First off, here’s the link to the Twitter feed if you’re interested in updates during the game.

Thoughts on today’s game with the Keydets, along with some other random nuggets about press boxes and playoff races.

1. This will be my final game in the Williams Stadium press box, as there’s no chance I will be sent here for an LCA playoff game. Liberty’s football schedule will have me on the road the next two Fridays, and by the time LCA’s season ends, this facility will be but a pile of a lumber and plexiglass. The addition of the five-level press box to an already burgeoning stadium will make Williams by far the finest facility in the Big South Conference, and it will rival some of the better facilities in FCS football. The best I’ve been to, in no particular order: Montana, Elon, Gardner-Webb, Lafayette.

1a. Ah, the memories. As I wrap up my fifth year on the Liberty beat, there have been some interesting moments and games here. Let’s go through a few of the more memorable ones:

1c. Liberty vs. VMI, 2005. The Flames couldn’t get out of their own way all year during a 1-10 season, and the end of this game personified that, as the Flames doinked the right upright on a potential game-tying 27-yard field goal.

1d. Liberty vs. Chattanooga, 2005. Zach Terrell, who came to Liberty as a quarterback, runs for 241 yards, but it’s not enough as the Flames fall to the Mocs.

1e. Liberty vs. St. Paul’s, 2006. Memorable because it was Danny Rocco’s first game as head coach, and it marked the debut of the new FieldTurf.

1f. Liberty vs. Gardner-Webb, 2006. Memorable because the Bulldogs rallied from a 17-0 halftime deficit and handed the Flames their only Big South home loss in Rocco’s tenure.

1g. Liberty vs. VMI, 2007. It was 45-28 at halftime and 73-34 at the end, the longest expanded box score I’ve ever had to send to the paper.

1h. Liberty vs. Elon, 2008. Even though most of the students skipped town, it was memorable to see Liberty actually show up in a big game with something on the line. That something proved not to be a playoff berth, but Liberty still gained a decent bit of respect in the FCS community with a 26-3 win, a game that cost Elon a playoff berth.

1i. Liberty vs. James Madison, 2009. It was pretty incredible to see the student support during a driving rainstorm. I also was soaked like a wet dog after walking from the parking lot to the press box and got soaked again heading to postgame interviews. I guess I just got used to writing in wet clothes at that point.

2. Lots of fun FCS scoreboard watching this afternoon.

2a. Central Connecticut, thanks for playing. Some Blue Devil backers were chirping about inclusion in the playoff picture this week, then CCSU went out and lost a road game to a Wagner team that lost to Division III Stonehill at home in its opener. That’s one team off the bubble.

2c. Colgate, that’s another team off the bubble. Even if the Raiders find a way to get to 9-2, their schedule is completely bereft of a quality win. At this point, Colgate’s only quality win is against Stony Brook, and the Raiders finish with Bucknell at home. Not sure how many of you caught any of Lafayette’s 56-49 win over Colgate today, but it was a heck of a ride. Lafayette and Holy Cross will meet next week in Worcester, Mass., with the Patriot League title on the line. Only one of those teams would get a look ahead of a potential 9-2 Liberty. With a loss, HC would be 9-2 with a home loss to the same Lafayette team Liberty beat in Easton.

2d. James Madison continues to crawl back toward .500 thanks to a 22-14 win over Maine at home. I don’t care what JMU’s record is. The loss to the Dukes will NOT go down as a bad loss for Liberty. If the Dukes win out, their computer rankings will be in the mid-teens at worst.

2e. What the heck to make of South Dakota State? The Jackrabbits will probably get to 8-3 (finish at Minnesota—LOSS; home vs. Western Illinois—WIN). That’s probably going to be enough to get the Rabbits in, but I caught a bit of their game with Southern Illinois this afternoon, and SDSU was never in it. At home. Against SIU’s second-string QB. SIU has put itself into nice position to grab a playoff seed now.

2f. Armanti State just knows how to win in the clutch. I clicked on that App State-Chattanooga game after the Mocs cut the lead to 21-20, and just like that, ASU rattles off two fourth-quarter touchdowns to go up 35-20.

3. OK, more on this game. The Flames are out in red jerseys and white pants tonight. VMI is in its white jerseys and gold pants. B.J. Hayes is dressed and warming up for Liberty, a good sign as he’s been out since dinging his shoulder in the Coastal Carolina game three weeks ago.

3a. That being said, don’t expect Hayes to line up in the backfield a lot. Rocco said he’s got three plays for Hayes to run this week, so I assume his playing time will still be limited.

4. VMI has been better against the run this year, but it’s come at a cost. VMI finds itself in tough one-on-one situations in the secondary, and the Keydets don’t have the athletes to cover Liberty’s receivers one-on-one. Then again, I don’t think VMI can slow Liberty’s tailbacks one-on-one either, so what do you do if you’re Sparky Woods? Tough call.

5. This could be a huge night for Liberty’s Tommy Beecher. Rocco said he wanted to see the Flames take more deep shots tonight, so expect Chris Summers and Freddie Brown to be more involved in the downfield passing game.

That’s it for now. Need to start working on notes due to tight night-game deadlines. Check Twitter for in-game updates.