Game Day: Jax State

The last two CUSA champions will square off in the 2025 conference opener as 2023 champion Liberty (1-0, 0-0 CUSA) travels to 2024 champ Jacksonville State (0-1, 0-0 CUSA) on Saturday.

Broadcast Information:
TV: CBS Sports Network

Broadcast team: Jordan Kent (play-by-play), Adam Breneman (analyst)

Radio: LFSN Radio (Local: 88.3 FM | Liberty Flames Mobile App | LibertyFlames.com)

Broadcast team: Alan York (play-by-play), Jason Porter (analyst) and Nick Pierce (sidelines)

Game Day Information:
Location: Jacksonville, Ala.
Stadium: AmFirst Stadium
Kickoff: 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT

News and Notes:

Liberty is just 1-5 all-time against the Gamecocks, but the victory came during the Flames' last visit to AmFirst Stadium (31-13 on Oct. 10, 2023).
Liberty scored a trio of fourth-quarter TDs during a 28-7 season-opening win over Maine. The Flames will now look to start 2-0 for the sixth straight season and win their road opener for the sixth year in a row.
Jamey Chadwell is 22-5 in his third year at Liberty and owns a 53-11 coaching record dating back to the start of 2020. Last season, he became the Flames' fastest head coach ever to reach 20 victories (23 games).
Ethan Vasko made a successful Liberty debut at QB during the victory over Maine, having a hand in all four Flames TDs. He threw for 197 yards and three TDs, while also rushing for a team-high 63 yards and a score.
Liberty's defense forced two Maine turnovers and held the Black Bears to seven points. It marked the fewest points the Flames have allowed since Sept. 23, 2023 (6 at FIU).
Joker CJ Bazile, Jr. recorded a career-best 1.5 sacks among his six tackles vs. Maine. He both forced and recovered a fumble just before halftime, leading to the Flames' first TD of the season. Bazile, Jr. posted a career-high 10 stops during last season's meeting with Jax State.

"4 Downs" with Jax State

#1 Jax State has only lost one home game (in nine outings) since its 31-13 setback to Liberty on Oct. 10, 2023. The Gamecocks are the only visiting team (in 15 outings) to defeat the Flames at Williams Stadium under Jamey Chadwell. Ethan Vasko will look to build upon a successful Liberty debut at QB, which included four TDs (3 passing, 1 rushing) and zero turnovers against Maine.

#2 Liberty and Jax State were two of the nation's top four rushing offenses in 2024. The Gamecocks outrushed the Flames 363-273 in their 31-21 victory at Williams Stadium, joining Oregon as the only opponents to outrush Liberty under Jamey Chadwell. This will be the second straight week a key performer celebrates his birthday on game day. RB Evan Dickens scored the game-winning TD vs. Maine on his 20th birthday. Joseph Carter turns 23 Saturday.

#3 Both Liberty and Jax State are kicking off their third season of CUSA competition on Saturday. The Flames and Gamecocks are both 13-3 in CUSA play over the last two years, giving them the two best conference records over that span. Liberty (2023) and Jax State (2024) have accounted for the last two CUSA championships.

#4 Both teams' 2025 season openers featured decisive fourth quarter swings. Liberty and Maine were tied 7-7 before the Flames scored three TDs in the final 10:24. Jax State took a 10-3 lead with 12:01 left at UCF before the Knights countered with a pair of touchdowns to pull out the win. Four of Liberty's next five contests will be road games.

A LIBERTY WIN WOULD...

Give the Flames a 2-0 start to the season for the sixth consecutive year.
Make the Flames 3-0 all-time in CUSA openers and 13-6 all-time in conference openers.
Boost the Flames' all-time record against CUSA foes (at time of meeting) to 24-4, including a 14-3 mark in CUSA regular-season action.
Mark the sixth consecutive season the Flames were victorious in their first road game of the year.
Give the road team a victory in the Liberty-Jax State head-to-head series for the third straight season.
Be the Flames' fourth consecutive win in Alabama after Liberty lost its first six contests in the state.
Make Jax State the first defending CUSA champion to lose its conference opener the next year since 2019 (UAB).
Keep the Flames undefeated in September (8-0) and in Saturday regular-season games (17-0) under Jamey Chadwell.

NEW QB WATCH
Liberty quarterbacks have a history of making a splash in their first start as Flames. That continued on Saturday, as Ethan Vasko accounted for four touchdowns in his first start for Liberty

Antwan Chiles, 1993 vs. Charleston So., 4 passing TDs
Travis Wilemon, 1993 vs. Concord, 4 passing TDs
Stephon Masha, 2014 vs. Charleston So., 4 passing TDs
Stephen Calvert, 2016 vs. Robert Morris, 4 passing TDs
Malik Willis, 2020 at WKU, 168 rush yards, 3 rush TDs
Chris Ferguson, 2020 vs. North Ala., 4 passing TDs
Ethan Vasko, 2025 vs. Maine, 3 passing TDs, 1 rushing TD

CUSA Success
Liberty is 23-4 all-time against Conference USA opponents at time of meeting. That includes a 14-3 record versus CUSA teams since joining the league in 2023.

The Flames went 8-0 in conference play during its first year in the leage. Liberty was the first CUSA team to win each of its first 11 regular-season Conference USA games, prior to the Flames' loss to Kennesaw State, Oct. 23, 2024.

SATURDAY SUPERSTARS
Liberty went 7-0 last season and is now 16-0 under third-year Head Coach Jamey Chadwell in regular-season Saturday contests.

Every other FBS team has lost at least one regular-season Saturday game since Liberty's last Saturday loss, Nov. 26, 2022 against New Mexico State.

Liberty, Oregon and UNLV were the only FBS teams without a Saturday loss in the 2024 regular season.

FAST STARTS
Liberty has started four out of the last five seasons with at least a 3-0 record before its first loss.
              Undefeated Start             Final Record
2020      8-0                       10-1
2021      3-0                       8-5
2023      13-0                     13-1
2024      5-0                       8-4

FLAMES QUARTER
Liberty Head Coach Jamey Chadwell calls the fourth quarter Flames Quarter, and the Flames have dominated the final 15 minutes.

Last year, Liberty outscored opponents 124-69 in the fourth quarter.

The Flames picked up right where they left off, scoring 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to beat Maine 28-7 in their season opener on Saturday.

Liberty is 16-0 when leading after three quarters under Jamey Chadwell.

Chadwell's team has closed out the game with a win each of the last 45 times it took a lead into the fourth quarter, since giving up a 31-25 advantage in a 39-38 Coastal Carolina loss at Arkansas, Nov. 4, 2017.

Schedule

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Players Mentioned

CJ Bazile, Jr.

Joseph Carter

Evan Dickens

Ethan Vasko