Making history: Flames Football takes first win over SEC team, earns highest regular season ranking at No. 19

In a game that went down to the wire, Flames Football defeated Arkansas 21-19 in Razorback Stadium on Saturday, marking the program’s first-ever win against SEC competition. Prior to this game, Liberty was 0-2 against SEC opponents.

The victory propelled Liberty to 8-1 on the season, tied with the 1997 and 2020 Liberty teams for the best start through nine games in program history. Liberty is now ranked No. 19 in the AP Poll, the highest regular season mark in program history.

The Flames went into the game ranked No. 23 in the AP Poll and got hot early with a 16-yard touchdown reception by receiver Noah Frith in the waning minutes of the first quarter.

The second quarter tilted heavily in Liberty’s favor after the Flames offense took over after a fourth down stop near midfield. Liberty took advantage of the great field position with 20-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jonathan Bennett to receiver Demario Douglas with 11 minutes left in the half.

Both teams would score before the clock hit zeros at halftime with both scores coming within the final minute. Bennett hit receiver Treon Sibley on an 18-yard strike in the endzone with 42 seconds left, while Cam Little broke the scoreless streak for Arkansas when he knocked down a 50-yard field goal as time expired to trim Liberty’s lead to 21-3 at the break.

The third quarter featured little action for either side as the only score came from an Arkansas blocked punt through the endzone to add two points to the Razorbacks’ total.

Arkansas finally found its stride midway through the fourth quarter when quarterback KJ Jefferson capped a 17-play, 84-yard drive with a five-yard pass play to Trey Knox. Following a two-point conversion rush by Raheim Sander, Liberty held a 21-13 edge.

After Liberty punted near midfield with 3:47 left in the game, Arkansas pieced together another scoring effort. The quick seven-play, 85-yard drive ended with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Jefferson to Knox, setting up a dramatic finish. Jefferson kept the ball on the two-point conversation attempt and was stopped inches from the goal line. Following an official review, the call on the field stood, giving Liberty the two-point win.

After the game, Head Coach Hugh Freeze mentioned the significance of Liberty defeating the Razorbacks.

I’ve brought a lot of good teams up to this stadium back when I was in the league as an assistant and as a head coach,” Freeze said. “I never left here really happy, and who would have thought my first win in Fayetteville would be with Liberty, a little FBS school who just turned FBS for the last four years.”

Freeze spent five seasons (2012-2016) as the head coach of Ole Miss but never won in Fayetteville during his tenure.

The Flames have currently won six straight games, including victories over both Arkansas and BYU. The lone loss on the season was a heartbreaking one-point loss to then No. 19 Wake Forest.

The Flames will play their final regular season road game of 2022 when Liberty travels to East Hartford, Conn. Nov. 12 to face the UConn Huskies with kickoff set for 12:05 p.m. UConn (5-5) is closing out its 2022 schedule against three-straight FBS independent teams (UMass, Liberty and Army) and has won four of its last five games following a 27-10 win over UMass on Friday night.

For full game coverage, visit LibertyFlames.com.