Syracuse, N.Y. — Earlier this week, Dino Babers said he expected the Syracuse football program to have a better record going into Friday’s home game against Liberty.
The Orange stands at 2-1 over the first three games of the season against lower-level non-conference opponents, but this weekend’s game is against one of 34 unbeaten teams in the country.
The Flames have beaten their first three opponents by an average of 25 points, but SU ranks fourth in the nation in total defense. It poses a different kind of challenge for a Liberty team with a possible first-round NFL draft pick in junior quarterback Malik Willis.
Friday’s game is slated to be a tiebreaker between Syracuse and Liberty after splitting the last two meetings. Syracuse beat Liberty on the road in a 24-0 shutout in 2019, while Liberty defeated the Orange 38-21 in the Carrier Dome last season.
Liberty coach Hugh Freeze said Monday during his weekly press conference that he doesn’t consider the matchup a huge rivalry right now but appreciates the opportunity to face another Power-Five program.
“They’re a heck of a football team. Their roster is probably better than ours,” Freeze said. “Dino is a heck of a ball coach. Heck of a guy, too. His kids are playing really, really hard for him. It’ll be a great challenge, but we’re looking forward to those opportunities that we get.”
Here are five things to know about Liberty:
Malik Willis returns the Carrier Dome
While there’s uncertainty at the quarterback position for Syracuse, that’s not the case for Liberty.
Malik Willis, one of the most dynamic quarterbacks in the country, has had a profound impact on Liberty since transferring to the program from Auburn in 2019. Last season, he led the Flames to a 10-1 record and threw for 2,260 passing yards while rushing for 944 yards.
Willis, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound dual-threat junior, is projected on several mock drafts as a potential first-round pick in next year’s NFL draft.
He is coming to the Carrier Dome fresh off of a performance of six total touchdowns (four passing, two rushing) and 242 passing yards in last week’s 45-17 win over Old Dominion. Willis’ accuracy has served him well so far as he is 49-of-69 passing for 613 yards with no interceptions.
However, he has gotten sacked eight times through three games, so that could be an interesting area to watch in Friday’s game.
“He’s a quarterback that can throw the football,” Babers said. “He throws a good deep ball. He throws a good short ball, but he runs so strong. I’m not calling him a running back because he’s not, but he does not run like a running quarterback. He’s better than that.”
Tiebreaker
Syracuse had an overwhelming win in 2019. Liberty countered last season in the Carrier Dome thanks to Willis’ 182 passing yards and two touchdowns, along with an unexpected 170 rushing yard-outing from sophomore running back Shedro Louis.
After the game, the Flames celebrated as if they’d just won the college football national championship, but there was one big difference. The arena was empty because of the coronavirus pandemic. Fans will be in attendance this year, presumably dressed in all white, when the Flames arrive on Friday. Freeze said his team will prepare for the Orange just like it did with its first away game in Troy, with artificial crowd noise.
“It might be a little louder,” Freeze said. “We don’t expect to have people cheering for us. We get that, but that has nothing to do with our execution or our game plan or our effort, so that’s the only thing that I’m concerned about.”
Joshua Mack’s sort of homecoming Part II
Joshua Mack, a redshirt senior running back and Pittsford native, will return to Upstate New York to play in his home state for the first time since 2017.
He attended Pittsford-Mendon High School before playing his first two seasons of college football at Maine. Mack, who stands at 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds, was supposed to play in last season’s matchup but did not due to Covid-19, which led to Shedro Louis’ dominant rushing performance.
This season, Mack is the primary running back for the Flames, and he’s totaled 40 carries for 133 rushing yards and one touchdown. Last season, Mack led the team with 797 rushing yards with an average of 5.7 yards per carry.
Liberty has a pretty good defense, too
Syracuse may be ranked fourth across the country in total defense entering Friday’s game, but Liberty isn’t too far off at No. 12.
The Flames run a 4-2-5 defense under defensive coordinator Scott Symons, only allowing 13.3 points per game. For comparison, Liberty limited its opponents to 318 yards and 20.5 points per game past season.
The defense is led by Prairie View grad transfer Storey Jackson, a linebacker with a team-high 20 tackles (2.5 tackles for loss) this season. Freshman defensive tackle Kendy Charles is making his presence felt on the unit with four of Liberty’s 10 sacks through the first three games.
Coaching
Third-year coach Hugh Freeze received a contract extension that runs through 2026 after leading Liberty to a 10-1 record last season. He’s guided the program to a bowl game in each of his first two seasons at the FBS level.
Prior to his time at Liberty, Freeze coached at Lambuth University, Arkansas State and Ole Miss. His all-time record is 63-38, including a 21-6 mark since taking over as coach of the Flames.
Freeze had glowing remarks about Babers earlier this week.
“I think he’s a players’ coach that cares as much about how he treats and coaches his kids off the field and what he’s doing to develop them there as much as he is on the field,” Freeze said.
“That’s the impression I get from the times I’ve been around him. I love his personality. He’s friendly and outgoing and I think he’s one of those guys that’s in this profession that really doesn’t have a huge ego. He’s approachable and easy to talk to.”
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