Game Day Central: No. 3/4 Jacksonville State
9/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Football
Game Day Central Page
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• Live video (LFSN TV/BSN/ESPN3)
• Live audio (LFSN Radio)
• Williams Stadium information & directions
• Game Day tickets
• And more
Liberty Football Game Notes:
Liberty vs. Jacksonville State
Game Time:
7 p.m.
Official Kickoff:
7:06 p.m.
TV Coverage:
LFSN TV/BSN/ESPN3
Play-By-Play Broadcaster: Mike Tilley
Color Commentator: Matt Warner
Sideline Reporter: Gabe Henderson
TV Coverage:
Liberty Flames Sports Network – TV
• WFFP-24 (Lynchburg/Roanoke/Danville market)
• Big South Network
• The Walk Network (National market)
• See complete Game Day Broadcast Distribution list for The Walk Network
• ESPN3 (National market)
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, Jamie Hall and Matt Camire
NEW for 2016 – Williams Stadium Clear Bag Policy:
Liberty Football Game Day Information Page - Jacksonville State (Sept. 24)
First and 10 – Saturday's Top Storylines
1. For the first time in program history, Liberty (1-2) will play host to a team which played in the previous year's FCS national championship game, as 2015 national runner-up No. 3/4 Jacksonville State (2-1) invades Williams Stadium, Saturday night.
2. The Gamecocks are tied for the highest-ranked FCS team ever to play at Williams Stadium, along with Appalachian State, which was ranked No. 3 for the 1999 regular-season finale in Lynchburg.
3. Liberty is 6-3 in its last nine games against FCS Top 25 opponents and has defeated four Top 10 teams under Head Coach Turner Gill. See page 3 of the game notes for more on the Flames' success vs. Top 25 foes.
4. The Flames are 0-2 all-time against the Gamecocks, but the two teams have not met on the gridiron since 1982. See page 3 of the game notesfor more information on the teams' most recent head-to-head meeting.
5. Liberty owns a six-game home winning streak and is 50-10 at Williams Stadium since the start of the 2006 season. See page 4 of the game notes for more notes on the Flames' success in recent seasons.
6. Liberty's eighth Athletics Hall of Fame class, including football player Steve Kearns, will be inducted on Friday. Jacksonville State will be the sixth ranked opponent the Flames have hosted in their eight Hall of Fame Weekend matchups all-time. See pages 3 and 5 of the game notes for more info on Hall of Fame Weekend.
7. After tallying a season-high 12 tackles and his first career interception at SMU, LB Nick Newman is just nine stops shy of 200 for his career. See page 4 of the game notes for more milestones within reach on Saturday.
8. For the second straight week, Liberty won two Big South weekly awards, as QB Stephen Calvert (Freshman) and P Trey Turner (Special Teams) were honored. See page 6 of the game notes for the Flames' 2016 honors.
9. The ability to run the ball will be key on Saturday. Liberty is 22-3 under Turner Gill (1-0 in 2016) when outrushing its opponent but only 8-18 under Gill (0-2 in 2016) when losing the rushing battle.
10. This Saturday, Turner Gill and other American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) members will wear a Coach to Cure MD logo patch on the sidelines, drawing awareness to Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD). See page 9 of the game notes for more information about this AFCA effort.
Hall of Fame Weekend
During Saturday's game, the eighth class of inductees to the Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame will be recognized. They include Annie Hunt Fairchild (women's cross country/track & field), Steve Kearns (football), Todd Setsma (men's golf), Randy Tomlin (baseball) and Ed Vickers (men's basketball).
Liberty Athletics Hall of Fame page
"4 Downs" with the Gamecocks
1 - Saturday's game will mark Liberty's first matchup with Jacksonville State since 1982 and the first time the Gamecocks have ever visited Williams Stadium. It will also mark the first time LIberty has ever played host to a team which played in the previous season's FCS national title game.
2 - Jacksonville State was last season's FCS national runner-up, falling to North Dakota State by a 37-10 count in the Gamecocks' inaugural national title game appearance. JSU is 2-0 all-time versus Liberty, with a 64-0 home win in 1981 and a 42-13 victory in Lynchburg in 1982.
3 - At No. 3 in the STATS FCS Top 25, Jacksonville State is tied with Appalachian State (Nov. 20, 1999) as the highest-ranked visiting team ever to play at Williams Stadium. Third-year Jacksonville State Head Coach John Grass is 25-5 with the Gamecocks and was named AFCA National Coach of the Year in 2015. The Gamecocks' only regular-season losses since the start of the 2014 season have come to Michigan State (2014), Auburn (2015) and LSU (2016). JSU has won 23 straight regular-season games against non-FBS foes.
4 - Jacksonville State All-America quarterback Eli Jenkins ranks fourth in OVC history with 9,377 yards of total offense for his career. Current New England Patriots QB Jimmy Garoppolo tops the OVC list. An adept runner, Jenkins has rushed for 3,106 career yards, leaving him 38 yards shy of fourth place on JSU's career rushing list.
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.
9 - Nick Newman is nine tackles away from 200 for his career. The senior would become the first Flame with 200+ career stops since both Jacob Hagen and Nick Sigmon reached the milestone in 2014.
13/14 - At SMU, Dexter Robbins joined current Flames Nick Newman and Wesley Scott as members of the 100-tackle club. JaRon Greene and Tyrin Holloway are both nearing the century mark as well. Greene is 13 tackles shy of 100, while Holloway needs 14 stops to reach 100.
148 - Stephon Masha is 148 passing yards away from 1,000 for his career.
A Liberty Win Would ...
• Give the Flames their first-ever victory over Jacksonville State in three tries.
• Boost Liberty's record to 7-3 in its last 10 meetings with FCS Top 25 foes.
• Mark the Flames' fifth win over an FCS Top 10 opponent under Turner Gill.
• Give the Flames their second triumph against an FCS Top 5 foe at Williams Stadium, with the first coming last season against Coastal Carolina.
• Represent the Flames' first win over an OVC opponent since a Sept. 22, 1990 home victory over Morehead State.
• Extend the Flames' home winning streak to seven games, which would be the team's longest streak since a run of seven straight home wins spanning 2012-13.
• Improve the team's record in home games under Turner Gill to 21-5.
• Give the Flames an all-time record of 106-46 at Williams Stadium in the team's 28 years of competition at the facility.
• Send Jacksonville State to its first regular-season defeat against a non-FBS opponent since Nov. 16, 2013 against Eastern Illinois.
