Saturday, September 19
Lynchburg, Va.
4:00 PM ET
Liberty University
2-1 , 0-0
51
vs
15
Ball State
1-2 , 0-0
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ball St. | 7 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 15 |
| Liberty | 13 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 51 |
Liberty’s Offense Comes Alive in 51-15 Win Over Ball State
9/19/2026 9:12:00 PM | Football
LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Flames scored on six of their first seven drives of the game and put their most complete offensive game of the season together in a 51-15 victory, Saturday afternoon, over visiting Ball State.
After trading first quarter touchdowns, Liberty reeled off 31 unanswered points, the most consecutive points the Flames have scored in four seasons under head coach Jamey Chadwell.
With its second victory in a row, Liberty moves to 2-1 on the season, while Ball State drops to 1-2 in 2026.
The Flames eclipsed the 400-yard mark for the first time this season, racking up 460 yards against the Cardinals. Liberty had a balanced attack with a season-high 212 yards on the ground, while adding a season-best 248 passing yards.
The 18,330 Family Weekend/CFAW fans who came out to Williams Stadium got to see all four of Liberty's quarterbacks on their roster get time under center.
Deshawn Purdie had his most complete game as a Flame, completing 13-of-20 pass attempts for 211 yards and three touchdowns.
On Liberty's third offensive play of the game, Jaylen Henderson completed an eight-yard pass play to pick up a first down, while Ethan Vasko scored on a four-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Midway through the fourth quarter, freshman Jachin Davis nearly found the end zone on his first collegiate play with a sweeping run to the left side of the field before he was run out of bounce next to the pylon.
Eleven different players finished the game with rushing attempts. Terron Kellman led all carries with 51 yards on three carries, including a 43-yard run. Peyton Jones led the team with nine rushing attempts for 35 yards.
Makai Jackson scored for the third-straight game, finishing the contest with four receptions for 88 yards. Jamari Person followed with four receptions for 37 yards, including a pair of touchdown receptions, the first two of his time at Liberty.
Liberty's defense limited Ball State to 261 total offensive yards on the day – 168 rushing and 93 passing – both season lows for Flames' opponents.
Four different Liberty defenders finished the game with four tackles each – Jeremiah Vessel, Jiquavious Marshall, Dillano Glaud and Ronald Moore, Jr. Derrell Farrar followed with three stops, including 1.5 tackles for a loss and a pass breakup.
The Flames' win today:
Box Score Highlights:
Final Score: 51-15 (Liberty)
Liberty (2-1, 0-0 CUSA)
Ball State (1-2, 0-0 MAC)
Location: Williams Stadium (Harrisonburg, Va.)
Attendance: 18,330
Play-By-Play Breakdown:
First Quarter
What's Next:
Liberty and Coastal Carolina will renew an old Big South rivalry with a primetime Thursday night game on ESPN. Kickoff from Brooks Stadium is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Liberty and Coastal Carolina have faced each other 15 times in program history, including 14 times when both teams played at the FCS level and battled for the Big South Conference title (2003-16).
Once both teams made the move to the FBS level, the Flames edged the Chanticleers in the series' last matchup to give Liberty its second bowl game win.
No. 23 Liberty blocked a potential game-tying field goal in overtime, giving the Flames a 37-34 win over No. 9 Coastal Carolina in the 2020 FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.
Finally, the game will also be a return to familiar territory for Flames Head Coach Jamey Chadwell and several of Liberty's staff members. Chadwell served as head coach at Coastal Carolina for five seasons (2017-22) before coming to the Mountain in 2023.
Date: Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026
Location: Conway, S.C. (Brooks Stadium)
TV: ESPN
Radio: LFSN Radio (Flagship Station: The Journey 88.3 FM Lynchburg)
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. (EST)
After trading first quarter touchdowns, Liberty reeled off 31 unanswered points, the most consecutive points the Flames have scored in four seasons under head coach Jamey Chadwell.
With its second victory in a row, Liberty moves to 2-1 on the season, while Ball State drops to 1-2 in 2026.
The Flames eclipsed the 400-yard mark for the first time this season, racking up 460 yards against the Cardinals. Liberty had a balanced attack with a season-high 212 yards on the ground, while adding a season-best 248 passing yards.
The 18,330 Family Weekend/CFAW fans who came out to Williams Stadium got to see all four of Liberty's quarterbacks on their roster get time under center.
Deshawn Purdie had his most complete game as a Flame, completing 13-of-20 pass attempts for 211 yards and three touchdowns.
On Liberty's third offensive play of the game, Jaylen Henderson completed an eight-yard pass play to pick up a first down, while Ethan Vasko scored on a four-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.
Midway through the fourth quarter, freshman Jachin Davis nearly found the end zone on his first collegiate play with a sweeping run to the left side of the field before he was run out of bounce next to the pylon.
Eleven different players finished the game with rushing attempts. Terron Kellman led all carries with 51 yards on three carries, including a 43-yard run. Peyton Jones led the team with nine rushing attempts for 35 yards.
Makai Jackson scored for the third-straight game, finishing the contest with four receptions for 88 yards. Jamari Person followed with four receptions for 37 yards, including a pair of touchdown receptions, the first two of his time at Liberty.
Liberty's defense limited Ball State to 261 total offensive yards on the day – 168 rushing and 93 passing – both season lows for Flames' opponents.
Four different Liberty defenders finished the game with four tackles each – Jeremiah Vessel, Jiquavious Marshall, Dillano Glaud and Ronald Moore, Jr. Derrell Farrar followed with three stops, including 1.5 tackles for a loss and a pass breakup.
The Flames' win today:
- Gives the Flames back-to-back home victories, improving their record at Williams Stadium to 18-4 under Jamey Chadwell.
- Improves the Flames' all-time record against MAC opponents to 8-12, including 4-0 at Williams Stadium.
- Marks the Flames' first victory over a MAC foe since Sept. 16, 2023, when Liberty posted a 55-27 triumph at Buffalo. It also snaps a two-game losing skid against MAC opponents.
- Enables CUSA to finish 2-1 in its regular-season matchups with the MAC in 2026.
- Represents the Flames' fourth consecutive victory when playing on Sept. 19.
- Deals Ball State its 12th straight road loss over the last three seasons.
- Pushes the Flames' record above .500 for the first time since Liberty started the 2025 campaign 1-0 with a win over Maine.
Box Score Highlights:
Final Score: 51-15 (Liberty)
Liberty (2-1, 0-0 CUSA)
Ball State (1-2, 0-0 MAC)
Location: Williams Stadium (Harrisonburg, Va.)
Attendance: 18,330
Play-By-Play Breakdown:
First Quarter
- The Flames' defense quickly gave their offensive counterparts the opportunity to score with a three-and-out series to open the game. Seven plays later, Deshawn Purdie threw a 12-yard strike to Makai Jackson at 10:16, giving Liberty a 6-0 lead and Jackson three-straight games with a receiving touchdown.
- The Cardinals answered on the following drive, marching down the field 75 yards on nine plays. TJ Horton found a hole in the middle of the field to record a two-yard rushing touchdown at 5:47, giving the visitors a 7-6 edge due to the missed extra point by the Flames on the previous drive.
- The back-and-forth battle continues as Liberty regained the lead on the following drive. The Flames quickly moved 75 yards down the field on four plays, capped by a 16-yard touchdown pass from Purdie to Jamari Person. The wide receivers first touchdown reception as a Flames gave the home team a 13-7 lead at 3:46.
- The score remained the same until midway through the second quarter. Chase Reeves shook off a missed extra point from earlier in the game to knock down a 46-yard field goal at 8:48, pushing Liberty's lead to 16-7.
- Following a missed 34-yard field goal attempt by Ball State's Brody Boehm, the Flames moved 62 yards down the field in less than a minute to score again. Purdie found Person in the back of the end zone with 13 seconds left, giving Liberty a 23-7 lead at the break.
- The Flames' offense received the kickoff after halftime and scored on a six-play, 77-yard drive that finished with a four-yard rushing touchdown by quarterback Ethan Vasko at the 11:17 mark.
- Liberty continued to find offensive success on its next drive, pushing its lead to 37-7 at the 6:59 mark. The ground game was featured on the six-play, 69-yard drive, including a 43-yard run by Terron Kellman and a 14-yard touchdown by Kam Davis.
- Ball State pieced together one of its most successful drive of the day (eight plays, 75 yards) to cut Liberty's lead to 37-15 on a direct snap to Horton who scored from one yard out at 2:42.
- The Flames scored twice more during the fourth quarter – first on a 21-yard pass play from Henderson to Kellman at 7:29 and the second coming on a one-yard touchdown run by Jaylin Belford with 5:02 left in the contest.
What's Next:
Liberty and Coastal Carolina will renew an old Big South rivalry with a primetime Thursday night game on ESPN. Kickoff from Brooks Stadium is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET.
Liberty and Coastal Carolina have faced each other 15 times in program history, including 14 times when both teams played at the FCS level and battled for the Big South Conference title (2003-16).
Once both teams made the move to the FBS level, the Flames edged the Chanticleers in the series' last matchup to give Liberty its second bowl game win.
No. 23 Liberty blocked a potential game-tying field goal in overtime, giving the Flames a 37-34 win over No. 9 Coastal Carolina in the 2020 FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.
Finally, the game will also be a return to familiar territory for Flames Head Coach Jamey Chadwell and several of Liberty's staff members. Chadwell served as head coach at Coastal Carolina for five seasons (2017-22) before coming to the Mountain in 2023.
Date: Thursday, Sept. 24, 2026
Location: Conway, S.C. (Brooks Stadium)
TV: ESPN
Radio: LFSN Radio (Flagship Station: The Journey 88.3 FM Lynchburg)
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. (EST)
Players Mentioned
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QB
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LB
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LB
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WR
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RB
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CB
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K/P
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/ FootballTeam Stats
BSU
LU
Total Yards
261
460
Pass Yards
93
248
Rushing Yards
168
212
Penalty Yards
107
25
1st Downs
17
23
3rd Downs
1
10
4th Downs
1
1
TOP
28:01
31:59
1st Quarter
BSU 0, LU 6
LU - Jackson,Makai 12 yd pass from Purdie,Deshawn () 7 plays, 45 yards, TOP 03:50
BSU 7, LU 6
BSU - Horton,TJ 2 yd run (Boehm,Brody kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:29
BSU 7, LU 13
LU - Person,Jamari 16 yd pass from Purdie,Deshawn (Reeves,Chase kick) 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:01
2nd Quarter
BSU 7, LU 16
LU - Reeves,Chase 46 yd field goal 14 plays, 60 yards, TOP 07:48
BSU 7, LU 23
LU - Person,Jamari 7 yd pass from Purdie,Deshawn (Reeves,Chase kick) 7 plays, 62 yards, TOP 00:56
3rd Quarter
BSU 7, LU 30
LU - Vasko,Ethan 4 yd run (Reeves,Chase kick), 6 plays, 77 yards, TOP 03:38
BSU 7, LU 37
LU - Davis,Kam 14 yd run (Reeves,Chase kick), 6 plays, 69 yards, TOP 02:22
BSU 15, LU 37
BSU - Horton,TJ 1 yd run (Luster,Keldric rush), 8 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:17
4th Quarter
BSU 15, LU 44
LU - Kellman,Terron 21 yd pass from Henderson,Jaylen (Black,Tyler kick) 11 plays, 80 yards, TOP 06:54
BSU 15, LU 51
LU - Belford,Jaylin 1 yd run (Black,Tyler kick), 4 plays, 16 yards, TOP 02:08
Game Leaders
CMP
13
TD
3
YDS
211
INT
0
CMP
3
TD
1
YDS
37
INT
0
Sunday, September 20
Sunday, September 20
Thursday, September 17
Thursday, September 17