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The Liberty Flames will be returning home after a two-game road trip. They will take on the Middle Tenn. Blue Raiders at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Williams Stadium. Coming off of a win even when the odds were against them, the Flames have to be feeling especially confident now that the spread is in their favor.
Liberty ran circles around the UAB Blazers last week, and the extra yardage (544 yards vs. 272 yards) paid off. Liberty put the hurt on UAB with a sharp 36-12 victory. The contest was all but wrapped up at the end of the third, by which point Liberty had established a 24-3 advantage. QB Malik Willis had a dynamite game for Liberty; he passed for one TD and 287 yards on 18 attempts in addition to rushing for two TDs and 144 yards.
The Flames' defense was a presence as well, as it got past the Blazers' offensive line to sack QB Dylan Hopkins five times for a total loss of 27 yards. It was a group effort with five guys contributing.
Meanwhile, even if it wasn't a dominant performance, Middle Tenn. beat the Marshall Thundering Herd 34-28 last week. The team ran away with 28 points in the first half and mostly just sat on those in the second to pick up the win.
This next matchup looks promising for Liberty, who are favored by a full 19.5 points. Those who got lucky with them against the spread last week might want to hold off on placing bets this time since the squad has yet to string together back-to-back wins against the spread.
The wins brought the Flames up to 4-1 and Middle Tenn. to 2-3. A couple defensive numbers to keep in mind before kickoff: Liberty is stumbling into the game with the 146th most rushing touchdowns allowed in the nation, having given up six on the season. The Blue Raiders have experienced some struggles of their own as they are 225th worst in the nation in touchdowns allowed, with 19 on the season. It's possible one of these Achilles' heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.
