2017 Liberty Flames football team

2017 Liberty Flames football
Conference	Big South Conference
Record	6–5 (2–3 Big South)
Head coach	Turner Gill (6th season)
Offensive coordinator	Joe Dailey
Co-defensive coordinator	Robert Wimberly
Co-defensive coordinator	Vantz Singletary
Home stadium	Williams Stadium
Seasons ← 2016 2018 →

2017 Big South Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 8 Kennesaw State $^		5	–	0					12	–	2
Monmouth ^		4	–	1					9	–	3
Charleston Southern		3	–	2					6	–	5
Liberty *		2	–	3					6	–	5
Presbyterian		1	–	4					4	–	7
Gardner–Webb		0	–	5					1	–	10
$ – Conference champion ^ – FCS playoff participant * Liberty ineligible for postseason due to FBS transition Rankings from STATS Poll

The 2017 Liberty Flames football team represented Liberty University in the 2017 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by sixth-year head coach Turner Gill and played their home games at Williams Stadium. They were a member of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 6–5, 2–3 in Big South play to finish in fourth place.

The school owned by Jerry Falwell Jr. announced plans to undergo the two-year transition period join the Division I FBS as a football independent, while remaining in the Big South Conference in all other sports.^[1] While normally against NCAA rules to transition to FBS without a conference invite, Liberty was granted a waiver.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 2	7:00 p.m.	at Baylor*		McLane Stadium Waco, TX	FS2	W 48–45	45,784
September 9	6:00 p.m.	Morehead State*	No. 20	Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA	BSN ESPN3	W 58–17	17,118
September 16	6:00 p.m.	Indiana State*	No. 19	Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA	BSN ESPN3	W 42–41	16,060
September 23	7:00 p.m.	at No. 5 Jacksonville State*	No. 16	JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL	OVCDN	L 10–31	23,944
September 30	6:00 p.m.	Saint Francis (PA)*	No. 22	Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA	BSN ESPN3	L 7–13	15,886
October 14	6:00 p.m.	Kennesaw State		Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA	ESPN3	L 28–42	17,726
October 21	1:00 p.m.	at Monmouth		Kessler Field West Long Branch, NJ	ESPN3	L 39–56	4,235
October 28	Noon	at Gardner–Webb		Ernest W. Spangler Stadium Boiling Springs, NC	STADIUM	W 33–17	3,850
November 4	3:30 p.m.	Duquesne*		Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA	BSN ESPN3 MASN	W 27–24	14,634
November 11	3:30 p.m.	Presbyterian		Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA	CFDS	W 47–28	18,001
November 18	Noon	at Charleston Southern		Buccaneer Field Charleston, SC		L 19–20	3,345
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from STATS FCS Poll released prior to game Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

• Source: Schedule

Game summaries

At Baylor

Liberty @ Baylor

1 2 3 4 Total • Flames 6 11 17 14 48 Bears 0 17 14 14 45 Date: September 2 Location: McLane Stadium Waco, TX Game start: 7:00 p.m. Elapsed time: 3:48 Game attendance: 45,784 Game weather: 92 °F (33 °C) • Fair Skies • SSE 5–10 MPH Referee: Dan Lewis TV announcers (FS2): Eric Collins, AJ Hawks and Danny Kanell

Scoring summary 1 11:27 Liberty Alex Probert 27 yard field goal, Drive: 11 plays, 73 yards, 3:33 3–0 1 2:35 Liberty Alex Probert 41 yard field goal, Drive: 10 plays, 35 yards, 2:24 6–0 2 13:59 Baylor Denzel Mims 45 yard pass from Anu Solomon (Connor Martin kick), Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:36 6–7 2 11:38 Liberty Antonio Gandy-Golden 40 yard pass from Stephen Calvert (Mitchell Lewis run for two-point conv.), Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:21 14–7 2 9:38 Baylor JaMycal Hasty 14 yard run (Connor Martin kick), Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 2:00 14–14 2 5:17 Liberty Alex Probert 33 yard field goal, Drive: 13 plays, 59 yards, 4:21 17–14 2 0:12 Baylor Connor Martin 39 yard field goal, Drive: 14 plays, 68 yards, 5:05 17–17 3 13:53 Liberty Chris Turner 32 yard interception return (Alex Probert kick), Drive: 3 plays, 8 yards, 1:07 24–17 3 13:31 Baylor Chris Platt 20 yard pass from Anu Solomon (Connor Martin kick), Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 0:22 24–24 3 5:48 Liberty Alex Probert 31 yard field goal, Drive: 9 plays, 65 yards, 2:48 27–24 3 5:37 Baylor Chris Platt 75 yard pass from Anu Solomon (Connor Martin kick), Drive: 1 play, 75 yards, 0:11 27–31 3 0:24 Liberty Antonio Gandy–Golden 13 yard pass from Stephen Calvert (Alex Probert kick), Drive: 15 plays, 73 yards, 5:13 34–31 4 12:11 Liberty Stephen Calvert 8 yard run (Alex Probert kick), Drive: 7 plays, 44 yards, 2:27 41–31 4 10:39 Baylor John Lovett 3 yard run (Connor Martin kick), Drive: 4 plays, 75 yards, 1:32 41–38 4 6:12 Liberty Spencer Jones 26 yard pass from Stephen Calvert (Alex Probert kick), Drive: 11 plays, 65 yards, 4:27 48–38 4 5:00 Baylor John Lovett 34 yard run (Connor Martin kick), Drive: 3 plays, 43 yards, 1:12 48–45

Morehead State

Morehead State @ Liberty

1 2 3 4 Total Eagles 0 10 7 0 17 • No. 20 Flames 24 21 7 6 58 Date: September 9 Location: Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA Game start: 6:00 p.m. Elapsed time: 3:12 Game attendance: 17,118 Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C) • Partly Cloudy • NE 4 MPH Referee: Stuart Mullins TV announcers (BSN/ESPN3): Mike Tilley, Matt Warner and Rett McGibbon

Scoring summary 1 13:47 Liberty B.J. Farrow 25 yard pass from Stephen Calvert (Alex Probert kick), Drive: 3 plays, 50 yards, 1:13 7–0 1 10:01 Liberty Damian King 42 yard pass from Stephen Calvert (Alex Probert kick), Drive: 3 plays, 49 yards, 1:04 14–0 1 7:20 Liberty Alex Probert 33 yard field goal, Drive: 4 plays, -1 yard, 0:37 17–0 1 2:41 Liberty Antonio Gandy-Golden 10 yard pass from Stephen Calvert (Alex Probert kick), Drive: 8 plays, 62 yards, 2:16 24–0 2 14:50 Morehead State Andrew Foster 53 yard field goal, Drive: 6 plays, 39 yards, 2:51 24–3 2 13:44 Liberty B.J. Farrow 76 yard pass from Stephen Calvert (Alex Probert kick), Drive: 4 plays, 65 yards, 1:06 31–3 2 3:37 Liberty Kentory Matthews 2 yard run (Alex Probert kick), Drive: 8 plays, 28 yards, 3:25 38–3 2 1:43 Morehead State Jake Sutherland 11 yard pass from Lawson Page (Sam McDonogh kick), Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 1:54 38–10 2 0:24 Liberty B.J. Farrow 45 yard pass from Stephen Calvert (Alex Probert kick), Drive: 4 plays, 77 yards, 1:07 45–10 3 9:02 Morehead State Logan Holbrook 9 yard run (Sam McDonogh kick), Drive: 13 plays, 92 yards, 5:49 45–17 3 2:47 Liberty Kentory Matthews 2 yard run (Alex Probert kick), Drive: 8 plays, 64 yards, 2:40 52–17 4 14:20 Liberty Alex Probert 37 yard field goal, Drive: 6 plays, 14 yards, 2:06 55–17 4 9:03 Liberty Alex Probert 38 yard field goal, Drive: 11 plays, 52 yards, 3:33 58–17

Indiana State

Indiana State @ Liberty

1 2 3 4 Total Sycamores 7 17 14 3 41 • No. 19 Flames 14 14 14 0 42 Date: September 16 Location: Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA Game start: 6:00 p.m. Elapsed time: 3:29 Game attendance: 16,060 Game weather: 79 °F (26 °C) • Cloudy • NE 5 MPH Referee: Jerry Magallanes TV announcers (BSN/ESPN3): Mike Tilley and Matt Warner

Scoring summary 1 11:35 Liberty B.J. Farrow 3 yard pass from Stephen Calvert (Alex Probert kick), Drive: 4 plays, 30 yards, 0:41 7–0 1 9:27 Indiana State Jaquan Keys 1 yard run (Jerry Nunez kick), Drive: 5 plays, 74 yards, 2:00 7–7 1 5:02 Liberty Carrington Mosley 1 yard run (Alex Probert kick), Drive: 11 plays, 75 yards, 4:19 14–7 2 9:59 Liberty Carrington Mosley 22 yard run (Alex Probert kick), Drive: 6 plays, 64 yards, 2:42 21–7 2 8:26 Indiana State Jerry Nunez 43 yard field goal, Drive: 5 plays, 49 yards, 1:33 21–10 2 4:35 Indiana State Jacquet McClendon 31 yard pass from Jeremy Patterson (Jerry Nunez kick), Drive: 5 plays, 52 yards, 2:25 21–17 2 3:18 Liberty Antonio Gandy-Golden 13 yard pass from Stephen Calvert (Alex Probert kick), Drive: 5 plays, 75 yards, 1:17 28–17 2 2:02 Indiana State Bob Pugh 64 yard pass from Cade Sparks (Jerry Nunez kick), Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 1:16 28–24 3 11:31 Indiana State Lemonte Booker 1 yard run (Jerry Nunez kick), Drive: 8 plays, 65 yards, 3:29 28–31 3 9:09 Liberty Damian King 32 yard pass from Stephen Calvert (Alex Probert kick), Drive: 5 plays, 93 yards, 2:17 35–31 3 5:22 Liberty B.J. Farrow 6 yard pass from Stephen Calvert (Alex Probert kick), Drive: 7 plays, 47 yards, 2:35 42–31 3 1:58 Indiana State Bob Pugh 31 yard pass from Cade Sparks (Jerry Nunez kick), Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 3:24 42–38 4 11:46 Indiana State Jerry Nunez 43 yard field goal, Drive: 4 plays, 2 yards, 1:25 42–41

At Jacksonville State

Liberty @ Jacksonville State

1 2 3 4 Total No. 16 Flames 3 0 7 0 10 • No. 5 Gamecocks 0 10 14 7 31 Date: September 23 Location: JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL Game start: 7:00 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:57 Game attendance: 23,944 Game weather: 80 °F (27 °C) • Clear • ENE 3 MPH Referee: Dustin Whitehead TV announcers (OVCDN): Mickey Shadrix and Butch Barker

Scoring summary 1 1:57 Liberty Alex Probert 28 yard field goal, Drive: 12 plays, 57 yards, 6:25 3–0 2 11:02 Jacksonville State Trae Barry 80 yard pass from Bryant Horn (Cade Stinnett kick), Drive: 1 play, 80 yards, 0:12 3–7 2 1:20 Jacksonville State Cade Stinnett 49 yard field goal, Drive: 6 plays, 16 yards, 2:21 3–10 3 11:59 Jacksonville State Roc Thomas 11 yard run (Cade Stinnett kick), Drive: 8 plays, 81 yards, 2:56 3–17 3 8:31 Jacksonville State Kendrick Doss 15 yard run (Cade Stinnett kick), Drive: 1 play, 15 yards, 0:06 3–24 3 8:08 Liberty B.J. Farrow 65 yard pass from Stephen Calvert (Alex Probert kick), Drive: 3 plays, 65 yards, 0:23 10–24 4 5:04 Jacksonville State Roc Thomas 13 yard run (Cade Stinnett kick), Drive: 9 plays, 90 yards, 5:20 10–31

Saint Francis (PA)

Saint Francis (PA) @ Liberty

1 2 3 4 Total • Red Flash 0 6 7 0 13 No. 22 Flames 0 0 0 7 7 Date: September 30 Location: Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA Game start: 6:00 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:59 Game attendance: 15,886 Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C) • Clear • NE 11 MPH Referee: Jeff Pumphrey TV announcers (BSN/ESPN3): Mike Tilley, Matt Warner and Rett McGibbon

Scoring summary 2 0:18 St. Francis (PA) Matt Valenzuela 9 yard pass from Bear Fenimore (Eric Bofenkamp kick blocked), Drive: 4 plays, 19 yards, 1:30 0–6 3 4:39 St. Francis (PA) Kamron Lewis 23 yard pass from Bear Fenimore (Eric Bofenkamp kick), Drive: 5 plays, 58 yards, 2:32 0–13 4 2:35 Liberty Cephas Reddick 32 yard pass from Stephen Calvert (Alex Probert kick), Drive: 7 plays, 77 yards, 1:27 7–13

Kennesaw State

Kennesaw State @ Liberty

1 2 3 4 Total • Owls 7 21 7 7 42 Flames 7 0 7 14 28 Date: October 14 Location: Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA Game start: 6:00 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:54 Game attendance: 17,726 Game weather: 73 °F (23 °C) • Sunny • SSE 3 MPH Referee: Stuart Mullins Television network: ESPN3

Scoring summary 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 –

At Monmouth

Liberty @ Monmouth

1 2 3 4 Total Flames 7 12 20 0 39 • Hawks 21 14 14 7 56 Date: October 21 Location: Kessler Field West Long Branch, NJ Game start: 1:00 p.m. Game attendance: 4,235

Scoring summary 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 –

At Gardner–Webb

Liberty @ Gardner–Webb

1 2 3 4 Total • Flames 6 6 7 14 33 Runnin' Bulldogs 0 7 3 7 17 Date: October 28 Location: Ernest W. Spangler Stadium Boiling Springs, NC Game start: 12:00 p.m. EDT Game attendance: 3,850

Scoring summary 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 –

Duquesne

Duquesne @ Liberty

1 2 3 4 Total Dukes 14 10 0 0 24 • Flames 7 3 7 10 27 Date: November 4 Location: Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA Game start: 3:30 p.m. Game attendance: 14,634

Scoring summary 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 –

Presbyterian

Presbyterian @ Liberty

1 2 3 4 Total Blue Hose 7 0 14 7 28 • Flames 24 9 7 7 47 Date: November 11 Location: Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA Game start: 3:30 p.m. Game attendance: 18,001

Scoring summary 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 –

At Charleston Southern

Liberty @ Charleston Southern

1 2 3 4 Total Flames 0 7 9 3 19 • Buccaneers 0 7 0 13 20 Date: November 17 Location: Buccaneer Field Charleston, SC Game start: Noon Game attendance: 3,345

Scoring summary 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 –

Ranking movements

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	Final
STATS FCS	RV	20	19	16	22	RV	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches*	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

* Due to their transition to FBS, they are not eligible to be ranked in the FCS Coaches Poll.

References