Game Day: Ball State

Liberty (1-1) will look for its second straight home win on Saturday, when Ball State (1-1) visits Williams Stadium for the first time.

Broadcast Information:
TV: ESPN+

Broadcast team: Matt Warner (play-by-play), Walter Virgil (analyst) and Emily Austen (sidelines)

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: Lynchburg, Va.
Stadium: Williams Stadium
Kickoff: 4 p.m. ET

"4 Downs" with Ball State

#1 Liberty and Ball State are each seeking their first FBS victory of 2026. Both teams opened the season with road losses against 2025-26 CFP participants and both are coming off home victories against FCS opponents. CUSA's lone win over an FBS foe in 2026 to date (FIU over Buffalo on Sept. 12) came in a matchup with a MAC opponent.

#2 Liberty is looking to make it two home wins in as many weeks. Meanwhile, Ball State has not won a road game in two years. The Cardinals have lost 11 in a row away from Muncie since posting a 37-35 win at Kent State on Oct. 12, 2024. Liberty's 24-23 victory over Gardner-Webb last week marked the first time in two years the Flames had won after trailing entering the fourth quarter. Liberty's last such victory came at UMass (35-34 in OT) on Nov. 16, 2024.

#3 Saturday marks the third and final regular-season matchup between a CUSA squad and a MAC team in 2026. The home team has won both previous meetings, including FIU's 33-20 victory over Buffalo and Ohio's 29-27 triumph over Jax State in four OTs. Liberty has only allowed one opposing QB to throw for 300 yards since the start of 2024 (Delaware's Nick Minicucci in 2025).

#4 Could Saturday become the fourth straight nail-biter at Williams Stadium? Missouri State pulled out a 21-17 win over the Flames on a TD with 27 seconds left on Nov. 8, 2025. Kennesaw State topped Liberty 48-42 in double OT on Nov. 29, 2025. Last Saturday, the Flames scored the winning TD with 2:34 remaining in their 24-23 victory.

A LIBERTY WIN WOULD...

Give the Flames back-to-back home victories, improving their record at Williams Stadium to 18-4 under Jamey Chadwell.
Improve the Flames' all-time record against MAC opponents to 8-12, including 4-0 at Williams Stadium.
Mark the Flames' first victory over a MAC foe since Sept. 16, 2023, when Liberty posted a 55-27 triumph at Buffalo. It would snap a two-game losing skid against MAC opponents.
Enable CUSA to finish 2-1 in its regular-season matchups with the MAC in 2026.
Represent the Flames' fourth consecutive victory when playing on Sept. 19.
Deal Ball State its 12th straight road loss over the last three seasons.
Push the Flames' record above .500 for the first time since Liberty started the 2025 campaign 1-0 with a win over Maine.

Home Sweet Home
Liberty has posted a 41-10 record at Williams Stadium since joining FBS in 2018 and is 154-59 all-time at the facility.

The Flames won each of their first 12 home games under Jamey Chadwell, from Sept. 2, 2023 through Oct. 8, 2024, which is the second longest home winning streak in program history.

With their win over Gardner-Webb on Saturday, Liberty has won its home opener every year since the start of the 2020 season.

MAC-Tion
During its FBS era, Liberty is 5-3 versus the MAC. That includes 1-2 against MAC teams in bowl games.

The Flames defeated Eastern Michigan 56-20 in the 2021 LendingTree Bowl before falling to Toledo in the 2022 Boca Raton Bowl and to Buffalo in the 2024 Bahamas Bowl.

After last year's loss at Bowling Green, Liberty has gone 4-1 in regular-season games against the MAC as an FBS team. Liberty is 7-12 all-time versus MAC teams.

The Flames have gone 3-0 at Williams Stadium against MAC opponents (at time of meeting), beating Buffalo (2019), Akron (2022) and Bowling Green (2023).

Ball State Second
Liberty's 27-23 win at Ball State on Sept. 11, 2010 was the second win over an FBS opponent in program history.

The Flames became the second Big South Conference football team to ever beat an FBS team, with Gardner-Webb topping Akron earlier that same day.

Liberty had shocked Eastern Michigan 25-24, Oct. 14, 1989 for its first win over an FBS team.

Indiana In Williams
Liberty is 2-2 all-time against teams from Indiana, including 1-1 at home and 1-1 on the road. The Flames are 1-0 against Ball State and 1-2 versus Indiana State.

The Flames' first-ever meeting against an Indiana opponent was Sept. 28, 1996, when Liberty lost 34-10 to Indiana State at Williams Stadium.

After a 38-19 loss at Indiana State on Sept. 27, 2014, the Flames posted a 42-41 home win over the Sycamores on Sept. 16, 2017.

Nothing New
The Flames have played all 12 of their 2026 opponents at least once before in program history.

Last year saw Liberty face Delaware in football for the first time.

This is the first time since Liberty's inaugural football season of 1973 that the Flames have played every team on their schedule at least once previously.

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Game Day: Ball State

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