Founded: 1971
Enrollment: 14,500
Nickname: Flames
Big South Champs: 2007-2010, 2012-2014
HEAD COACH: Turner Gill, 4th season at Liberty (24-15-0)
CONFERENCE: Big South Conference
STADIUM: Williams Stadium (19,200)
2015 PRESEASON POLL: 2nd Place
2014 RECORD: 9-5 (4-1 Big South) 1st Place
2015 RECORD: 1-1 (0-0 Big South)
SERIES HISTORY: Montana leads the series 1-0
LAST MEETING: Sept 15, 2012 – Montana won in Missoula 34-14.
Liberty Football Schedule/Results
Liberty has played two games so far in the 2015 season. The first game Liberty hosted FCS Delaware State and handled the Hornets easily, winning 32-13. Last week, the Flames traveled to West Virginia to take on the FBS Mountaineers. For those of you who don’t know, the Mountaineers head coach Dana Holgorsen adopted some of Stitt’s plays back in 2012 in an Orange Bowl matchup against Clemson where the Mountaineers absolutely demolished the Tigers 70-33. Liberty was no match for West Virginia in a 17-41 loss.
Below is Liberty’s full schedule as well as last year’s season results, and a list of conference championships.
Liberty made it’s first appearance in the FCS Playoffs in 2014.
Playoff Appearances
No
Year
Round & Opponent
Results
Record
1
2014
1st Round @ James Madison
2nd Round @ Villanova
W 26-21
L 22-29
1-1
Offensive/Defensive Breakdown
Below are the stats for the Griz and Liberty offense/defense from the last two games and how each team compares.
(Stats research from Brint Wahlberg)
Offensive Stats
Montana
Liberty
Passing Yards
394
234
Rushing Yards
108
160
Total Offense
502
394
Defensive Stats
Montana
Liberty
Pass Defense
127
270
Rush Defense
280
107
Total Defense
407
377
Other Stats
Montana
Liberty
Offensive Points Scored
28.5 ppg
24.5 ppg
Defensive Points Allowed
27.5 ppg
27 ppg
Turnover Margin
-4
+3
Fieldgoal %
80% made
33% made
T.O.P
24:33
33:38
Red Zone Defense (Touchdowns)
80% Allowed
67% Allowed
Red Zone Offense (Touchdowns)
44%
60%
Offensive Top Performers
Montana Passing
COMP
ATT
Yards
AVG
TD
INT
Brady Gustafson
70
119
787
6.6
4
4
Montana Rushing
Carries
Yards
AVG
TD
Long
John Nguyen
33
156
4.7
0
41
Montana Receiving
Rec
YDS
AVG
TD
Long
Jamaal Jones
17
205
12.1
1
28
Ellis Henderson
12
180
15
2
62
Reese Carlson
7
80
11.4
0
31
Offensive Top Performers
Liberty Passing
COMP
ATT
Yards
AVG
TD
INT
Josh Woodrum
40
64
468
7.3
3
1
Liberty Rushing
Carries
Yards
AVG
TD
Long
Desmond Rice
31
176
5.7
2
29
D.J. Abnar
18
96
5.3
0
24
Liberty Receiving
Rec
YDS
AVG
TD
Long
Darrin Peterson
12
147
12.3
2
26
Zac Parker
12
101
12.6
1
60
B.J. Farrow
4
70
17.5
0
20
Prediction:
Execute, execute, execute. That will make the difference between a Griz win and a Griz loss. Road games are always tough to come away with wins, but if we see the Montana team who took down NDSU in week 1 show up, the Griz will beat Liberty. If the Griz who played Cal Poly show up against Liberty, the Griz will lose. With the Griz getting a second “mini-fall” camp thanks to the early-season bye week, the team was able to rest up and focus on eliminating mistakes. The defense should once again be great as they have been the first two games this year and give the offense the chance to put up points. We’ll take the Griz in this one, winning 31-21.
GO GRIZ!! BEAT LIBERTY!!
SCORE PREDICTIONS: Give them to us in the comments below! #GoGriz