Football Routs Syracuse, 38-21, for First Victory Over ACC Opponent

Liberty rushed out of the gates Saturday and never looked back, dominating Syracuse 38-21 to improve to 5-0 on the season while subsequently cinching a spot in the program record books. 

Behind a deluge of 520 yards of total offense and another stifling defensive effort, a commanding LU defeated an ACC opponent for the first time in school history – and they did so convincingly. 

“I’ve said ever since I was hired here, I like doing things that are first,” Flames Head Coach Hugh Freeze said. “I like it for our program, for our kids, our administration and our fans. I’m really proud of our team. Our kids, the character showed. We were without a lot of kids today for various reasons. It’s a collective great effort from the staff to the players to everybody involved.”

Syracuse came into Saturday’s game with a slew of injuries – including quarterback Tommy DeVito and All-American safety Andre Cisco – and a struggling defense that allowed over 350 rushing yards to Duke the previous game. 

After being held to negative 4 rushing yards in a 24-0 shutout loss against Syracuse in 2019, Freeze and the Flames committed to the run early and torched the Orange all afternoon, totaling 338 yards on the ground, despite the absence of the team’s leading rusher – Joshua Mack, who was ill. 

“You can’t win the football game if you can’t stop people from rushing the football,” Syracuse Head Coach Dino Babers said in a postgame press conference.

It was Syracuse who struck first Saturday, but the Flames answered immediately and grabbed momentum and control of the game, which they would not relinquish for the remainder of the afternoon.

Orange quarterback Rex Culpepper opened the scoring by throwing a 17-yard touchdown pass with 8:32 left in the first quarter. Syracuse’s only lead of the afternoon lasted a mere 18 seconds, as two plays later Flames third-string running back Shedro Louis sliced through a gaping hole created by the LU offensive line and dashed past Syracuse defenders for a breakaway 75-yard touchdown to make it 7-7.

“It was big, we showed them that we can run it,” Louis said. “Line blocked great. Everyone executed their part and we busted (Syracuse) back in the mouth.”

Later in the first half, after Culpepper’s second of three TD throws on the day, Louis broke away for a 54-yard rushing touchdown that set the score at 21-14, a lead that the Flames carried into halftime. The 5-foot-8-inch speedster finished the day with a career-best 170 yards on only 10 carries.

Malik Willis also stepped up for the Flames after a shaky performance last week – when Willis himself admitted he was “rusty” coming back to the field after an elbow injury. Against Syracuse, Willis completed 16 of his 20 pass attempts, including an arcing 36-yard toss to wide receiver D.J. Stubbs for a TD that made it 28-14 midway through the third quarter.

Despite fumbling inside the Syracuse 5-yard-line just before halftime, Willis looked comfortable throwing and running the football against his ACC opposition. He finished with 182 passing yards, 58 rushing yards and two total touchdowns on the afternoon – a performance lauded by Freeze after the game.

“I thought Malik played a solid game,” Freeze said. “As a quarterback, you can look at every single play, and there’s bound to be some that didn’t measure up to what his standard is. He certainly played extremely well for us.”

Rounding out the ground game for LU, redshirt senior Peytton Pickett stepped in for Mack as the workhorse running back, carrying the ball 23 times for 115 yards and a score. Pickett’s 16-yard touchdown capped off a seven-play drive that put Liberty ahead 35-14 late in the third quarter.

Freeze and Willis both commended the offensive line after the game for their continued strong performance that slowed down the Syracuse defensive front and created opportunities for the Flames running game to shine.

“The O-line was amazing today (and) the tight ends as well,” Willis said. “Those running backs, they were finding lanes and going. They weren’t thinking about it.”

Liberty dominated offensively, but the defense also made big plays all afternoon to stifle the ailing Orange offense.

Sophomore cornerback Chris Megginson made the first interception of his Liberty career and safety Javon Scruggs continued his standout junior season with a team-leading 12 tackles. Defensive ends Durrell Johnson and TreShaun Clark also kept the pressure on Culpepper throughout the game by recording a sack each and leading the Flames pass rush that has racked up 16 sacks through five games.

“It was a team effort,” Clark said. “When the offense (gets) their momentum, (and the defense) gets our momentum, we literally hype each other up.”

Syracuse made a late push in the fourth quarter when Culpepper found wide receiver Anthony Queeley for a 21-yard TD to make the score 35-21. 

However, Flames receiver Brody Brumm recovered the ensuing onside kick and Willis led a seven-play drive capped off by an Alex Barbir 20-yard field goal that moved LU’s lead to 38-21 and closed the scoring for the afternoon.

With the victory, the Flames remain undefeated at 5-0, while the faltering Orange fell to 1-4.

Freeze and the team celebrated the Flame’s inaugural victory over an ACC opponent after the game, but the seasoned coach noted that the momentum of such a historic win can be either vital or volatile for his team, depending on how they use it.

“This one should give us confidence moving forward if we handle it the right way,” Freeze said. “Both successes and failures can be your enemy. How you handle both are important. We’ve got to find out how we’ll handle coming off a win like this.”

Liberty’s next scheduled game is Saturday, Oct. 24, at home against Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles have had their games postponed the last two weeks for COVID-19-related issues.

Christian Weaner is the Asst. Sports Editor. Follow him on Twitter at @christianweaner.