Post by Sly Fox on Sept 26, 2005 17:54:12 GMT -5
Nowhere to go but up for the Flames
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
September 26, 2005
WILLIAMSBURG - Liberty University’s football team can only hope this is rock bottom.
The Flames have been outscored 157-0 in their last three games, and the moments in which they’ve truly even been competitive have been few and far between.
They gave up 600 yards to Connecticut and 635 to William & Mary.
They failed to score against a Tribe team that had allowed 36 or more points in two of its previous three games.
And the quarterback situation is as confusing as ever.
“There’s only one way to go, that’s for sure,” LU coach Ken Karcher said. “I would hope that it couldn’t get any worse.”
Liberty (1-3) unsuccessfully tried running the option against W&M Saturday, and when freshman quarterback Zach Terrell was forced to pass, he struggled. He threw one pass over the middle that sailed at least five feet over the head of receiver Wynton Jackson.
That forced Karcher to turn to senior quarterback Brock Farrel. Again, he moved the offense and even completed a 46-yard pass to receiver Lauren Williams. By the time freshman Brock Smith came into the game, it was well out of hand and he was throwing against a Tribe defense hungry for a shutout.
Smith was 2-for-9 for 21 yards and threw an interception.
While Farrel had the best stats again of the three, completing 7 of 13 passes for 126 yards, he may not see the field again this season. He threw a costly interception when the Flames drove inside the Tribe 30 after making a bad read.
Karcher said after the game that it was time to let Terrell and Smith battle for playing time.
“Our plan going in (was) that we were going to play Zach Terrell most of the game if we could,” Karcher said. “In fairness to Zach, he’s not comfortable with everything yet, so when we got down again, especially when we got down 28-0, to have Zach just drop back and throw all game wouldn’t be what’s best for him or our team.
“Brock Farrel’s had many chances. Our big question is going to be do we go with the two young freshmen and take some lumps? We’ll make that decision this week. We’ve already taken some lumps. … We haven’t scored any points with a senior quarterback. He hasn’t been the only problem.”
Another quandary the coaching staff must deal with is how to restore the fragile confidence of a team that’s been beaten down miserably in the last three weeks. Karcher said the mood in the locker room was grim Saturday, and that’s to be expected when a team’s pride is wounded the way Liberty’s has been.
VMI comes to town Saturday for homecoming, and the Keydets have shown vast improvements since enduring a winless 2004 season. The Flames, meanwhile, have taken five steps back and are still answering the sort of questions that are normally hashed out in the preseason, not four games into the season - like finding out who the team’s best quarterback is.
“Going through this, it hurts right now,” Williams said.
By Chris Lang
Lynchburg News & Advance
September 26, 2005
WILLIAMSBURG - Liberty University’s football team can only hope this is rock bottom.
The Flames have been outscored 157-0 in their last three games, and the moments in which they’ve truly even been competitive have been few and far between.
They gave up 600 yards to Connecticut and 635 to William & Mary.
They failed to score against a Tribe team that had allowed 36 or more points in two of its previous three games.
And the quarterback situation is as confusing as ever.
“There’s only one way to go, that’s for sure,” LU coach Ken Karcher said. “I would hope that it couldn’t get any worse.”
Liberty (1-3) unsuccessfully tried running the option against W&M Saturday, and when freshman quarterback Zach Terrell was forced to pass, he struggled. He threw one pass over the middle that sailed at least five feet over the head of receiver Wynton Jackson.
That forced Karcher to turn to senior quarterback Brock Farrel. Again, he moved the offense and even completed a 46-yard pass to receiver Lauren Williams. By the time freshman Brock Smith came into the game, it was well out of hand and he was throwing against a Tribe defense hungry for a shutout.
Smith was 2-for-9 for 21 yards and threw an interception.
While Farrel had the best stats again of the three, completing 7 of 13 passes for 126 yards, he may not see the field again this season. He threw a costly interception when the Flames drove inside the Tribe 30 after making a bad read.
Karcher said after the game that it was time to let Terrell and Smith battle for playing time.
“Our plan going in (was) that we were going to play Zach Terrell most of the game if we could,” Karcher said. “In fairness to Zach, he’s not comfortable with everything yet, so when we got down again, especially when we got down 28-0, to have Zach just drop back and throw all game wouldn’t be what’s best for him or our team.
“Brock Farrel’s had many chances. Our big question is going to be do we go with the two young freshmen and take some lumps? We’ll make that decision this week. We’ve already taken some lumps. … We haven’t scored any points with a senior quarterback. He hasn’t been the only problem.”
Another quandary the coaching staff must deal with is how to restore the fragile confidence of a team that’s been beaten down miserably in the last three weeks. Karcher said the mood in the locker room was grim Saturday, and that’s to be expected when a team’s pride is wounded the way Liberty’s has been.
VMI comes to town Saturday for homecoming, and the Keydets have shown vast improvements since enduring a winless 2004 season. The Flames, meanwhile, have taken five steps back and are still answering the sort of questions that are normally hashed out in the preseason, not four games into the season - like finding out who the team’s best quarterback is.
“Going through this, it hurts right now,” Williams said.
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