jimmythegreek
The opening odds start here
Liberty -32.5 over UL Monroe:
The Flames (5-1) continue to flourish as one of the nation's top Independents, and last week they lambasted MTSU 41-13 at Williams Stadium. Joshua Mack (14-91 6.5 1 TD), Malik Willis (16-80 5.0 1 TD), and TJ Green (4-30 7.5 1 TD) each ran for one yard TD's as the Flames went on to rush for a total of 227 yards against a depleted Blue Raiders defense. Willis (17/30 222 2 TD 3 INT) threw both of his scores in the first quarter, one to Demario Douglas (6-154 1 TD) from 35 yards out, and the other to Jerome Jackson (2-8 1 TD) from 5 yards out. Willis however did throw 3 picks in the game as the Flames did commit 4 turnovers, but Liberty's defense forced 3 of their own and were able to halt MTSU drives successfully. Chase Cunningham (22/42 230 2 TD 1 INT) didn't play badly, but the Blue Raiders were held to just 35 rushing yards overall. Jimmy Marshall (7-77 1 TD) helped get Middle Tennessee on the board catching a 7 yard TD pass from Cunningham to cut Liberty's lead to 21-7 late in the first half, but by the time Mack caught a 2 yard TD pass, the Flames built a 34-13 lead midway through the third. Liberty outgained MTSU 449-265, and produced 21 first downs. TreShaun Clark also sacked Cunningham twice as he surrendered 4 total sacks, MTSU fell to 2-4 and is thus far winless in CUSA in 4 tries. Meanwhile, UL Monroe (2-3 1-2) dropped their second straight game overall to Georgia St 55-21 last week at Malone Stadium. Darren Grainger (18/25 230 4 TD) had quite a field day against the UL Monroe defense throwing a pair of TD each to Ja'Cyalis Credle (7-130 2 TD) of 31 and 38 yards, and Aubry Payne (6-58 2 TD) of 10 and 9 yards. The Panthers also got 3 rushing TD, one each from Grainger himself (12-84 7.0 1 TD), Tucker Gregg (15-83 5.5 1 TD), and Jamyest Williams (12-67 5.6 1 TD). The Panthers raced out to a 28-7 halftime lead and racked up 572 yards to the Warhawks' 359 for the entire game. The Panthers defense also forced 3 turnovers including 2 ULM lost fumbles. Chandler Rogers (15/23 208 2 TD) played well just not at the same phonetic pace as their opponents, plus he was sacked 4 times.
Willis (93/137 1327 13 TD 3 INT) has done a great job leading the Flames to their 5-1 first half start and likely will lead Liberty to another bowl appearance. Hugh Freeze and company led Liberty to the Camping World Bowl last season and a 37-34 upset win over then 12th ranked Coastal Carolina. Willis is also one of the more nimble QB's in the country as evident of his (82-498 6.1) 7 rushing TD's averaging about 83 ground yards per contest. Douglas (33-531 4 TD) is considered by most a one man receiving crew punch, but second option CJ Daniels (14-268 4 TD) has certainly made a name for himself as well. Joshua Mack (68-266 3.9 3 TD) is also the lone setback in the backfield when Willis is not calling his own number. Liberty has a great mix of run and pass plays and averages better than 35 points per game. They run for nearly 200 yards and pass for about 250, so opposing defenses need to be on their toes attempting to stop clipboard over the middle and sideline passes to Douglas and Daniels, plus their quick operational runs in getting to the line of scrimmage is tough to prepare for. ULM on defense is one of the more vulnerable units both against the run and pass, allowing to the tune of nearly 469 yards allowed and over 300 per contest given up by virtue of the pass. They allow 37 points per game and one of those games was in a win where they gave up just 7 points to lowly Jackson State despite an upset against Troy 29-16 earlier this season. LB's Traveion Webster and Adam Sparks are tied for the lead in tackles with 37. Ty Shelby has 6 of his team's 11 sacks to lead the bunch. However, the Warhawks have forced just 3 picks all season, while CB's Mark Williams and Josh Newton have been vulnerable to give up big plays in blown coverages and the secondary. Because Wills has been so accurate and relatively mistake free that the pass defense could be in for another long day given the fact the Flames can cause headaches to prepare.
Rogers (28/50 365 2 TD 1 INT) has only filled in thus far 2 games since taking over for Rhett Rodriguez (35/63 337 1 TD) who suffered a lung injury against Troy. It's yet to be seen how Rogers will fare long term but when he is in trouble in the pocket he needs to do a better job at getting rid of the ball on account he's already been sacked 8 times, Boogie Knight is his primary target (21-261) and Zach Jackson (13-192 2 TD) in shorter settings. However, UL Monroe all season has just 4 passing scores, and what's left of their rushing attack hasn't fared much better with only 2 TD's on the ground. Andrew Henry (51-204 4.0 1 TD) has not been able to get a good first step against opposing tighter defensive lines resulting in minimal gains from the line of scrimmage. Rogers has virtually no running game to lean on so his diversity is severely limited. The offense lies very close to the basement in the country scoring just about 15.6 points per game including a net of only 238 scrimmage yards, Liberty has a balanced overall defense yielding just 265 yards total and gives up a tad over 14 points per game, not bad for an up tempo team who likes to set the tone early with their quick pace. Storey Jackson has a team leading 43 tackles and is pretty quick off the snap considering he already has 3 sacks along with 2 picks. Kensy Charles, whether he stays at home or has the ability when necessary to stay at home or use his fierce rush has a team leading 5 sacks of his team's 20.
Sure this might be a boatload of points to give up especially on the road. A glaring aspect of this disparity is that a Flames team of this juncture is willing to put the game away early while UL Monroe certainly prefers to slow down tempo without the necessary weapons to stay on the field when it comes to winning defensive battles defensive battles attempting to stopping the opposition. If Liberty does pull it's starters, yes it's understood that the back door factor could be in effect, but from what ULM has shown their lack of interest in getting blown out seems to dwindle on that their personnel is only looking to let time tick down as an escape without much of a fight. Terry Bowden is going to have to motivate his squad by making plays on defense early, and to hope for short fields getting any opportunity to score early just to keep an arm's length. Willis and company will do plenty of damage for at least 3 quarters to have enough firepower to wear down the Warhawks.
The Flames (5-1) continue to flourish as one of the nation's top Independents, and last week they lambasted MTSU 41-13 at Williams Stadium. Joshua Mack (14-91 6.5 1 TD), Malik Willis (16-80 5.0 1 TD), and TJ Green (4-30 7.5 1 TD) each ran for one yard TD's as the Flames went on to rush for a total of 227 yards against a depleted Blue Raiders defense. Willis (17/30 222 2 TD 3 INT) threw both of his scores in the first quarter, one to Demario Douglas (6-154 1 TD) from 35 yards out, and the other to Jerome Jackson (2-8 1 TD) from 5 yards out. Willis however did throw 3 picks in the game as the Flames did commit 4 turnovers, but Liberty's defense forced 3 of their own and were able to halt MTSU drives successfully. Chase Cunningham (22/42 230 2 TD 1 INT) didn't play badly, but the Blue Raiders were held to just 35 rushing yards overall. Jimmy Marshall (7-77 1 TD) helped get Middle Tennessee on the board catching a 7 yard TD pass from Cunningham to cut Liberty's lead to 21-7 late in the first half, but by the time Mack caught a 2 yard TD pass, the Flames built a 34-13 lead midway through the third. Liberty outgained MTSU 449-265, and produced 21 first downs. TreShaun Clark also sacked Cunningham twice as he surrendered 4 total sacks, MTSU fell to 2-4 and is thus far winless in CUSA in 4 tries. Meanwhile, UL Monroe (2-3 1-2) dropped their second straight game overall to Georgia St 55-21 last week at Malone Stadium. Darren Grainger (18/25 230 4 TD) had quite a field day against the UL Monroe defense throwing a pair of TD each to Ja'Cyalis Credle (7-130 2 TD) of 31 and 38 yards, and Aubry Payne (6-58 2 TD) of 10 and 9 yards. The Panthers also got 3 rushing TD, one each from Grainger himself (12-84 7.0 1 TD), Tucker Gregg (15-83 5.5 1 TD), and Jamyest Williams (12-67 5.6 1 TD). The Panthers raced out to a 28-7 halftime lead and racked up 572 yards to the Warhawks' 359 for the entire game. The Panthers defense also forced 3 turnovers including 2 ULM lost fumbles. Chandler Rogers (15/23 208 2 TD) played well just not at the same phonetic pace as their opponents, plus he was sacked 4 times.
Willis (93/137 1327 13 TD 3 INT) has done a great job leading the Flames to their 5-1 first half start and likely will lead Liberty to another bowl appearance. Hugh Freeze and company led Liberty to the Camping World Bowl last season and a 37-34 upset win over then 12th ranked Coastal Carolina. Willis is also one of the more nimble QB's in the country as evident of his (82-498 6.1) 7 rushing TD's averaging about 83 ground yards per contest. Douglas (33-531 4 TD) is considered by most a one man receiving crew punch, but second option CJ Daniels (14-268 4 TD) has certainly made a name for himself as well. Joshua Mack (68-266 3.9 3 TD) is also the lone setback in the backfield when Willis is not calling his own number. Liberty has a great mix of run and pass plays and averages better than 35 points per game. They run for nearly 200 yards and pass for about 250, so opposing defenses need to be on their toes attempting to stop clipboard over the middle and sideline passes to Douglas and Daniels, plus their quick operational runs in getting to the line of scrimmage is tough to prepare for. ULM on defense is one of the more vulnerable units both against the run and pass, allowing to the tune of nearly 469 yards allowed and over 300 per contest given up by virtue of the pass. They allow 37 points per game and one of those games was in a win where they gave up just 7 points to lowly Jackson State despite an upset against Troy 29-16 earlier this season. LB's Traveion Webster and Adam Sparks are tied for the lead in tackles with 37. Ty Shelby has 6 of his team's 11 sacks to lead the bunch. However, the Warhawks have forced just 3 picks all season, while CB's Mark Williams and Josh Newton have been vulnerable to give up big plays in blown coverages and the secondary. Because Wills has been so accurate and relatively mistake free that the pass defense could be in for another long day given the fact the Flames can cause headaches to prepare.
Rogers (28/50 365 2 TD 1 INT) has only filled in thus far 2 games since taking over for Rhett Rodriguez (35/63 337 1 TD) who suffered a lung injury against Troy. It's yet to be seen how Rogers will fare long term but when he is in trouble in the pocket he needs to do a better job at getting rid of the ball on account he's already been sacked 8 times, Boogie Knight is his primary target (21-261) and Zach Jackson (13-192 2 TD) in shorter settings. However, UL Monroe all season has just 4 passing scores, and what's left of their rushing attack hasn't fared much better with only 2 TD's on the ground. Andrew Henry (51-204 4.0 1 TD) has not been able to get a good first step against opposing tighter defensive lines resulting in minimal gains from the line of scrimmage. Rogers has virtually no running game to lean on so his diversity is severely limited. The offense lies very close to the basement in the country scoring just about 15.6 points per game including a net of only 238 scrimmage yards, Liberty has a balanced overall defense yielding just 265 yards total and gives up a tad over 14 points per game, not bad for an up tempo team who likes to set the tone early with their quick pace. Storey Jackson has a team leading 43 tackles and is pretty quick off the snap considering he already has 3 sacks along with 2 picks. Kensy Charles, whether he stays at home or has the ability when necessary to stay at home or use his fierce rush has a team leading 5 sacks of his team's 20.
Sure this might be a boatload of points to give up especially on the road. A glaring aspect of this disparity is that a Flames team of this juncture is willing to put the game away early while UL Monroe certainly prefers to slow down tempo without the necessary weapons to stay on the field when it comes to winning defensive battles defensive battles attempting to stopping the opposition. If Liberty does pull it's starters, yes it's understood that the back door factor could be in effect, but from what ULM has shown their lack of interest in getting blown out seems to dwindle on that their personnel is only looking to let time tick down as an escape without much of a fight. Terry Bowden is going to have to motivate his squad by making plays on defense early, and to hope for short fields getting any opportunity to score early just to keep an arm's length. Willis and company will do plenty of damage for at least 3 quarters to have enough firepower to wear down the Warhawks.