Liberty’s 2016 football schedule features two road games against FBS opponents and a pair of home games against 2015 NCAA FCS Playoffs participants.
Liberty Athletics announced today the Flames’ 2016 football schedule. The schedule features FBS road games at Virginia Tech and SMU, plus a Thursday evening contest against former Big South rival Coastal Carolina, who will be in its first of a two-year transition to FBS.
Liberty’s six-game home schedule is spotlighted by a Sept. 24 contest against FCS national championship runner-up Jacksonville State and NCAA FCS Playoff quarterfinalist Charleston Southern on Nov. 12.
Liberty has squared off against multiple FBS opponents each of the last three seasons (2013: Kent State and Old Dominion; 2014: North Carolina and Appalachian State; 2015: West Virginia and Georgia State).
Liberty has defeated a FBS opponent in back-to-back seasons, with both wins coming against Sun Belt opponents. The Flames knocked off Appalachian State, 55-48, in 2014 and Georgia State, 41-33, in 2015.
Liberty will play former Big South rival Coastal Carolina on Nov. 17 at Brooks Stadium in Conway, S.C., to conclude both teams’ regular season slate. The Flames wrapped up their 2015 slate by defeating No. 4 Coastal Carolina, 24-21, in a nationally televisedThursday evening game on ESPNEWS at Williams Stadium.
The Flames will open the season on Sept. 3 at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Va., in their first-ever matchup against Virginia Tech in football.
Liberty returns to Williams Stadium the following weekend to open its six-game home slate against Jacksonville on Sept. 10, before hitting the road for a FBS matchup against SMU in Dallas, Texas, on Sept. 17.
The Flames host Jacksonville State on Sept. 24, a team that spent a majority of 2015 as the No. 1 ranked team in the country. The Gamecocks were the No. 1 seed in the NCAA FCS Playoffs and fell to five-time defending national champion North Dakota State in January’s title game in Frisco, Texas.
The contest will pit two of the most successful programs in the country in the last decade against each other. Liberty (10 winning seasons) and Jacksonville State (13 winning seasons) are two of five FCS teams who have posted a winning record each of the last 10 seasons.
Liberty opens the month of October at home against Robert Morris on Oct. 1, its final test before beginning Big South play.
The Flames will begin their quest to win an eighth Big South title when they make their first-ever trip to Kennesaw, Ga., to face Kennesaw State on Oct. 15.
Liberty will play three of its last four Big South games at home, starting with Monmouth on Oct. 22 and Gardner-Webb on Oct. 29. The Flames will open the month of November on the road for their final away Big South game in 2016 on Nov. 5 at Presbyterian.
The Flames will welcome 2015 Big South champion Charleston Southern to Williams Stadium on Nov. 12 for their final conference game of the season. The Buccaneers have won the last two meetings with the Flames, including a 38-36 victory on Nov. 15, 2013, in their last visit to Lynchburg.
Liberty will play its final regular season game of the year at Coastal Carolina in the previously mentioned Thursday night contest. The Chanticleers will be in their first of two FBS transitional seasons in 2016.
The NCAA FCS Playoffs begin with eight first-round games on Nov. 26 and culminate with the crowning of another champion at FC Dallas Stadium in Frisco, Texas, in the NCAA FCS National Championship game next January.
Liberty will be seeking its second NCAA FCS Playoff appearance in 2016. The Flames made the program’s first-ever postseason appearance in 2014 and advanced to the second round.
2016 Liberty University Football Schedule
Sept. 3 Sat. at Virginia Tech (Blacksburg, Va.)
10 Sat. JACKSONVILLE (LYNCHBURG)
17 Sat. at SMU (Dallas, Texas)
24 Sat. JACKSONVILLE STATE (LYNCHBURG)
Oct. 1 Sat. ROBERT MORRIS (LYNCHBURG)
8 Sat. Open Week
15 Sat. At Kennesaw State * (Kennesaw, Ga.)
22 Sat. MONMOUTH * (LYNCHBURG)
29 Sat. GARDNER-WEBB * (LYNCHBURG)
Nov. 5 Sat. at Presbyterian * (Clinton, S.C.)
12 Sat. CHARLESTON SOUTHERN * (LYNCHBURG)
17 Thurs. at Coastal Carolina (Conway, S.C.)
26 Sat. NCAA FCS Playoffs (First Round)
Dec. 3 Sat. NCAA FCS Playoffs (Second Round)
9 Fri. NCAA FCS Playoffs (Quarterfinals)
10 Sat. NCAA FCS Playoffs (Quarterfinals)
16 Fri. NCAA FCS Playoffs (Semifinals)
17 Sat. NCAA FCS Playoffs (Semifinals)
Jan. 7 Sat. NCAA FCS Playoffs (Frisco, Texas)
National Championship Game (FC Dallas Stadium)
* – Denotes Big South Conference game
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