Game Day: UMass

No. 25 Liberty (10-0, 7-0 CUSA) will wrap up its regular-season home schedule on Saturday, hosting UMass (3-7) for Senior Day. 17 Flames will be recognized prior to kickoff.

Game Day Coverage:

Liberty vs. UMass (Williams Stadium)
Kickoff: 1:02 p.m. EST
TV: ESPN+
Radio: LFSN Radio (Flagship Station – 88.3 FM Lynchburg)

"4 Downs" with UMass

#1 UMass is the only opponent Liberty has faced during each of its six FBS seasons (2018-present). The Flames rank No. 1 in FBS football in four team statistical categories, including rushing offense (278.0/game), time of possession (33:48), fewest tackles for loss allowed (2.60/game) and passes intercepted (17, tied with Oklahoma).

#2 Liberty's Quinton Cooley (1,066 yards) and UMass's Kay'Ron Adams (1,014 yards) are two of 16 FBS players with 1,000 rushing yards this season. This will be one of two FBS games this week where both teams feature a 1,000-yard rusher (also UCF at Texas Tech). With 2,780 rushing yards, the Flames have already broken the program single-season record from 2003. They will now take aim at the CUSA record of 3,994 yards, set by FAU in 2017.

#3 Saturday will mark UMass's third visit to Williams Stadium. Liberty won the two previous meetings (2020 and 2021) by a combined score of 107-17. UMass has won back-to-back games and is seeking its first three-game winning streak since the 2009 season. One of the Minutemen's three wins this season came against a CUSA opponent (41-30 at New Mexico State on Aug. 26).

#4 UMass is one of three FBS squads Liberty has defeated four times. The others are the team the Flames beat last week (Old Dominion) and the team Liberty will host for the CUSA Championship Game (New Mexico State) in its next home contest on Dec. 1. The Flames are averaging 53.0 ppg in their four wins over UMass.

A LIBERTY WIN WOULD...

Set a new program record for victories in a season with 11. The Flames previously won 10 contests in 2008 and 2020.
Set a program record for most home victories in a season with seven. The Flames previously posted six home wins six times (1979, 1980, 2007, 2008, 2013 and 2020).
Match the program record for longest winning streak. Liberty won 11 straight contests between Oct. 20, 2007-Oct. 11, 2008.
Improve the Flames' all-time record when ranked inside the FBS Top 25 to 6-2.
Mark the Flames' fifth straight win over UMass, improving Liberty's all-time record against the Minutemen to 5-1. UMass would become the first FBS opponent the Flames have defeated five times.
Make Liberty the fifth CUSA team ever to start 11-0 or better, joining Tulane (1998), Houston (2011), Marshall (2014) and UTSA (2021).

HOME SWEET HOME
Liberty is 30-6 at Williams Stadium since joining FBS in 2018.

This is the third time in program history that Liberty has won its first six home games in a season. The Flames went 6-0 at Williams Stadium in both 2007 and 2020.

The Flames have outscored opponents by an average score of 37-22 at home this season. However, the last two home games have resulted in 56-30 and 38-10 scores.

FAST START
Liberty is off to a 10-0 start, its best start to a season in program history. The previous best was 8-0 in 2020.

Jamey Chadwell is the only first-year head coach to guide the Flames to wins in each of his first 10 games. The Flames are the only unbeaten team in FBS football remaining this season who has a first-year head coach.

Liberty is one of seven FBS teams to remain unbeaten at 10-0, joining Florida State, Georgia, James Madison, Michigan, Ohio State and Washington.

The Flames are looking to become the first Conference USA team since UTSA (11-0 start) in 2021 to start 11-0.

NOT SO CLOSE CALLS
Last season, Liberty went 3-4 in games decided by three points or fewer. The Flames played a total of eight games which were within one score.

This year, Liberty has played only two games which have been decided by seven points or fewer, a 21-16 win over Sam Houston on Oct. 5 and a 42-35 victory over Middle Tennessee on Oct. 17.

Liberty is 11th in the nation in scoring margin at +18.9 points per game this season.

SENIOR DAY
The Flames will honor 17 seniors with a pregame ceremony on Saturday.

This year's Senior Day honorees are: Brandon Bishop, Zak Burnett, Malik Caper, D'Wayne Crawford, Nick Days, Tyren Dupree, Billy Durocher, Noah Frith, X'Zauvea Gadlin, Jonathan Graham, Bentley Hanshaw, Chike Nwankwo, Eddie Ogle, Cole Peterlin, Brendan Schlittler, Elijah Smoot and Rick Weaver.

QUICK HISTORY VS. UMASS
Jamey Chadwell is 3-0 all-time against UMass, as Coastal Carolina defeated the Minutemen in 2017 (38-28), 2019 (62-28) and 2021 (53-3).

UMass won the first-ever meeting with Liberty, 62-59 on Nov. 3, 2018.

Liberty has since claimed the last four meetings, outscoring the Minutemen 212-62 (average score: 53-15.5) during that span.

Schedule

Players Mentioned

Brandon Bishop

Zak Burnett

Malik Caper

Quinton Cooley

D'Wayne Crawford

Nick Days

Tyren Dupree

Billy Durocher

Noah Frith

X’Zauvea Gadlin

Jonathan Graham

Bentley Hanshaw

Chike Nwankwo

Eddie Ogle

Cole Peterlin

Brendan Schlittler

Elijah Smoot