2017 Liberty Flames football team
American college football season
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.
School president 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]
Preseason
The 2017 Big South preseason prediction poll was released on July 18. The Flames were ineligible due to their transition to the FBS.[ 2]
Schedule
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance September 2 7:00 p.m. at Baylor * FS2 W 48–4545,784
September 9 6:00 p.m. Morehead State * No. 20 BSN , ESPN3 W 58–1717,118
September 16 6:00 p.m. Indiana State * No. 19 Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA BSN, ESPN3 W 42–4116,060
September 23 7:00 p.m. at No. 5 Jacksonville State * No. 16 OVCDN L 10–3123,944
September 30 6:00 p.m. Saint Francis (PA) * No. 22 Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA BSN, ESPN3 L 7–1315,886
October 14 6:00 p.m. Kennesaw State Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA ESPN3 L 28–4217,726
October 21 1:00 p.m. at Monmouth ESPN3 L 39–564,235
October 28 12:00 p.m. at Gardner–Webb Stadium W 33–173,850
November 4 3:30 p.m. Duquesne * Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA BSN, ESPN3, MASN W 27–2414,634
November 11 3:30 p.m. Presbyterian Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA CFDS W 47–2818,001
November 18 12:00 p.m. at Charleston Southern L 19–203,345
*Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from STATS Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ 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.
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 2Location: McLane Stadium Waco, TX Game start: 7:00 p.m. Elapsed time: 3:48Game attendance: 45,784Game weather: 92 °F (33 °C) • Fair Skies • SSE 5–10 MPH Referee: Dan LewisTV 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
Statistics
LIB
BAY
First downs
31
22
Total yards
585
532
Rushing yards
138
254
Passing yards
447
278
Turnovers
0
2
Time of possession
38:16
21:44
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Liberty
Passing
Stephen Calvert
44/60, 447 yards, 3 TD
Rushing
Carrington Mosley
28 rushes, 122 yards
Receiving
Antonio Gandy-Golden
13 receptions, 192 yards, 2 TD
Baylor
Passing
Anu Solomon
14/29, 278 yards, 3 TD, INT
Rushing
Anu Solomon
6 rushes, 97 yards
Receiving
Chris Platt
3 receptions, 102 yards, 2 TD
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 9Location: Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VA Game start: 6:00 p.m. Elapsed time: 3:12Game attendance: 17,118Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C) • Partly Cloudy • NE 4 MPH Referee: Stuart MullinsTV 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
Statistics
MORE
LIB
First downs
16
24
Total yards
300
523
Rushing yards
64
196
Passing yards
236
327
Turnovers
1
2
Time of possession
33:31
26:29
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Morehead State
Passing
Lawson Page
18/31, 187 yards, TD, INT
Rushing
Logan Holbrook
13 rushes, 44 yards, TD
Receiving
Jarin Higginbothom
2 receptions, 64 yards
Liberty
Passing
Stephen Calvert
13/21, 281 yards, 5 TD
Rushing
Kentory Matthews
13 rushes, 103 yards, 2 TD
Receiving
B. J. Farrow
6 receptinos, 177 yards, 3 TD
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 16Location: Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VAGame start: 6:00 p.m. Elapsed time: 3:29Game attendance: 16,060Game weather: 79 °F (26 °C) • Cloudy • NE 5 MPH Referee: Jerry MagallanesTV 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
Statistics
INST
LIB
First downs
21
28
Total yards
543
500
Rushing yards
107
121
Passing yards
436
379
Turnovers
2
1
Time of possession
31:28
28:32
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Indiana State
Passing
Cade Sparks
22/36, 405 yards, 2 TD, INT
Rushing
Lemonte Booker
26 rushes, 95 yards, TD
Receiving
Bob Pugh
8 receptions, 260 yards, 2 TD
Liberty
Passing
Stephen Calvert
30/42, 379 yards, 4 TD, INT
Rushing
Carrington Mosley
22 rushes, 102 yards, 2 TD
Receiving
Antonio Gandy-Golden
7 receptions, 171 yards, TD
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 23Location: JSU Stadium Jacksonville, AL Game start: 7:00 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:57Game attendance: 23,944Game weather: 80 °F (27 °C) • Clear • ENE 3 MPH Referee: Dustin WhiteheadTV 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
Statistics
LIB
JVST
First downs
17
19
Total yards
316
385
Rushing yards
31
140
Passing yards
285
245
Turnovers
1
1
Time of possession
30:17
29:43
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Liberty
Passing
Stephen Calvert
22/47, 285 yards, TD, INT
Rushing
Carrington Mosley
14 rushes, 36 yards
Receiving
Antonio Gandy-Golden
7 receptions, 126 yards
Jacksonville State
Passing
Bryant Horn
9/19, 181 yards, TD, INT
Rushing
Roc Thomas
18 rushes, 87 yards, 2 TD
Receiving
Trae Berry
1 reception, 80 yards, TD
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 30Location: Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VAGame start: 6:00 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:59Game attendance: 15,886Game weather: 70 °F (21 °C) • Clear • NE 11 MPH Referee: Jeff PumphreyTV 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
Statistics
SFU
LIB
First downs
14
15
Total yards
275
338
Rushing yards
92
119
Passing yards
183
219
Turnovers
0
4
Time of possession
35:33
24:27
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Saint Francis (PA)
Passing
Bear Fenimore
23/35, 183 yards, 2 TD
Rushing
Jymere Jordan-Toney
22 rushes, 105 yards
Receiving
Kamron Lewis
10 receptions, 95 yards, TD
Liberty
Passing
Stephen Calvert
21/42, 219 yards, TD, 2 INT
Rushing
Kentory Matthews
5 rushes, 50 yards
Receiving
Cephas Reddick
3 receptions, 70 yards, TD
Kennesaw State
Kennesaw State @ Liberty
1
2 3 4 Total
• Owls
7
21 7 7
42
Flames
7
0 7 14
28
Date: October 14Location: Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VAGame start: 6:00 p.m. Elapsed time: 2:54Game attendance: 17,726Game weather: 73 °F (23 °C) • Sunny • SSE 3 MPH Referee: Stuart MullinsTelevision network: ESPN3
Scoring summary 1 –
2 –
3 –
4 –
Statistics
KENN
LIB
First downs
26
20
Total yards
507
337
Rushing yards
498
103
Passing yards
9
234
Turnovers
1
2
Time of possession
38:38
21:22
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Kennesaw State
Passing
Chandler Burks
2/7, 9 yards, TD, INT
Rushing
Shaquil Terry
9 rushes, 126 yards, TD
Receiving
Justin Sumpter
2 receptions, 9 yards, TD
Liberty
Passing
Stephen Calvert
19/26, 234 yards, 2 TD, INT
Rushing
Carrington Mosley
14 rushes, 75 yards, 2 TD
Receiving
Antonio Gandy-Golden
4 receptions, 89 yards, TD
At Monmouth
Liberty @ Monmouth
1
2 3 4 Total
Flames
7
12 20 0
39
• Hawks
21
14 14 7
56
Scoring summary 1 –
2 –
3 –
4 –
Statistics
LIB
MON
First downs
24
26
Total yards
529
608
Rushing yards
121
364
Passing yards
408
244
Turnovers
0
2
Time of possession
26:32
33:28
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Liberty
Passing
Stephen Calvert
25/50, 408 yards, 2 TD
Rushing
Carrington Mosley
10 rushes, 71 yards
Receiving
Antonio Gandy-Golden
9 receptions, 127 yards, 2 TD
Monmouth
Passing
Kenji Bahar
14/25, 244 yards, 2 TD, INT
Rushing
Eric Zokouri
18 rushes, 193 yards, 2 TD
Receiving
Reggie White Jr.
10 receptions, 187 yards, 2 TD
At Gardner–Webb
Liberty @ Gardner–Webb
1
2 3 4 Total
• Flames
6
6 7 14
33
Runnin' Bulldogs
0
7 3 7
17
Scoring summary 1 –
2 –
3 –
4 –
Statistics
LIB
WEBB
First downs
22
24
Total yards
458
483
Rushing yards
125
277
Passing yards
333
206
Turnovers
1
3
Time of possession
26:56
33:04
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Liberty
Passing
Stephen Calvert
21/34, 333 yards, 2 TD
Rushing
Carrington Mosley
20 rushes, 123 yards, 2 TD
Receiving
Antonio Gandy-Golden
4 receptions, 123 yards, TD
Gardner–Webb
Passing
Tyrell Maxwell
13/32, 206 yards, TD, 3 INT
Rushing
Jayln Cagle
24 rushes, 179 yards, TD
Receiving
Brody Rollins
3 receptions, 61 yards, TD
Duquesne
Duquesne @ Liberty
1
2 3 4 Total
Dukes
14
10 0 0
24
• Flames
7
3 7 10
27
Date: November 4Location: Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VAGame start: 3:30 p.m. Game attendance: 14,634
Scoring summary 1 –
2 –
3 –
4 –
Statistics
DUQ
LIB
First downs
15
29
Total yards
434
421
Rushing yards
295
210
Passing yards
139
211
Turnovers
4
0
Time of possession
25:23
34:37
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Duquesne
Passing
Tommy Stuart
13/23, 139 yards, TD, 2 INT
Rushing
A. J. Hines
25 rushes, 253 yards, 2 TD
Receiving
Chavas Rawlins
5 receptions, 51 yards, TD
Liberty
Passing
Stephen Calvert
23/46, 211 yards, TD
Rushing
Carrington Mosley
30 rushes, 151 yards, 2 TD
Receiving
Antonio Gandy-Golden
8 receptions, 65 yards
Presbyterian
Presbyterian @ Liberty
1
2 3 4 Total
Blue Hose
7
0 14 7
28
• Flames
24
9 7 7
47
Date: November 11Location: Williams Stadium Lynchburg, VAGame start: 3:30 p.m. Game attendance: 18,001
Scoring summary 1 –
2 –
3 –
4 –
Statistics
PRES
LIB
First downs
16
30
Total yards
452
628
Rushing yards
155
317
Passing yards
297
311
Turnovers
0
2
Time of possession
29:28
30:32
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Presbyterian
Passing
Will Brock
16/33, 297 yards, 2 TD
Rushing
C. J. Marable
23 rushes, 126 yards
Receiving
Darquez Watson
2 receptions, 67 yards
Liberty
Passing
Stephen Calvert
14/26, 311 yards, 3 TD
Rushing
Carrington Mosley
27 rushes, 149 yards, TD
Receiving
Cephas Reddick
4 receptions, 125 yards, 2 TD
At Charleston Southern
Liberty @ Charleston Southern
1
2 3 4 Total
Flames
0
7 9 3
19
• Buccaneers
0
7 0 13
20
Scoring summary 1 –
2 –
3 –
4 –
Statistics
LIB
CHSO
First downs
19
18
Total yards
306
415
Rushing yards
51
229
Passing yards
255
186
Turnovers
1
1
Time of possession
24:46
35:14
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
Liberty
Passing
Stephen Calvert
25/44, 255 yards, 2 TD, INT
Rushing
Frankie Hickson
11 rushes, 33 yards
Receiving
Antonio Gandy-Golden
10 receptions, 113 yards, 2 TD
Charleston Southern
Passing
London Johnson
13/27, 186 yards
Rushing
Noah Shuler
13 rushes, 84 yards, TD
Receiving
Kameron Brown
4 receptions, 106 yards
References
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