2014 Liberty Flames football team

The 2014 Liberty Flames football team represented Liberty University in the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. They were led by third-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 9–4, 4–1 in Big South play to share the conference championship with Coastal Carolina. They received the Big South's automatic bid to the FCS Playoffs where they defeated James Madison in the first round before losing in the second round to Villanova.

2014 Liberty Flames football
Big South co-champion
ConferenceBig South Conference
Ranking
Sports NetworkNo. 17
FCS CoachesNo. 17
Record9–5 (4–1 Big South)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorAaron Stamn
Co-defensive coordinatorRobert Wimberly
Co-defensive coordinatorVantz Singletary
Home stadiumWilliams Stadium
Seasons
← 2013
2015 →
2014 Big South Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 5 Coastal Carolina +^   4 1     12 2  
No. 17 Liberty +^   4 1     9 5  
Charleston Southern   3 2     8 4  
Presbyterian   3 2     6 5  
Monmouth   1 4     6 5  
Gardner–Webb   0 5     4 8  
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • ^ – FCS playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll

Schedule edit

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
August 306:00 pmat No. 23 (FBS) North Carolina*ESPN3L 29–5651,000
September 64:00 pmat Norfolk State*LFSNW 17–06,150
September 137:00 pmBrevard*LFSNW 56–3115,755
September 207:00 pmBryant*No. 24
  • Williams Stadium
  • Lynchburg, VA
LFSNW 38–2116,873
September 273:00 pmat Indiana State*No. 22LFSNL 19–385,633
October 47:00 pmNo. 20 Richmond* 
  • Williams Stadium
  • Lynchburg, VA
LFSNL 39–46 2OT20,838
October 113:30 pmat Appalachian State*ESPN3W 55–48 OT26,058
October 253:30 pmGardner–Webb
  • Williams Stadium
  • Lynchburg, VA
ESPN3W 34–020,217
November 12:00 pmat PresbyterianLFSNW 28–72,691
November 83:30 pmMonmouth
  • Williams Stadium
  • Lynchburg, VA
ASNW 34–2416,053
November 153:30 pmCharleston Southern
  • Williams Stadium
  • Lynchburg, VA
LFSNL 36–3812,362
November 221:00 pmat No. 1 Coastal CarolinaESPN3W 15–148,576
November 294:00 pmat No. 15 James Madison*No. 20ESPN3W 26–2113,040
December 64:30 pmat No. 5 Villanova*No. 20
ESPN3L 22–293,113

Game summaries edit

@ North Carolina edit

Liberty @ North Carolina
1 234Total
Flames 7 877 29
#23 Tar Heels 14 7287 56

In their first game of the season, the Flames lost, 56–29 to the North Carolina Tar Heels.[1]

@ Norfolk State edit

Liberty @ Norfolk State
1 234Total
Flames 3 707 17
Spartans 0 000 0

In their second game of the season, the Flames won, 17–0 over the Norfolk State Spartans.[2]

Brevard edit

Brevard @ Liberty
1 234Total
Tornadoes 0 1777 31
Flames 21 14714 56

In their third game of the season, the Flames won, 56–31 over the Brevard Tornadoes.[3]

Bryant edit

Bryant @ Liberty
1 234Total
Bulldogs 0 1407 21
#24 Flames 10 1477 38

In their fourth game of the season, the Flames won, 38–21 over the Bryant Bulldogs.[4]

@ Indiana State edit

Liberty @ Indiana State
1 234Total
#22 Flames 3 1006 19
Sycamores 3 21014 38

In their fifth game of the season, the Flames lost, 38–19 to the Indiana State Sycamores.[5]

Richmond edit

Richmond @ Liberty
1 234OT2OTTotal
#20 Spiders 15 701077 46
Flames 0 7151070 39

In their sixth game of the season, the Flames lost, 46–39, in double overtime, to the Richmond Spiders.[6]

@ Appalachian State edit

Liberty @ Appalachian State
1 234OTTotal
Flames 14 141377 55
Mountaineers 7 171680 48

In their seventh game of the season, the Flames won, 55–48, in overtime, over the Appalachian State Mountaineers.[7]

Gardner–Webb edit

Gardner–Webb @ Liberty
1 234Total
Runnin' Bulldogs 0 000 0
Flames 10 10140 34

In their eighth game of the season, the Flames won, 34–0, over the Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs.[8]

@ Presbyterian edit

Liberty @ Presbyterian
1 234Total
Flames 7 1407 28
Blue Hose 0 007 7

In their ninth game of the season, the Flames won, 28–7, over the Presbyterian Blue Hose.[9]

Monmouth edit

Monmouth @ Liberty
1 234Total
Hawks 7 7100 24
Flames 7 10710 34

In their tenth game of the season, the Flames won, 34–24, over the Monmouth Hawks.[10]

Charleston Southern edit

Charleston Southern @ Liberty
1 234Total
Buccaneers 0 17147 38
Flames 3 13713 36

In their eleventh game of the season, the Flames lost, 38–36, to the Charleston Southern Buccaneers.[11]

@ Coastal Carolina edit

Liberty @ Coastal Carolina
1 234Total
Flames 3 363 15
#2 Chanticleers 0 1400 14
  • Date: November 22
  • Location: Brooks Stadium
    Conway, SC
  • Game start: 1:00 PM EST
  • Game attendance: 8,576
  • TV announcers (ESPN3): Mike Hogewood and Mike Gleason

In their twelfth game of the season, the Flames won, 15–14, over the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.[12]

FCS Playoffs edit

@ James Madison edit

Liberty @ James Madison
1 234Total
#20 Flames 3 7106 26
#15 Dukes 0 2100 21

In their thirteenth game of the season, the Flames won, 26–21, over the James Madison Dukes in their 2014 FCS First Round playoff game.[13]

@ Villanova edit

Liberty @ Villanova
1 234Total
#20 Flames 10 930 22
#5 Wildcats 0 14015 29

In their fourteenth game of the season, the Flames lost, 29–22, to the Villanova Wildcats in their 2014 FCS Second Round playoff game.[14]

Ranking movements edit

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213Final
Sports NetworkRVRVRV2422RVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV2017
CoachesRVRVRVRV23RVRVRVRVRVRVRV2317

References edit

  1. ^ Beard, Aaron (August 30, 2014). "No. 23 Tar Heels Beat Flames 56-29 in Opener". ESPN. Associated Press. Retrieved September 1, 2014.
  2. ^ "Liberty Defeats Norfolk State 17-0". ESPN. Associated Press. September 6, 2014. Retrieved September 7, 2014.
  3. ^ "Brevard vs. Liberty". ESPN. Associated Press. September 13, 2014. Retrieved September 14, 2014.
  4. ^ "Liberty over Bryant 38-21". ESPN. Associated Press. September 20, 2014. Retrieved September 21, 2014.
  5. ^ "Perish leads Indiana State Past Liberty, 38-19". ESPN. Associated Press. September 27, 2014. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
  6. ^ "Richmond Edges Liberty 46-39 in 2OT". ESPN. Associated Press. October 4, 2014. Retrieved October 5, 2014.
  7. ^ "Liberty edges Appalachian State 55-48 in OT". ESPN. Associated Press. October 11, 2014. Retrieved October 12, 2014.
  8. ^ "Abnar leads Liberty past Gardner-Webb 34-0". ESPN. Associated Press. October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2014.
  9. ^ "Liberty rolls over Presbyterian 28-7". ESPN. Associated Press. November 1, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
  10. ^ "Abnar carries Liberty past Monmouth, 34-24". ESPN. Associated Press. November 8, 2014. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
  11. ^ "Charleston Southern hangs on to tip Liberty, 38-36". ESPN. Associated Press. November 15, 2014. Retrieved November 16, 2014.
  12. ^ "Liberty edges Coastal Carolina 15-14 to win title". ESPN. Associated Press. November 22, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
  13. ^ "Liberty outlasts James Madison 26-21". ESPN. Associated Press. November 29, 2014. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
  14. ^ "Villanova comeback tops Liberty 29-22 in FCS". ESPN. Associated Press. December 6, 2014. Retrieved December 7, 2014.