Game Day Central: Kennesaw State
10/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Game Day Central Page
All the links you need to follow Saturday's Game
• Live video (ESPN3)
• Live audio (LFSN Radio)
• Fifth Third Bank Stadium information & directions
• Game Day tickets
• And more
Liberty Football Game Notes:
Liberty vs. Kennesaw State
Game Time:
7 p.m.
Official Kickoff:
7:04 p.m.
TV Coverage:
ESPN3 (via the Big South Conference)
Play-By-Play Broadcaster: Evan Lepler
Color Commentator: Renaldo Wynn
Sideline Reporter: None
Radio Coverage:
Liberty Flames Sports Network – Radio
LFSN Radio Network Affiliates List | Atlanta-WDWD 590 AM
• Pregame: 5:30 p.m. (EST)
Play-By-Play Broadcaster: Alan York
Color Commentator: Paul Rutigliano
Sidelines: Nick Pierce
Pregame: Nick Pierce, Matt Camire and Jamie Hall
First and 10 – Saturday's Top Storylines
1) Liberty (2-3) will make its first-ever visit to Kennesaw State (4-1) Saturday at 7 p.m. for both teams' Big South Conference opener.
2) The Flames have traditionally played well in Big South openers, going 9-5 overall, including 3-1 on the road. Liberty is averaging 42 ppg in its last nine Big South lid-lifters, going 7-2 during that span. See page 3 of the game notes for more notes on Liberty in Big South openers.
3) Liberty will open its quest for its eighth Big South title in the last 10 years. The Flames are 40-9 in conference games since the start of the 2007 season.
4) Liberty will seek its first road win since its last trip to Georgia, a 41-33 victory at Georgia State on Oct. 3, 2015. The Flames have lost five straight contests away from Williams Stadium since then.
5) The Flames will try to derail a Kennesaw State team which is riding a program-record four-game winning streak and is 7-2 all-time at Fifth Third Bank Stadium. See page 3 of the game notes for more on the Owls.
6) Saturday's game will be a homecoming of sorts for Liberty's seven Georgia natives, especially Antonio Gandy-Golden (Dallas) and Stephon Masha (Marietta), who grew up near Kennesaw. See page 3 of the game notes for more Liberty-Kennesaw State connections.
7) Dante' Shells has caught a touchdown pass in each of Liberty's last four games. If he finds the end zone on Saturday, he would make program history. See page 4 of the game notes for other milestones within reach.
8) Stephen Calvert passed for a Liberty freshman-record 340 yards in his first career start, Oct. 1 against Robert Morris. See pages 4 and 6 of the game notes for more information on Calvert.
9) Juwan Wells was named Big South Defensive Player of the Week after recording a pair of sacks vs. Robert Morris. See page 7 of the game notes for more information on Wells, who has tallied 9.5 sacks in 13 career games.
10) As seen on page 10, Liberty ranks No. 5 nationally with 15 turnovers forced this season, including eight interceptions and seven fumble recoveries.
"4 Downs" with the Owls
1 - Saturday will mark Liberty's first-ever visit to Kennesaw State's Fifth Third Bank Stadium and both teams' first Big South contest of the 2016 season. It will also be the first time the Flames have played a Big South game in the state of Georgia. The Owls rank first in the Big South in both rushing offense (299.4 ypg) and rushing defense (94.2 ypg) this season.
2 - Kennesaw State is in the midst of its second season of playing football. The Owls went 6-5 overall and 2-4 in Big South play during their inaugural campaign in 2015. Kennesaw State has lost just twice at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in program history, going 7-2 in home games. Conversely, Liberty has not won a road contest since its last visit to Georgia (Oct. 3, 2015 at Georgia State), dropping five road games in a row.
3 - Kennesaw State has used three different quarterbacks this season, after starter Trey White was injured during the season opener against ETSU. Redshirt sophomore Chandler Burks has started during each of the last four games, totaling 13 touchdowns (eight rushing, five passing).
4 - After losing a 20-17 overtime contest to ETSU to open the 2016 season, Kennesaw State has fashioned a program-record four-game winning streak. The run has been highlighted by back-to-back road wins at Duquesne (36-28) and Furman (52-42) on Sept. 24 and Oct. 1, respectively.
Milestone Watch
1 - After recovering his fifth career fumble during the season opener at Virginia Tech, Erwin Dessources' next fumble recovery will move him into a tie for second place on Liberty's all-time list.
5 - Dante' Shells has hauled in a touchdown reception in each of the last four games, becoming the first Flame to catch a touchdown pass in four straight contests since Darrin Peterson (Nov. 1-22, 2014). No Liberty player has ever hauled in a touchdown reception in five consecutive games.
7 - Tyrin Holloway is seven tackles shy of 100 for his career. He is looking to join fellow Flames Nick Newman, Dexter Robbins, Wesley Scott and JaRon Greene as members of the 100-tackle club.
300/347 - Stephen Calvert threw for a Liberty freshman-record 340 yards against Robert Morris. If he reaches the 300-yard mark on Saturday, he would become the first Flames freshman ever to record back-to-back 300-yard passing efforts. If Calvert throws for 347 yards, he would become just the third Liberty QB ever to total 1,000 passing yards as a freshman (also Paul Johnson/1986 and Josh Woodrum/2012).
A Liberty Win Would ...
• Give the Flames a victory in their Big South opener for the eighth time in the last 10 years, boosting Liberty's all-time record in Big South lid-lifters to 10-5.
• Improve Liberty's record to 41-9 in its last 50 Big South games, dating back to 2007.
• Snap the Flames' five-game road losing streak and mark the team's first road win since Oct. 3, 2015 at Georgia State.
• Mark Liberty's third straight victory when playing in Georgia and improve the Flames' record to 3-4 all-time in the Peach State.
• Give the Flames a 2-0 all-time record against Kennesaw State, making Liberty the first-ever team to record a pair of victories over the Owls.
• Halt Kennesaw State's program-record four-game winning streak.
• Drop the Owls' all-time home record to 7-3.
