Montana Revisited: News and Notes
9/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
No. 15/14 Liberty won the first-ever Top 15 matchup at Williams Stadium on Saturday, downing No. 8/7 Montana, 31-21, in front of a record crowd during Hall of Fame and Family Weekend.
Included with today's news and notes are audio highlights from yesterday's contest against Montana. The audio package also includes interviews with Head Coach Turner Gill, highlighting the Flames' victory over the Grizzlies.
Throughout the season, LibertyFlames.com will run a similar feature online each Sunday, spotlighting the notable accomplishments and numbers from the previous day's gridiron battle.
Series with Montana:
• Following the game, the series is now tied at 1-1
• The contest closed out the home-and-home series that started in 2012
• Each team has defended its home turf, posting its wins at home
• The series began in 2012 when Liberty dropped a 34-14 decision in Missoula, Mont., Sept. 15
• The win was Liberty's first-ever against a Big Sky Conference member
• Following the win, Liberty is now 1-3 all-time against Big Sky Conference members (0-2 vs. Boise State, 1-1 vs. Montana)
Attendance Numbers:
• The game was played in front of a Williams Stadium record 22,551 fans during Hall of Fame and Family Weekend
• Last night's attendance figure surpassed the previous stadium record by 1,713 fans (20,838 vs. Richmond on Oct. 14)
• For the third time in Williams Stadium history, Liberty played a home game in front of 20,000 plus fans (20,838 vs. Richmond, Oct. 14, 2014; 20,217 vs. Gardner-Webb, Oct. 25, 2014)
• Following the game, Liberty now ranks No. 3 in the country in total home attendance (41,354), No. 4 in average attendance (20,677) and No. 6 in filling stadium capacity (108.94 percent)
Versus Ranked Opponents Update
• The game was the first-ever matchup between Top 15 ranked teams in Williams Stadium history
• Liberty moved to 3-5 all-time in Top 25 matchups at home following the win
• No. 8/7 Montana was the eighth Top 10 ranked team to visit Williams Stadium and moved Liberty to 2-6 all-time against Top 10 ranked teams at home
• The Flames have won five of their last seven meetings against nationally ranked teams
• Liberty is now 6-7 against nationally ranked opponents under Head Coach Turner Gill
• The win gave Liberty its third victory against a Top 10 ranked team under Head Coach Turner Gill (No. 2/1 Coastal Carolina on Nov. 22, 2014; No. 6/8 Stony Brook on Nov. 10, 2012)
Team Talking Points:
• The win was Head Coach Turner Gill's 25th in four seasons at Liberty and 50th of his 10-year coaching career (Record at Liberty: 25-15; Career Record: 50-64)
• Nearly 80 percent of Liberty's offense came via its passing game on Saturday with the Flames throwing for 292 of their 370 total offensive yards
• For the second week in a row, Liberty was held under 100 team rushing yards, as the Flames finished the contest with 40 rushing attempts for 78 yards
• 40 of Liberty's 78 team rushing yards came on one play when RB D.J. Abnar scored from 40 yards out to open the fourth quarter
• Liberty's rushing total was lowered by the Flames allowing five sacks for a loss of 40 total yards
• The five sacks allowed matches the most under Head Coach Turner Gill, as Montana finished with the same amount of sacks during Liberty's trip to Missoula, Mont., in 2012
• For the second time this season, Liberty finished a game with a 10-plus minute time of possession advantage (12:26)
• Following the game, Liberty ranks No. 7 in the country in average time of possession (34:30) and is 22-8 under Head Coach Turner Gill when willing the TOP battle
• The Flames' offense gave Liberty a two-score lead midway through the first quarter and had outgained Montana, 146 yards (11 plays) to one yard (three plays) after the game's first three drives
• Liberty finished the game with 12 penalties for 86 yards, marking its highest total under Head Coach Turner Gill (also finished with 12 penalties against Lehigh in 2012)
• Liberty has finished two of its three games in 2015 with 10 or more penalties and ranks No. 112 in the country by averaging 9.0 penalties per game (out of 123 FCS teams)
• For the second game in a row, Liberty finished a contest without committing a turnover
• Following the game, Liberty ranks No. 4 in the country in fewest turnovers committed (1) and No. 35 in turnover margin (+0.67)
• The Flames' defense held Montana's potent offense in check, allowing the Grizzlies to finish the game with 303 total offensive yards on 67 plays (4.5 average yards per play)
• Montana entered the game with one of the top offenses in the country, averaging 501.5 total offensive yards per game and 92.0 offensive plays per contest
• Liberty's defense limited Montana inside the red zone, as the Grizzlies crossed Liberty's 20-yard line six times, but they only scored one touchdown and two field goals
• 75 percent of Liberty's stops against Montana were solo tackles, as the Flames recorded 42 solo stops in the game (56 total tackles)
• For the second time this year, Liberty held an opponent below 50 team rushing yards, as Montana finished the contest with 26 carries for 21 team rushing yards
• Following the contest, Liberty ranks No. 10 in the country in rushing defense, allowing 78.3 average rushing yards per game
• Liberty's defense had its best showing of the year on third-down plays, limiting the Grizzlies to converting on 3-of-16 third-down plays
• During the first two games of 2015, opponents converted on 13-of-26 third-down plays
• Liberty's defense finished the game with a season-high seven sacks for a loss of 67 total yards
• The Flames' sack total against Montana was the team's highest in four seasons under Head Coach Turner Gill and Liberty's best performance since recording seven sacks against Charleston Southern on Nov. 1, 2003
• Following the game, Liberty leads the country with 14 sacks and ranks No. 2 in the country in sacks per game (4.67)
• Liberty finished the game with 11.0 tackles for a loss of 79 total yards, marking the fourth time the Flames have record 10 or more tackles for a loss in four seasons under Head Coach Turner Gill
• Following the game, Liberty currently ranks tied for No. 5 in the country in tackles for a loss (9.0 per game)
• The Flames had two punts blocked in the game and finished the contest with their lowest punting average in a game since 2013 (Liberty averaged 29.3 yards per punt on nine punts against Montana)
Notable Player Points:
• RB D.J. Abnar led Liberty's limited rushing attack with eight carries for 58 yards, with 40 of his yards coming on a 40-yard touchdown run to open the fourth quarter
• The 40-yard touchdown run by RB D.J. Abnar was the 23rd rushing touchdown of his career
• RB Desmond Rice carried the ball 20 times for 49 yards, marking the seventh time in his career the senior has carried the ball 20 or more times in a contest
• RB Desmond Rice scored Liberty's first touchdown of the game on a four-yard reception, his third career touchdown reception
• QB Josh Woodrum finished the game completing 16-of-30 passing attempts for 260 yards and two touchdowns
• With his yardage against the Grizzlies, QB Josh Woodrum became the second quarterback in program history and the third in Big South history with 8,000 career passing yards (8,222 yards)
• QB Josh Woodrum surpassed the 250 yard passing mark for the second game in a row and the 10th time in his four year career at Liberty
• True freshman WR Damian King threw his first collegiate pass during the game, completing a 32-yard touchdown pass to fellow WR Dante' Shells on a trick play early in the third quarter
• WR Zac Parker posted his first career 100-yard receiving game, finishing the contest with a career-best six receptions for 101 yards
• WR Dante' Shells finished the game with three receptions for 111 yards and two touchdowns, giving him three career games with 100 or more receiving yards
• WR Dante' Shells had a 72-yard touchdown reception against Montana, his third career scoring play of 70 or more yards
• WR Darrin Peterson finished the game with three receptions for 45 yards, moving him into a tie for third place on Liberty's career receptions list (tying Pat Kelly who finished his career with 162 receptions)
• K John Lunsford finished the game with seven points (four extra points and one field goal), moving him into third place on Liberty's career scoring list with 241 career points scored
• CB Tyrin Holloway, S Alpha Jalloh and LB Nick Newman led the Flames' defense with five stops each
• CB Tyrin Holloway led the Flames with a five solo tackles and two pass breakups
• CB Tyrin Holloway's two pass breakups came on a Montana drive late in the fourth quarter, breaking up back-to-back potential touchdown passes in the end zone
• CB Tyrin Holloway's five solo tackles marked his second-highest single game total (finished with six solo tackles against Richmond in 2014)
• S Alpha Jalloh tied his career high with five tackles, as he also finished last week's game at West Virginia with five stops
• DL Erwin Dessources recorded his first fumble recovery of the year and the second of his career
• DL Chima Uzowihe finished the game with 2.0 sacks for a loss of 13 total yards
• With his pair of sacks, DL Chima Uzowihe became the program's and Big South's all-time career leader with 22.5 career sacks
• DL Chima Uzowihe had a pass breakup and his second sack of the game on the contest's final two plays
• Following the game, DL Chima Uzowihe leads the country with 1.83 sacks per game (5.5 sacks during three games)
• CB Wesley Scott finished the contest with four solo tackles, leaving him nine tackles shy of becoming the third active player on Liberty's roster with 100 more career tackles (91 career stops)
