Liberty Football: Can Flames replicate success from 2020?

Liberty Football had a season for the ages in 2020 with an electric offense at quarterback. What do the Flames do for an encore?

One of the best storylines of the 2020 season was the rise of the Liberty Football program. This was a team that was a blocked field goal away from having an undefeated season and was a fun team to watch week in and week out, as they had a high-scoring offense and Auburn transfer Malik Willis turned into one of the best quarterbacks in the country.

Now, the Flames are not going to be sneaking up on anyone and they will have a target on their back, as they are a possible top-25 team and Willis is being discussed as a Heisman darkhorse and potential first-round pick in next April’s draft.

Liberty has not been at the FBS level long and has only played three full seasons at this level. Former Buffalo and Kansas coach Turner Gill helped guide this program through its first season, finishing 6-6 and Gill then proceeded to retire.

Liberty then proceeded to hire Hugh Freeze, who had lots of success while the head coach at Ole Miss before being dismissed for various different issues. Freeze brought his high-scoring offense to Liberty and led the program to eight wins and a bowl victory over Georgia Southern in 2019.

The 2020 season gave a glimpse at what this program has the potential to be. This team went on the road and beat Syracuse by 17 points, went to Blacksburg and beat Virginia Tech, then finished the season by beating a ranked Coastal Carolina team in the Cure bowl.

There are some opportunities for the Flames to make statements this year (November 6th at Ole Miss comes to mind) and this is going to be one of the most fun teams to watch on a weekly basis.