting unit is coming on for the catamounts you've seen both quarterbacks joe will jones mark wright as either one kind of stood out to you if you're if you're sitting there right now you're mark spear you're taking all that you've seen into account which one have you seen more i mean they've both they've both done some good things that will jones when he came out after you know right early in the game led them down for score made two good throws the vertical seam and the back shoulder fade stayed alive had the touchdown throw so but rick at the same time has done some good things in the run game uh so they'll they'll figure it out they're still getting there but they have two good quarterbacks mario douglas on the return spun around finally gotten to the ground there around the 29-yard line [Applause] all right well this gives us a moment for our att 5g best moment from today joe we're going to leave this in your hands your best moment is what i'll tell you this long deep post right here it's able to come across to kevin shaw the protection that malik will has gotten and kevin shaw gives a little stick to the outside and then what he does very well good receivers do do not when the balls throw in the air do not run with your hands out you wait as long as you possibly can to lift let those hands reach out to grab that ball and he did a really good job of that beautiful play and beautiful execution by the liberty offense and it would appear that malik willis day is done as he has a seat chris ferguson in the ballgame hands off to chadron lewis shedrow shoots through accelerates across midfield as couple of flags reign in best run of the day for shadro lewis you give cheddar lewis a crease he is dangerous and he's on that syracuse game early in the season where he had quite a run holding offense number 19. 10 yard penalty first out that's brody brum flagged for the hole we'll get an extended look now at chris ferguson remember he got a start earlier this year against north alabama he's a kid that had a lot of success in his career at maine transferred to liberty prior to this season led the black bears to the fcs semifinals back in 2018 [Music] so he'll get some extended playing time out here in the second half once again a handoff central lewis takes a big shot at the end of that one that was darius smith [Applause] lowering the shoulder into him yeah chris ferguson has put up some really good stats throughout his career and you know you look before we really knew what malik willis right kind of player he was they talked about in camp chris ferguson is really pushing malik willis it wasn't clear-cut number one player at the quarterback position so he's putting up stats and at the fcs level and is a solid backup for liberty a true pocket passer he's not the dual threat guy in the league is tries to swing it out to peyton pick it a little sloppy with the footwork there sailed it over his head as a quarterback like ferguson you almost have to slow yourself down a little bit don't you when you get out there after you've been sitting behind a guy for so long you're so amped you finally get your chance you kind of i imagine hearts pumping a little extra you know faster than it would be otherwise yeah but he's done a good job he's been there before that's what's good about when you get a transfer kid with so much experience they've been there before and he's used to these bullets firing the third seven pick up the blitz drops it in there demario douglas for the first down good touch on that ball and douglas able to look it into his hands good concept of a player right there he got a cover two look he's able to run it the outside receiver is able to run the run him off get that safety off the hash and then brought in the inside guy and a little bend route deal chris was able to just sort of feather the ball into the honey hole right there nice play peyton pickett remains in and running back for liberty good pass that one caught for a short game that ball come out at the end all western carolina players acting like it they're all pointing as if they've recovered it no official word yet [Applause] got it and they got it so that reception of the titan trevor hobbs his second of the day but he was unable to hang on the field was a fumble and recovered by western carolina first out yep yeah good job punching the football right there and knocking that thing out looked like that was willie hampton that got in there and ripped it away willie hampton's made some nice plays today [Applause] you are watching the all-state saturday kickoff [Applause] liberty flames number 22 in the country trying to continue their climb in the polls [Applause] so far so good today is mark wright back in at quarterback [Applause] handoff short pickup donovan spencer on the carry he gets about two maybe three yeah i like how coach spears both using jones and right at the quarterback position and he's rotating him in throughout the game because like i said they're trying to find their way right now find their sea legs find who can put some drives together and both these guys are very capable so it's good to see the constant rotation to be able to keep them engaged in the game right rolling out throws towards the sideline a little too tall for his intended target to bring up third down [Applause] right started this game with a really nice drive he was in rhythm moved the ball down to flames territory ended up kicking a long field goal that missed but he looks sharp early seven of ten throwing the football today but for just 40 yards a lot of that real short stuff you know how you know early in the when coach when coach spears said hey i've had 58 different schedules right that i've had to do you know he's drawn up 58 different first 10 plays you know your first 10 plays your offense is gonna run he's gone every which way all the time to do it a hundred different ways i don't know if he's done more schedules or more first 10 plays swinging out the catch made across midfield coming near side wrapped up knocked out of bounds on the reception that was dylan abernathy freshman wide receiver so a nice play design there allows them to move the sticks keep the drive alive and that's what they need to do get getting some of these third down conversions so you can get more plays and move the sticks get into the red zone work on your offense run coming near side taking the initial contact bouncing off sticking his nose in there again was donovan spencer i'll tell you matt one of the things that was a little bit surprising is being west western carolina's first game of the season is they've only had one turnover usually in these games early in the season that's when you're going to see more interceptions more fumbles the actual they haven't had the live bullets coming at him in a long time and and they've only had one turnover so that's definitely something positive to build on right hands it off some room to run spencer accelerating through the hole and he's taken down at around the 30. so a nice run another first down as spencer now up over 60 yards on the day more on donovan spencer let's check in with emily guys this western carolina coaching staff speaks so highly of donovan spencer and his leadership on this football team on and off the field but he's also done done so much on campus leading a we want change march that was organized by spencer it's playing the wii is spelled w-h-e-e playing off of colorway where the university is located the community response was unbelievable as spencer led the march and been a voice for social equality it's been so great to have him on the field leading this team like i said on and off the field yeah really well-rounded young man the last two years he's been named to the socon academic honor roll so you talk about you know he's a dangerous playmaker on the field he's much more than that off the field great young man second and six they fake it to him right looking to throw back to him now he's got him the catch is made it'll be enough for a first down good tackle out there he was marcus haskins that came up to make the tackle as they threw it back to their running back there's a look at that march for change that emily talked about a little bit ago it was organized by donovan spencer we are really proud of this young man and all that he represents for his program now they're in the red zone knocking on the door spencer spinning his way down inside the tent well it hasn't looked like there's been a lot of real big running lanes there and yet he finds a way to kind of ship his way through i noticed that early in the early in the game with spencer how he is able to use his hits very quick feet and able to use his feet in tight spaces within a hole and then i run like that where he gets to the point now he just drives forward and what good running backs do is they always fall forward you want to fall forward for that extra yard extra two you never want to go backwards to get driven backwards 70 yards now on the ground for spencer and 10 carries right firing towards the end zone and a flag comes in that was jimmy falks over there just shoving a receiver out of balance he almost shoved him into the official yeah shoved the cone over over there and the fish almost took one i don't think jimmy's arguing this one defensive pass interference number eight that is an automatic first out that it is here's a look yeah they try to run a little bubble fake right there he's gonna stalk and then go on the block keenan hambrick was the receiver so now they're on the two-yard line see if they don't give it to spencer and let him finish this thing off yeah these are important reps right now for as a all-star penalty but important reps in the red zone for both sides you're always trying to work hard on your red zone defense false start offense number 61. five yard penalty first out and for western carolina the red zone offense they have an opportunity to get here too often so these are the reps you need in order to get on film correct and get better see that little note they're making right there that's not like a star like good job that's one of those like gonna bring this up later you're on the two yard line and you get a false start those are killings that in a close game exactly crucial exactly spencer remains in the backfield standing next to right he was looking for him throws it up and overshot him they were trying to get him coming out of the backfield we told you he's a good receiver but well covered that time yeah basically trying to work the same play right there had a slant on the outside clear the corner out get spencer out of the backfield that's one of those where you just sort of throw the ball at the at the pylon right there and let him go down and be the only one who can catch it suck it goal give it to spencer he gets them back down about where they were before the false start bring up third and goal from about the two and a half yard line all right i like this down right here matt third and two from the two coach spear right now you're looking at this it's a great red zone rep you want to be able to get in the end zone you got a few options here like the back shoulder fade they've always liked the back shoulder fade down to the bottom into the short side of the field or with the athleticism rick being able to boot get him out on the corner and then work that back end of the end zone quarterback keeps it did he get in he did you saw mark wright just follow donovan spencer right through the hole and he gets it that wasn't as exciting as i wanted it now you you but it's a touchdown yeah you really got a lot of things going on yourself outski myself in that situation yeah i was i was coach over coach right there but yeah but nice good follow good follow through with the quarterback be able to get into the end zone great reps great reps great job getting the end zone these are the things hey the next play just like coach spears says the next play they can build off of this good looking drive led by mark wright the extra point now up and through second touchdown of the day for the catamounts as they look to build on the future [Applause] off their big double overtime win against clemson we'll have a second ranked fighting irish in boston college today that's 3 30 eastern 12 30 pacific and at 7 30 eastern 4 30 pacific number 13 wisconsin and michigan at the big house in ann arbor both games on abc and the espn app michigan has had some success here at home lately 113 of their last 15. but they have struggled against the pass is what i am being told by my stats gurus allowing almost 300 yards a game passing yards we're still i have not seen if grand merch is going to play tonight for wisconsin or not you know that's been kind of a point of discussion today if he does he may have himself a heyday kick brought out to about the 16 maybe the 17 before it stood up and dropped it's like that was dwayne crawford on the kickoff return so the flames using this opportunity to get some other guys in there you know what i like about wisconsin ah what's that the cheese well you're close it's close america's dairy land it is and and they like to cheese i like how the badgers play football but you know what you know why they play football part of the reason why they play football so well why they like the brats oh the brats in wisconsin are unbelievable good tailgating tailgating and the brats that they make you better keep your shoes on because they'll knock your socks off chris ferguson handoff that's josh mack getting out close to the 25. knack on the day over 50 yards on the ground you should mention you see the liberty logos for the flames this is military appreciation day veterans say being this past week the flames do a good job each year of honoring those who have served this great country today breaking out the alternate logos on the helmet yeah right back to mack slipped as he tried to plant that foot and cut it up he'll still be about a yard and a half shy of the first down you know when you're in liberty williams stadium a military pre-appreciation day when it's a full house and they get the fireworks going the band's playing and they're singing the lee greenwood song it's it's it's really nice they do a really really good job with that here two minutes left here in the third quarter third down for liberty handoff trying to outrun that defense he does josh mack cuts it up and he's shy of the 40-yard line that was an opportunity where if you're western carolina you got to stop there get the ball back not that the game is necessarily hanging in doubt yeah but you you start have some opportunities where if you're hugh freeze the last thing a coach ever wants to do is go did i pull my guys right exactly you never want to have to put them back in there so that in some ways a big third down conversion for the flames just to keep clock moving and keep this ball game heading in the right direction and the little subtle things on a call like that the third and two you're expecting to get an inside zone play and right there liberty ran an outside zone stretch to be able to get the edge which western carolina was protecting to to be able to defend an inside zone play so good call by by liberty run it again knack with the spin move stumbled a bit gets maybe one remember ferguson and mack played together now they did maine so these are guys that know each other well earlier this season when ferguson came into a ball game they said they kind of joked with each other like here we are again you know like old days that's right yeah so they had a lot of success there both ended up transferring from maine to liberty i mean mack led the fcs in rushing that one year correct yeah rush just i think it was rush yards per game uh he was an fcs all-american yeah he had a he was great there for the black bears has been really good for the flames as well six career 100 yard games at lu in a year and a half pressure ferguson stands in there delivers a strike to mario douglas somehow keeps his feet showed every bit of wiggle he had and not able to get much after this you'll like this you'll like this man look down on the field right now and we're just talking about chris ferguson back together well they brought a corner blitz on that play and josh mack had to slide across the formation and pick up that blitz and he did a really good job because if he didn't ferguson would have got to hit dead in the mouth and after he's over he went over his old pal and patted him on the chest and said thanks buddy glad we've been around together for a while that'll get us to the end of the third quarter liberty in control here on top [Music] 42-14. liberty flames one quarter away from moving to 8-0 on the season now time for our fansville college football update brought to you by dr pepper number 15 coastal carolina they're supposed to be playing at troy it was postponed today's game moved to december 12th because of the positive cobia 19 tests also interesting to note no ranked matchups today first week in november since 2009 now that's partially due to all the games that are postponed and canceled and such but we mentioned coastal carolina there why why did we mention the shots of clears as liberty just takes one to the house someone didn't give them the heads up we're in the middle of the fansville college football dr pepper dj daniel says that's a pepper i don't care yeah i'm taking it to the end zone i say give that man a dr pepper give him all 23 flavors of bubbly deliciousness cj daniels with the second touchdown of the game let's see what happened here chris ferguson and daniels does the rest so two scores for the true freshman what a season this young man is having they call him sticky because of the great hands it's a good nickname and he's able to take it the distance also now jason stricker in for the extra point did not put it through so the flames on the board again we'll tell you more about bamsville on the other side we'll get back to you come on [Applause] all right i was making a flawless transition from the fansville add to this the remaining games for liberty this year you take a look at what's left on their schedule you also take a look at the fpi win percentage for liberty so heavy favorites against umass that's the day after thanksgiving but next week at nc state and then the final game of the year an old rival wow from the big south days coastal carolina who's ranked 15th right now so a couple of big opportunities for the flames listen they've already you know kind of gone into that national conversation with what they've done this year you know you're in the top 25 you're there but you have a chance with those two games left on the schedule to really have not just a what's been a special season you start i mean what do you think you win those your top 15 teams yeah yeah i mean it's like this is 2020. anything about 2020. if the flames get past nc state which i was a little surprised to see on statistic that they have a higher percentage chance of winning versus nc state than they do yeah i was surprised against against coastal carolina but if they get past nc state umass could you think the start of the season it would be two unbeatens two unbeatens coastal ranked ahead of liberty can we put in an early call to get game day to go let's get a game day in there go to come on harvey just show up exactly get some beach time in and off on first down that's spencer again up to the 30-yard line western carolina talk about the rest of their schedule at eastern kentucky next week they've got a couple of weeks off before they finish up their the fall portion of their schedule at north carolina in december quarterback right keeps it they'll have enough for a first down yeah there's a lot of really positive things for western carolina to take away from this game they've done some good things in the passing game the rotating of the quarterbacks trying to find the rhythm between the two of them being able to score within the red zone both times a couple times when they got down there so for coach spear there is a ton of positives to build on the one thing they really haven't done effectively today is you haven't seen them connect taking a shot down the front so much in the passing game has been that that short passing game and liberty's done a good job of taking away many of those vertical routes that you talked about early on yeah it's not that they haven't tried they've had a hard time and pass protection to give the time to get down field to be able to take those shots trying to fit one in there to calvin jones was unable to flag it down this is also a group of young playmakers on the outside we'll see if we talk about stribling redshirt freshman quillin freshman calvin jones freshman keenan hambrick we saw earlier he's a freshman that's where they have a lot of new faces a lot of young guys remember this is a team that does not have a lot of edges it's only nine total seniors on this roster so they're just gonna keep getting better about it [Music] picked off intercepted is that carl poole that is carl poole young man earned a scholarship right before the season he's stepping right there in the passing lane get out of danville virginia makes the interception and flames force their second turnover in this bug see that right there is technique on how to play the rpo game as a linebacker what he did is he took one step in to make sure that the run wasn't there that he didn't hand the ball up the second he saw the quarterback pull the ball away he then turned his shoulders and got squared back into that slant passing lane textbook play by pool to make that interception you're watching the all-state saturday kickoff pool also has a twin brother on the team so carl you just saw carlos his twin brother is a wide receiver jonathan bennett now in at quarterback peyton pickett just may have coughed up the football at the end of that run it looks like the flames will keep it as picky picks up just a yard so jonathan bennett good to see jonathan bennett in the game red shirt freshman quarterback out of south carolina hands it off pick it now some room to run across the 20s can he take it all the way yes he can peyton pickett gets loose and this liberty offense is pouring it on know we talked earlier in the season about how peyton pickett was really a short yardage back that had a nose through the end zone scoring a lot of touchdowns but in this offseason he really improved his speed and you can see it right there he's always been a patient runner but right there to be able to get through that gap split it right there and take that thing all the way to the house he's become a much faster football player this season [Music] stricker in once again missed the last last extra point we'll get another crack at it here that is up and through and the flames have hung 55 on the scoreboard still 12 49 to go in the game everybody in blue making an impact on the offensive side today [Music] the all-state saturday kickoff is presented by allstate you've never been in better hands [Music] beautiful shot blue ridge mountains let's look at williams stadium here in lynchburg virginia where liberty leaves western carolina 55-14 taking a look at some other scores around the country how about virginia tech liberty knocked them off a week ago and now here they are fourth quarter leading number nine miami so that's an interesting one to follow indiana keeps right on rolling how about indiana they're up to that number 10 ranking fours over michigan state wow arsenal's been sneaky good this year also louisiana sitting there with the lead it's a long way to go in that ball game you know i saw the line on the virginia tech miami game where virginia tech was favoring that game yeah and was like what in the liberty to be virginia tank and now virginia tech's favorite over miami what in the world is that but i guess the guys in vegas right now know what they're talking about well i know we saw last week when we watched the tape of that game with liberty hindi hooker is an incredible athlete at quarterback for virginia tech he is a load to bring down when you have somebody like that you have a shot to upset anybody you play i'm gonna tell you what barbie's pipes are looking extra swole today he got a lot you know he got a lot of attention after that 51-yard hill and a lot of people were asking him so like you know how much do you lift what do you bench you know the kind of questions you get about that yeah how much i squat yeah yeah yeah well when he was just a student here at liberty after transferring from penn state not playing he said he really got into bodybuilding you can see that as there's a whistle a flag on the field it's not something that's hidden he lets you know he doesn't false start offense number 76 five-yard penalty first out doesn't he curl the uh pipe he does he curls in the block room before the game yeah that's right all right hey let's check in with emily what do you bet jamily um you know i actually haven't been binching lately so i don't have those stats for you right now but i'm sure i can't pick up that pipe that curls before the games but you guys were just talking about liberty's success and that big stunning win over virginia tech coach free surprisingly said that ranks at the top of his list of accomplishments at coaching the emotions were the same at beat as beating alabama with ole miss but the recruiting level and differences between you just beat every acc team that we play and i go yep yeah you raise the expectations you know right that's the dangerous game obviously you love it as a coach you love people getting excited but yeah now you're going to nc state next week and everybody's like well yeah what's going on like you gotta go that is impressive for a guy that beat nick saban twice at ole miss and had a lot of big wins there he said last week's victory over virginia tech the biggest win of his coaching career toss coming near side lanes trying to string it out and they do that was luke sutton the freshman wide receiver taking that and it'll bring up third down both teams getting to play a lot of guys in the fourth quarter these are valuable reps to be able to get them on film some of these guys you know when i was at unc coach brown used to say some of you guys go back to the dorm rooms and your apartments and you have mini meetings talking about how can you're not getting any playing time well now is your opportunity to get that playing time and be able to see it on film and and make an impact in the game [Applause] flush from the pocket i was just going to tuck it right tripped up and tackled at the 30-yard line taken down by cade robinson redshirt freshman safety coming up to make the tackle [Applause] and there is a flag in the backfield offensive holding number 62 that penalties declined fourth thou and so the punting unit comes on for western carolina [Applause] you know the one area western carolina really needs to sure up where they've sort of shot themselves in the foot is in pass protection they've done a decent job within the run game being able to open up a few creases but in pass protection especially when they're trying to get into their vertical game they haven't been able to protect the quarterback to be able to take those shots downfield mario douglas waits for the punt he's not gonna have a chance to catch that hugh freeze might as that one landed actually alex barbier made an attempt to catch that one that one landed on the flames bench so a shank will give the flames great field position when we come back liberty leading it 55 14 10 46 to go [Music] all right here's the lineup for tonight fresh off their big knock them off they take off bc 3 30 eastern 12 30 pacific on abc then 10 eastern seven pacific on espn here we go carrots crawford defending his wbo welterweight belt against kelp brook in las vegas that's a look at the lineup on espn abc and the espn app now brooke looking for his first win in the welterweight division since 2016 but crawford 36-0 and joe 14-0 in world title fights with 11 knockouts you're not getting this from teddy atlas you're only getting this right here no doubt and i've seen crawford fight and that guy will knock your face off there you go there's your analysis what more do you need get you all ready for that straight to the point yeah handoff that's troy henderson just checked in the ball game little guy but running hard picks up nine maybe just shy of the first down marker flames getting all their running backs they're stable of backs involved in this one yeah they do have a stable backs when you start going down the list of josh mack peyton pickett cheddar lewis i mean these guys and then josh henderson you know they had high hopes josh henderson that he would get plenty of reps and and plenty of yards this year especially in the receiving game and he's barely had a chance to even get on the field yeah coaches like him a lot every time you talk to liberty coaches about their running backs they always bring up troy henderson says we just it's hard to get him on the field we have so much talent there right now he got eight on first down they give it to him again and he looks to be close to that first down see if he gets the spot he needed and he does that'll move the chains yeah it would be good to see troy henderson get lots of carries here down the stretch what did i call him i called him john oh you called okay good i wouldn't make sure no no that one on you that was all right yeah troy he was involved last year quite a bit in the passing game as you mentioned caught a couple of touchdowns yeah really good receiver out of the backfield and it's just i mean it's one of those situations at liberty where the practices i bet are incredibly competitive they're going to give it to him again not a lot there gets a couple right now you're liberty you're leading 55-14 you're just trying to keep that clock moving keep everybody healthy get some reps for guys that maybe don't get a lot of opportunities i'd like to see jonathan bennett you know jonathan bennett if you know the story i believe it was the syracuse game first game of the season last year was that was it no it wasn't that it was early in the year early in the year where he was a celebration after a touchdown and landed awkwardly on his knee and ended up having a severe knee injury that hadn't have surgery and and missed out the entire season last year real unfortunate incident that happened to jonathan bennett but it's good to see him back out there let's see him at least sling it around a little bit [Applause] and henderson he's got some room to the far side trying to make that last man miss couldn't do it as a flag flies and we'll see what that's about as he's gonna be a couple yards shy of the first down offensive holding number 19 10 yard penalty second down so brody brum called for i believe that's his second hold today from the wide receiver position their back liberty up you know one guy we have not seen on the field for the flames at least not in his usual role is a novice they haven't punted hayden hasn't come out in the game yet has he he's held on extra points and a field goal attempt but yeah the liberty offense has not been forced to punt yet today [Music] they got the beef out here to the left side and it pulls it out now he's in trouble wrapped up and dropped the pressure came and that was ty harris the senior linebacker getting to it yeah jonathan bennett really needs to pull the trigger there the linebacker had moved up which opened up that window to throw the slant into the short side of the field he just didn't let it go i thought he was going to let it go and could have picked up a completion right there so that'll back the flames up significantly brings up third down and 17. [Music] you know we haven't seen a lot of this year man is that a lost art the screenplay yeah where's the screenplay everybody does not run a lot of screens a lot of teams i've seen any teams run screens get off near side that's gonna lose yardage as well so the flames moving the wrong direction these last couple of plays talk about next week and liberty heading to north carolina state well liberty has one of the longest win streaks in the country right now they've won nine straight dating back to last year the only team with one longer notre dame we've talked a little bit about them today and then you look at coastal carolina down there liberty's final opponent liberty is in some rarefied air right now doing things this program has never done before and you know you call for him you mentioned his name and what do you know here comes it's on cue hey now they're gonna try to bomb one so this will be a 54 yard field goal play clock running down they got a hurry if they get the snap away the kick is away and he got it [Applause] [Music] how about that 51-yarder a week ago 54-yarder new career high as he had they had a hustle the play clock was about to run out i mean it was right as it was running out but watch his kick good solid kick i'll tell you what right after that thing went through what was his bench 405 you could have put 450 on the bar he would have gotten it out right there yeah he's jacked after this one no time to think about it yeah just let her rip right there after it's over straight over to the sidelines get the bench press out put 425 off they run one round they should have a that's right how about this this is pretty good here he is doing his curls and lightning look at him he jumps in i think he's got the foam roll styrofoam yeah it's a foam roller he's over there pumping somebody this is pregame that's alex barbier's routine they're you think they're loose you think they're happy yeah yeah i think so yeah you freeze keeping it loud you know the kicker's life is it's so conditional love you know it's 100 conditions like you know that kid misses a few field goals missing virginia tech oh all the hobnobbing and joking ain't going on right now but you know that's the life of a kicker enjoy it while you can young man enjoy it while you can liberty with that field goal now they have scored the most points in any game this season they've scored they've surpassed the 56 they hung on southern miss back in late october that one booted momentarily and now calvin jones will just take a knee so this liberty offense just continues to get better and better they came in 18th in the country in points per game at about 38 a contest and they dropped 58 here today 619 total yards that's a lot of yards they're six minutes and seven seconds away [Music] we're adding to what has already been their best in program history [Music] will jones coming back in at quarterback as he and mark wright have alternated at the position today i like how they keep mixing it up malik richardson in the backfield they give it to him and he gets a couple of yards before he's slung down he said running back gets listed as 6'4 joe you don't see that i look at the kid number 10. he's a big kid tall back yeah let's talk about running backs running low it's hard to do when you're six foot four but he's a he's a tall kid back there [Music] eddie george could run time for that guy i had an eddie george he'll get it out to the 15-yard line that ball come out they're staying here flames carl poole saying give me another one and saying he was down bring up third five a that was the titans one-yard short team it was yeah all right take a look make sure that he's down there's that knee oh oh after further review in this game do you we go to the review it's like all right boy snap the ball jonathan spencer the previous play is under further review well flames may just get the ball back here in the red zone shot at another one here's another look and yeah it does not appear either knee was down there as it was punched out carl poole who had the interception earlier carl poole having a game interception and horse fumble and i believe he was the one that came out with it also all right for all you yup see that's on purpose all you young aspiring linebackers out there whenever somebody has a guy wrapped up see how he's the running backs wrapped up next thing you do is take your eyes to the brown of the ball punch the brown of the ball just like poole did right there and that's what caused those turnovers the first guy's gotta come in he's gonna wrap up the tackler and as that tackler's going down and you're coming to clean it up take your eyes to the brown of the ball and then punch that thing loose really nice play by pull that kind of stuff gets me fired up man [Applause] so they're continuing to review it as it looked like that got punched out at about the 14 or so and picked up right about there as well by pool he punched it and picked it up didn't he so the flames are gonna it would appear although we were wrong on the targeting penalty earlier today when they were reviewing that one it would appear this is pretty clear-cut gonna be liberty football just under five minutes to go in this ballgame after further review the ruling on the field was a fumble recovered by liberty at the 14-yard line it'll be first and ten for liberty at the 14. third turnover force today by this flames defense they only had force nine all season coming in a couple of picks now a fumble recover i mean pools coming off the sidelines over there again congratulated by everybody he is jacked up a really good football game [Music] yeah another quarterback here to see our fourth quarterback freshman sean brown coming in play qb for liberty [Applause] freshman out of apex north carolina gives it to troy henderson it's a couple of yards stays in bounds keeps that clock moving sean brown three-star recruit it's our first opportunity to see him in action [Music] they've really tried to give troy henderson a lot of carries over the last few drives like to be able to see him stick his foot in the ground getting north and south get his shoulder square [Music] give it to him again good push from the offensive line as he gets down inside the 10-yard line flames trying to break 60 if they put points on the board here really their biggest concern right now is just running time off the clock and getting out of here with that w [Applause] you know it's always good to work on your red zone offense when you get down a third down this could be a third down conversion within the red zone like to see what kind of plays hugh free hugh freeze is still coaching let me see type of plays that he draws up in the red zone moving into henderson he's stood up he'll be about two yards shy of the first down these are always those situations where you can go forward you feel like you kind of feel like you're you know you're not trying to yeah you know rub your opponent's nose in it but at the same time you just you know there's no right answer i think whether you kick a field goal or you go for it i don't know either way get the inside run right here same play basically the same play as last time or a quarterback follow on fourth down is what i would expect let that play clock run all the way down that showdown next week in nc state listen 7 30 game on the acc network and liberty has played day games basically all year long so this will be the first time they will play at night that makes a big difference and they have to sit around that hotel all day long time out liberty first charge for this half liberty takes the time out we'll take one as well the flames looking to close out this ball game when we come back [Music] our next ufc fight night today in las vegas only on espn plus paul felder took this fight on five days notice because of injury takes on afield sanchos who moves down in weight in the lightweight main event the prelims start at 4pm eastern with the main card at 7 eastern 4 pacific in english and spanish begin espn plus go to espnplus.com or download the espn app you're a big ufc guy joe you know do you want me to give you some ufc fight night facts yeah do it let's watch his fourth down play it's a fight handoff coming near side inside the five lunging for the end zone i don't think he got in i'm also not sure he held on to the football no they're calling it a fumble it looks like i think troy henderson kind of just tossed that football towards the end zone and they're saying it's a touch back reaching for the pylons one thing you aren't allowed to throw it that way rolling on the field the ball was fumbled from the field of play into and out of the end zone the ruling will be a touch back first down western carolina we're getting another look at it here and yeah he just kind of tossed he did hit the pylon that was out of his hand it was good accuracy but yeah you gotta hold the ball definitely definitely want to hold the ball and they would have picked up the first down it wasn't a do or die situation they would have gotten the first down i wish that's the time you wish you had a pylon cam yeah yeah yeah that's a really great angle yeah i wish we had a pylon fan there's you see troy trying to reenact it what i was doing was trying to yeah you freeze he said yeah let's talk there's lesson learned lesson there so the ball goes back to the catamounts 220 to go handoff short pick up on first down that carry to bradley mckee bradley with the carry so we're working our way down through the depth chart on both sides it'll be interesting to see for western carolina the improvement between week one and two what do coaches always say it's that one yep something to the far side nice catch run after the catch there for luke sutton coaches always say the biggest improvement comes between week one and week two of the season so they go to eastern kentucky next week it'll be interesting to see what they look like then with one game under their belt yeah to be able to get a game to get a game of actual film you know tiring must be watching practice film every day for the kids for the coaches to have an actual game film that they can put on tomorrow and do a lot of teaching a lot of learning and get better for the next game it gives them something to play for it's really good and off again that's bradley stood up dropped after a one-yard game but that's all he needed they get the first down chains check in one more time with emily austin emily yeah guys another thing that's been difficult for this western carolina game are this western carolina team is head coach mark speer was saying we don't have team room team meeting rooms big enough to socially distance we've only been on zoom so this is not only the first time that this team has all gone on the field together but really meeting and going through the whole travel and getting all that learning tips to uh figure out how to do that for their conference season which starts in february yeah they're just thrilled to have gotten a game under the belt just have all these players together said no one knows each other still he feels like they have been able to build relationships it's been frustrating for him this year and just to have a game despite what the scoreboard says he'll be able to take some positives out of this moving forward no doubt yeah when you listen to coach spear and talk with them he's such a relational coach and that's what he wants and so it's got to be killing them but at the same time to be able to get on the airplane together get on the bus together and come here and be able to eat together and play this game is step in the right direction on the other side as you can see the big tackle made there by kindy charles young man out of haiti he has a great story maybe oh we've got 17 seconds we'll say maybe he'll stay overnight he has a long career ahead of him on the other side for liberty you're about to get your 10th straight win and do what many thought would be impossible before this season the season they have had what they've been able to do unbelievable unbelievable and they will now go to north carolina state next week with the chance to continue to shock the country and move ahead with an unbeaten season but for now 8-0 with the win 58-14 over western carolina joe time for one last takeaway what do you take out of this one for the flames moving forward well i'll take away that nobody nobody yet has proven that they can stop malik willis and we're going to find out a lot more with that topic next saturday in raleigh over 400 yards of total offense five total tds for malik willis in the win so for joe yacht emily austin i'm matt warner saying so long from lynchburg virginia where the final score is liberty 58 western carolina 14. all games airing on the espn networks are streaming live and archived on the espn app this has been a presentation of espn [Music]

Channel: Wally the Bronco Too

Views: 5,377

Keywords: Western Carolina, Liberty

Id: XEZzNfr1INo

Length: 142min 38sec (8558 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 15 2020