Well, praise the Lord and pass the program! Gideon Fairweather here, coming to you from Lynchburg, where I'm a youth pastor by trade and a middle-school football coach on the side. That means I've given a halftime speech on perseverance to eleven 12-year-olds who mostly wanted to know what flavor the sports drink was. I'm ready for anything, friends, including a Thursday night in Georgia.
Part 1: A Week of Rest After a Night of Running
Let me be honest first, because that's how my mama raised me: Liberty didn't play last week. We had the week off. So let me tell you about the last time the Flames took the field, because it was a good one.
On Oct. 8, Liberty beat Sam Houston 35-3 at Williams Stadium. We're 5-1 and 2-0 in Conference USA, and AP says that made it five straight wins.
The Flames ran the ball like they were late for a church potluck. We piled up 297 rushing yards on 39 carries, 7.6 a carry, per ESPN's box score. Jaylon Coleman ran seven times for 92 yards. Kam Davis ran 10 times for 67 yards and a touchdown. Ethan Vasko scored twice, from 1 and 3 yards out. Terron Kellman added a 9-yard touchdown run. And Deshawn Purdie went 10 of 14 for 114 yards, ran seven times for 57 more, and threw a 15-yard touchdown pass to Bryce Randolph to cap an eight-play, 75-yard drive on the game's opening possession.
The defense was a blessing, too. Sam Houston managed 243 yards and one field goal. AP says the Bearkats turned the ball over on downs three times in the second half. Derrell Farrar made nine tackles, and Markus Clark had a sack.
Now, every sermon needs a confession. We were flagged 15 times for 117 yards. Fifteen! My middle-schoolers would be running laps until Christmas. AP's preview ranks Liberty 137th in FBS in penalty yards, at 85.8 a game. We need to clean that up, and I trust these young men to do it.
And this streak has been earned. We opened with a 20-13 loss at James Madison. Then we squeaked past Gardner-Webb 24-23, beat Ball State 51-15, won 34-17 at Coastal Carolina and won 30-14 at Delaware. Five straight. That's the kind of perseverance I preach about.
Part 2: Thursday Night in Kennesaw
Thursday, 7 p.m. Eastern, CBS Sports Network, Liberty at Kennesaw State.
First, some honest respect, because the Owls have earned it. Wikipedia says Kennesaw State won the 2025 Conference USA championship under first-year coach Jerry Mack, beating Jacksonville State 19-15 in the title game. And they've beaten us two years running, 27-24 at their place in 2024 and 48-42 at ours last year, per CollegeFootballData.com. The Owls lead the series 3-2. Rickie Collins is a dual threat, with five rushing touchdowns. Dylan Gary caught 10 passes for 135 yards last week. These are good young men, somebody's sons, and they play hard.
But brothers and sisters, let's open the AP preview and read the scripture.
Kennesaw State is 1-5 and has lost five straight. Its scoring offense ranks 106th in FBS, at 22.3 points a game. Its pass defense ranks 102nd. And its red zone defense ranks 132nd, allowing opponents to score on 95.5% of trips. Ninety-five and a half percent! Friends, that's not a red zone. That's an open church door on Sunday morning. Everybody's welcome, and everybody gets in.
Meanwhile, Liberty's rushing offense ranks 15th in FBS, at 223.0 yards a game. Kam Davis has 524 yards and four touchdowns. Makai Jackson has 515 receiving yards and five touchdowns on just 22 catches. And Purdie has eight touchdown passes and zero interceptions. Zero! That's a young man who listens in Sunday school.
Our defense ranks 19th in FBS in yards allowed and 15th in scoring, at 15.3 points a game. Our pass defense ranks 15th. And opponents convert just 28.4% of third downs against us, which ranks eighth. We also rank 12th in time of possession. The Owls rank 102nd. So the Flames like to hold the ball, and when the other fellas get it, they don't keep it long.
I'll be honest about the Owls' grit. They lost 17-14 at Arkansas State, 27-26 at home to Jacksonville State and 24-21 at Missouri State on a field goal as time expired. That's three losses by three points or fewer. They're close, and close teams are dangerous. We'll pray for them on Friday morning. On Thursday night, we'll play.
Tales From Two Towns
Lynchburg. Lynchburg is a city of 79,009 in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, along the James River, per Wikipedia. It's called the "City of Seven Hills" and the "Hill City." It was founded in 1757 by John Lynch, a Quaker ferry operator and abolitionist, who started a ferry across the James when he was about 17. Thomas Jefferson built his retreat, Poplar Forest, nearby in 1806, and Wikipedia quotes him calling Lynchburg "the most interesting spot in the state." Mr. Jefferson knew a thing or two. We've got Point of Honor, the Trails of Blackwater Creek along old railroad beds, and Riverside Park. Wikipedia also says Lynchburg was the only major city in Virginia not recaptured by Union forces before the end of the Civil War, thanks to its strategic importance. And it's a college town several times over, home to Liberty, the University of Lynchburg, Randolph College and more. Lynchburg on game day feels like a family reunion with a marching band.
And Liberty football is a story of faith. Wikipedia says the Flames began play in 1973. Williams Stadium was built in 1989 and seats 25,000. In 2023, Jamey Chadwell's first season, Liberty went undefeated in the regular season, won Conference USA, and played in the Fiesta Bowl, the program's first major bowl. From a brand-new team to a New Year's Six bowl in 50 years. That's what perseverance looks like.
Kennesaw. Now, Kennesaw is a nice city northwest of Atlanta. But Wikipedia says that from the 1830s until 1887, the town was called Big Shanty. Big Shanty! I'm sure it was a lovely shanty. Big, too. And the town is named for Kennesaw Mountain, which is the highest point in the Atlanta area, and which Wikipedia says is located southeast of the city limits. So Kennesaw has one mountain, and it isn't even in town. Lynchburg has seven hills, and we keep every one of them inside the city.
Kennesaw is famous for the Great Locomotive Chase in 1862, when a train left town and folks had to chase it down. I hope the Owls' defense brings its running shoes on Thursday, because our ball carriers are leaving the station, too.
Coach Gideon's Halftime Speech, Delivered Early
1. Run the ball. A 15th-ranked rushing offense is our daily bread. 2. Finish in the red zone. Their defense lets 95.5% of trips score. Make them all touchdowns. 3. Keep your heads and your hands to yourselves. Fifteen flags is too many for any Thursday. 4. Respect the Owls. They beat us the last two years, and they won the league last season.
Bless these young men on both sidelines. Play hard, play fair, and let's see the joy on their faces.
My call: Liberty Flames 29, Kennesaw State Owls 18.