BYU might have been a little surprised to hear Liberty head coach Hugh Freeze say in a press conference earlier this week that “it is without doubt the biggest home football game this program has ever had,” since the Cougars are just 4-3 and struggling with having lost back-to-back games.

But a little perspective makes it more clear why this is such a treasured moment for the Flames.

This is just the fourth year of Division I football for Liberty, which has enjoyed solid success during that time with three bowl wins.

But there haven’t been a lot of notable home games for the Flames, with the top games being a contest against No. 21 Louisiana in 2021 and a matchup with No. 22 Syracuse to start the 2019 season.

With BYU having fans who show up across the country, it’s not exactly surprising that this will be the first official sellout in school history at the 25,000-seat William Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia.

The Cougars recognize that this is a big deal for Liberty and so they need to be ready.

“You’ve got to love that, got to love the energy that they have for the game,” BYU junior linebacker Keenan Pili said Tuesday. “We respect them as opponents. I think Liberty is a great team. I’ve already watched so much film on them and they’re a good team.”

Cougar offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick said BYU is expecting an “electric” atmosphere.

“Offensive line coach Darrell Funk has been the coach of a team that played there and he says it is a great college football environment,” Roderick said. “They are a good team, so it’s going to be fun.”

BYU defensive coordinator ‘Ilaisa Tuiaki said he sees a Flame offense that is very capable.

“They were successful when they came here and Hugh Freeze is a really good coach,” Tuiaki said. “They’re disciplined. They have playmakers and a really good running back. They’ve bounced around with different quarterbacks, but all of them just bring different things to the table. They’ve got good skill kids too, including one receiver who is just super, super fast. We’ve got to be sound and we’ve got to be ready because it’s definitely a challenge to stop an offense like that.”

Pili agreed that the Cougar defense can’t afford to be sloppy or Liberty will take advantage.

“They have talent everywhere,” Pili said. “I think they have a good offensive line. I think they run their scheme really well. I think they have a quarterback who knows where to put the ball in the right in the right times. We’re going to have to make sure that we’re on our toes for that.”

On the other side, Roderick knows his offense is also facing a Flame defense that loves to force mistakes and negative plays.

“They are in the Top 20 in just about every category that really matters,” Roderick said. “I think they are No. 1 in the nation in forcing turnovers. They are great on third down. I think they’re average third down distance is 9.13 yards, so that tells me they’re stopping people on first and second down, getting them to third-and-long and then getting off the field. They are a very good defense and present a big challenge.”

BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said he knows Liberty will be ready and so his team must be ready as well, which will be even more important coming off a pair of tough defeats.

“We have a tough matchup this weekend,” he said. “I’m looking forward to our team correcting some things from the last couple of weeks. We’re kind of in a funk right now after not getting the results we wanted in the last two games but I think there will be a lot of growth and a lot of things to learn. We’re going to keep a positive attitude about trying to get better while also being optimistic that we will get through this.”

BYU at Liberty

TIME:1:30 p.m. MT

TV:ESPNU

WHERE: Williams Stadium, Lynchburg, Virginia

THE WORD: This will be the second meeting between BYU and Liberty, with the Cougars winning the first matchup in Provo, 31-24, in 2019 … This will be the third time BYU has played a game in the state of Virginia, having won once (2000) and lost once (2013) when playing against the University of Virginia in Charlottesville … The Flames are the second independent program BYU faced this season, having lost to Notre Dame in Las Vegas, 28-20 … With the game against the Flames, BYU will have traveled to play all but one of the current independent teams in their home stadiums during the independence era, including at Notre Dame (2012, 2013), at UMass (2019) and at Liberty (2022). BYU had a game scheduled against Army in 2020 but it was canceled due to Covid-19. The Cougars played at UConn in 2014, but the Huskies were members of the American at the time, and at New Mexico State in 2012 when the Aggies were in the Western Athletic Conference.

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