Game Day: Maine – Liberty University

Liberty will kick off its 53rd football season with a Saturday afternoon match-up against Maine at Williams Stadium. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.
 
Broadcast Information:
TV: ESPN+

• Broadcast team: Matt Warner (play-by-play), Joe Jauch (analyst) and Annie Cory (sidelines)

Radio: LFSN Radio (Local: 88.3 FM | Liberty Flames Mobile App | LibertyFlames.com)

 
Game Day Information:
Location: Lynchburg, Va.
Stadium: Williams Stadium
Kickoff: 4 p.m. ET

 
News and Notes:

• The Flames and Black Bears have split their two previous meetings, with each team winning on its home field.
• Liberty’s 59-44 home victory over Maine on Oct. 19, 2019 is part of the Flames’ 9-0 record vs. FCS foes since joining the FBS ranks in 2018.
• The Flames are coming off an 8-4 season which culminated in their sixth consecutive bowl game appearance (Bahamas Bowl vs. Buffalo).
• Jamey Chadwell is 21-5 in his third year at Liberty and owns a 52-11 coaching record dating back to the start of 2020. Last season, he became the Flames’ fastest head coach ever to reach 20 victories (23 games).
• The Flames’ top two options at QB are Ryan Burger (started the 2025 Bahamas Bowl for the Flames) and Ethan Vasko (16 starts at Coastal Carolina over the last two seasons.)
• Vaughn Blue (Walter Camp Award Watch List) and Julian Gray (Doak Walker Award Watch List) headline a new-look group of running backs. Liberty ranked No. 4 nationally for rushing last season.
• Seniors Joseph Carter (LB) and Brylan Green (S) provide veteran leadership for the Flames’ defense. Carter paced the Flames with 88 tackles in 2004.

 
“4 Downs” with Maine
 
#1 Only one QB on Liberty’s 2025 roster has started a game for the Flames. Ryan Burger started the 2025 Bahamas Bowl vs. Buffalo. QB Ethan Vasko is the only current Flame with either a 300-yard passing effort (once) or a 100-yard rushing performance (once) to his credit, accomplishing both feats during his time at Coastal Carolina.
 
#2 Liberty is 2-0 in season openers under Jamey Chadwell, defeating Bowling Green and Campbell by an average score of 37.5 to 24. The Flames lost their last two games of the 2024 season and will look to avoid their first three-game losing streak since dropping the last four contests of the 2022 campaign. Two of the three games Liberty has won at the FBS level when giving up 40+ points have come vs. FCS foes (Idaho State in 2018 and Maine in 2019).
 
#3 The 2025 season marks Jamey Chadwell‘s third year as Liberty’s head coach and the Flames’ third season of CUSA play. Liberty lost its top three rushers (Quinton Cooley, Billy Lucas and Kaidon Salter) from last year’s team, which ranked No. 4 nationally with 250.7 rushing yards per contest. The Flames have only won three August games in program history (3-6 record).
 
#4 The Flames hope to attract 20,000+ fans to their home opener at Williams Stadium for the fourth time in program history. Liberty’s largest crowd for a home opener was 21,671 vs. Syracuse in 2019. Saturday will mark Liberty’s first 4 p.m. kickoff time in four years. The Flames hosted Louisiana for a 4 p.m. kick on Nov. 20, 2021.
 
A LIBERTY WIN WOULD…

• Be the Flames’ sixth straight season-opening triumph and ninth in the last 10 years, boosting Liberty’s record in season openers to 28-25 all-time.
• Give Liberty a program-record six-year streak of winning season openers, breaking the current record of winning five straight season-opening games (2004-08).
• Give Liberty a win in its home opener for the sixth straight year and 12th out of the last 13. It would push Liberty’s record in home openers to 32-6 at the Division I level and 7-1 at the FBS level.
• Keep the home team undefeated in the Liberty-Maine football series, giving the Flames a 2-1 series advantage.
• Make Liberty 10-0 vs. FCS opponents since joining the FBS ranks in 2018.
• Mark Liberty’s third straight victory over a CAA opponent, making the Flames 6-24 versus the league all-time.
• Give Liberty a 38-7 record at Williams Stadium since joining the FBS in 2018.

 
Home Sweet Home
Liberty is 37-7 at Williams Stadium since joining FBS in 2018 and 150-56 all-time at the facility.
 
The Flames won 12 straight home games, from Sept. 2, 2023 through Oct. 8, 2024, the second longest home winning streak in program history. The longest is a program-record 15-game home win streak from Sept. 14, 2019 through Oct. 30, 2021.
 
For Openers
Liberty is 27-25 all-time in season openers, having won its first game in each of the last five seasons.
 
Liberty third-year Head Coach Jamey Chadwell is also 5-0 in his last five season openers, with the first three of those (2020-22) coming while at Coastal Carolina.
 
Starting with a 48-45 win at Baylor to begin the 2017 season, the Flames have won eight out of their last nine season openers. The only season-opening loss in that span was Aug. 31, 2019 against No. 22 Syracuse.
 
Liberty has only played four season openers against FCS opponents (at time of meeting) since 2004.  Most recently, the Flames opened the 2024 season with a 41-24 win over Campbell at Williams Stadium.
 
FCS Success
For the second year in a row, Liberty is kicking off its season with a home game against an FCS foe hailing from the CAA.
 
Since joining FBS football in 2018, Liberty is 9-0 against FCS opponents. In Liberty’s last five meetings with FCS foes, the Flames have outscored opponents by a combined 196-72.
 
However, that stretch includes a one-point win, 21-20 over Gardner-Webb on Oct. 15, 2022.
 
Saturday Superstars
Liberty went 7-0 last season and is now 15-0 under third-year Head Coach Jamey Chadwell in regular-season Saturday contests.
 
Every other FBS team has lost at least one regular-season Saturday game since Liberty’s last Saturday loss, Nov. 26, 2022 against New Mexico State.
 
Liberty, Oregon and UNLV were the only FBS teams without a Saturday loss in the 2024 regular season.
 
Bowling 300
Liberty rushed for 300 or more yards in three of its last four games of the 2024 regular season.
 
The Flames have rushed for 300 or more yards 10 times under Jamey Chadwell, going 10-0 in those games. In the first 50 years of Liberty football history, the Flames posted 28 total 300-yard rushing games.
 
Overall in his head coaching career, Chadwell’s teams are 36-0 when rushing for 300 or more yards and 8-0 when churning up 400 or more rushing yards.