Greetings from CSU Field (great name). Would have been here earlier, but it took me 40 minutes to crack into CSU’s tricky wireless system. I somehow stumbled into getting connected. Some people here weren’t as lucky. Good to see the CSU IT folks up here helping everyone out. Oh, wait ...

Snapped some pics before the game:

Here’s the view from the press box.

Here’s Charleston Southern’s flag, on the verge of snapping off its post during a windy, windy early afternoon.

The scoreboard. Charleston Southern apparently playing Savannah State. Now, 60 minutes before the game, the scoreboard says “CSU LU” on one side and “LU CSU” on the other. Hmph.

Liberty’s Aaron Lundy is warming up here. In the background, the Flames Club tent is on the verge of blowing over. More on the wind later.

The press box and home stands. Not much seating here.

I just wanted to show people how long of a walk it is from the field to the locker rooms for both teams here. I’m standing way behind the end zone, and it’s a good two or three minute walk for the players and coaches to get the locker rooms.

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Moving on to game-related and city-related thoughts, in numbered form.

1. Charleston Southern touts itself as a Baptist institution, and I think they encourage a family environment at their games. But the pre-game music piping out here has featured a not-so-subtle “MFer” or two. They should probably grab the clean versions of these songs off iTunes or something.

2. The wind seems like it’s going to be a major factor today, especially for the punters. Liberty athletics communications maestro Todd Wetmore noted that the punters who were kicking into the wind were having kicks just hang up, and in some cases, blow back toward them. It could be a real tricky day for the punt and kick returners, too. On that note, LU coach Danny Rocco said Thursday that he’ll work with some different combinations on both return units, though Mike Brown and Aldreakis Allen will both start the game at kick returner.

3. There’s a 30-percent chance of rain this afternoon, and if it happens, it’ll be in the form of thunderstorms. Good mix of sun and clouds at the stadium.

4. The field is not as sandy as it has been, mostly because of the soaking rains the Charleston area has received in recent days. The sidelines are pretty muddy, and any sand on the field is wet sand now.

5. Liberty CB Tim Torrence is wearing No. 6 today in remembrance of Jasper Howard, the Connecticut cornerback who was stabbed to death last weekend. Torrence and Howard were teammates at Miami’s Edison High School. Receiver Jimmy Eden is wearing Torrence’s No. 27 today.

6. One of the more underreported stories in this conference is what Jay Mills has done down here just to make Charleston Southern respectable. As has been tirelessly noted, the facilities here are sub-par, at best, on the FCS level. The school is non-existent to the local media. I saw some folks wearing CSU gear in the hotel today, but that was the first time I’ve ever seen that around here. If you walk around downtown, it’s all about The Citadel and College of Charleston. The school exists in a vacuum. How Mills recruits anyone here is beyond me. In the 12 years of CSU football pre-Mills, the Bucs never had a winning record and won only as many as five games just twice. They were winless once and had two one-win seasons. Mills has at least made this program a yearly contender for the .500 mark, and they tied for a conference championship in 2005.

7. I think I have a crush on the City of Charleston. Just a great place to hang out at night, lots of culture. Awesome seafood everywhere (that pound of Dungeness crab legs didn’t stand a chance ...), history, interesting art and architecture, and the beach to boot. Love this trip.

8. I don’t know how many of you remember this play from the West Virginia game: Tommy Beecher rolls right, gets in trouble, looks like he’s going to be sacked, but he breaks free. He flings a pass down the field for Chris Summers, who had quit on his route once he saw Beecher in trouble. Had Summers stayed with it, he catches a touchdown. Let’s fast forward to last week. Similar situation. Beecher scrambles right, evades a sack, chucks a ball and ... overthrows Summers. But that’s not the point. Summers stuck with the route and played the play until the end. Nice bit of evidence of how much Summers has matured in a short time.

9. The scouting report on CSU quarterback A.J. Toscano: Gritty. His numbers don’t look awesome because he’s played teams like Florida and South Florida, but he isn’t afraid to take a hit and is a smart and savvy QB.

10. From talking to some Liberty folks on the sideline, I get the feeling that passion and enthusiasm won’t be an issue today.

11. Liberty is the physically superior team here today. There’s no doubt about that. If they played this game 10 times, I think the Flames win eight of them, at least. But things happen, and CSU’s path to an upset today probably involves turnovers and short fields. If the Flames don’t turn the ball over and keep CSU’s defense on the field, I don’t see any way the Bucs win.

12. This is one of your “make your own energy” type of games. The buzz around this stadium is non-existent.

That’s it for now. Check out the Twitter feed for in-game updates.