Game Day: Middle Tennessee

Liberty (5-2, 3-2 CUSA) will kick off its November schedule on Saturday, traveling to Middle Tennessee (3-6, 2-3 CUSA) for the first time in 42 years.

"4 Downs" with Middle Tennessee

#1 Derek Mason is in his first year as Middle Tennessee's head coach. Liberty is 3-0 versus first-year head coaches this season, opening the year with victories over Campbell, New Mexico State and UTEP. This will mark the Flames' first Saturday contest since a 35-24 home win over East Carolina on Sept. 21. Due to a delay, most of that contest took place in the wee hours of Sunday, Sept. 22.

#2 Liberty boasts CUSA's No. 2 rushing attack (228.6 yards/game), while Middle Tennessee ranks No. 2 in the conference for passing yards per contest (259.7). These contrasting offensive styles were on full display during the teams' 2023 matchup. Liberty rushed for 401 yards during its 42-35 home win over the Blue Raiders, while Middle Tennessee tallied 332 of its 428 total yards through the air.

#3 Saturday will be just Liberty's third road game of the season. This is the latest in the calendar year that the Flames' third road contest of a season has ever taken place. Liberty will close out the regular season with three of its last four contests coming away from Williams Stadium. Currently 1-1 on the road, Liberty has won three or more road contests in each of the last four seasons.

#4 It has been more than four decades since Liberty last played at Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium. The Flames fell 27-7 during their only previous contest at Middle Tennessee, Sept. 18, 1982. That started a trend which has seen the home team win each of the first three Liberty-Middle Tennessee gridiron match-ups.

A LIBERTY WIN WOULD...

Make the Flames bowl eligible for the sixth consecutive season.
Secure the Flames' 19th straight season of six wins or more, a streak which began in 2006.
Mark the Flames' first-ever victory at Middle Tennessee's Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium (in two tries).
Represent the Flames' second triumph in Tennessee in program history, boosting their record in the Volunteer State to 2-8-1.
Improve the Flames' record to 22-3 all-time when facing CUSA opponents (at time of meeting).
Boost the Flames' November record under Jamey Chadwell to 5-0.
Keep the Flames unbeaten (13-0) in Saturday contests under Jamey Chadwell.
Enable the Flames to avoid losing three straight conference games within a single season for the first time since 2005, when Liberty went 0-4 in Big South play.

Saturday Streak
Liberty is 12-0 on Saturday under second-year head coach Jamey Chadwell.

The Flames' only three losses in the last two seasons have come on Monday (Vrbo Fiest Bowl vs. Oregon) and Wednesday (Oct. 23, 2024 at Kennesaw State; Oct. 30, 2024 vs. Jacksonville State).

Liberty has seen its double-digit regular-season (17), conference (11) and home winning streaks (12) all come to an end within the last two weeks.

Still A Chance
Despite having two conference losses, there is still a path for Liberty to make the Conference USA Championship Game, should the Flames win out and get help.

In the Championship Game era (since 2015), 10 times has a team made the Conference USA Championship Game with two losses, most recently North Texas in 2022.

A two-loss team is 3-7 all-time in Conference USA Championship Game history, with Southern Miss (2011), East Carolina (2008) and Tulsa (2005) all going on the road to win the title game.

CUSA Success
Liberty went 8-0 in conference play last year, its first season in Conference USA. The Flames were the first CUSA team to win their first 11 regular-season Conference USA games as conference members prior to their loss to Kennesaw State, Oct. 23.

Overall, Liberty is 21-3 all-time against teams who were members of CUSA at time of meeting.

20 Years Ago
Liberty is making its first trip to Tennessee since Nov. 13, 2004, at 43-40 win at Chattanooga. Flame Erick Harris became the first player in Big South Conference history to return two punts for touchdown in the same game. Liberty also had a fumble return touchdown by Alonzia Phillips.

Liberty outscored the Mocs 30-20 in a wild fourth quarter. Chattanooga's Tyrus Ward scored on a 70-yard touchdown catch with 2:08 remaining to narrow the gap to 41-40. However, Liberty blocked the ensuing extra-point try and Kevin Moon returned it for a defensive two-point conversion for the winning margin.

Overall, Liberty is 6-11-1 against teams from Tennessee, but just 1-8-1 inside the Volunteer State. The Flames have won each of their last three meetings against Tennessee teams, all at home.

Contrasting Styles
Liberty ranks ninth nationally with 228.6 rushing yards per game. Middle Tennessee has CUSA's second best passing attack at 259.7 yards per game, but the Blue Raiders rush for just 78.6 yards per game, 130th in FBS. Liberty is 34th nationally in total offense (434.1), while Middle Tennessee is 106th at 338.2.

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Game Day: Middle Tennessee

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