First, here’s the lede for tomorrow’s game story in the News & Advance:

BY CHRIS LANG

(434) 385-5529

MORGANTOWN, W. Va.—The questions, Liberty’s players insisted, were external. There was no doubt within the confines of the Flames’ locker room that they could not only compete with West Virginia, but beat the Mountaineers. And had a few plays swung Saturday, the outcome could have easily been different. However, Liberty’s defense was too porous in the first half and the offense too one dimensional throughout the game for the Flames to spring the upset.

But even as those left in attendance swayed and sang to the soothing sounds of John Denver’s “Country Roads” after West Virginia had completed its 33-20 victory at Milan Puskar Stadium, a sense of uneasiness hung in the air.

“People think, ‘Oh, here comes an FCS school,” WVU coach Bill Stewart said. “But … I tell you, they can play.”

The Mountaineers said all of the right things during the week, but they certainly couldn’t have expected the battle Liberty gave them Saturday. The Flames tied the game at 10 early in the second quarter on a Tommy Beecher to Mike Brown touchdown pass. Liberty was within two touchdowns and had the football in the fourth quarter until a Beecher interception, his lone miscue, led to a two-play drive that helped WVU put the pesky Flames away.

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Look for notes on Liberty’s kick return game, punt coverage, receivers, tailbacks and QB Tommy Beecher in the print edition as well.

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Need to get on the road here soon, so I’m not going to empty the tape recorder. Instead, some impressions from what we saw today in Morgantown, where West Virginia beat Liberty 33-20.

1. It’s a proven fact: Liberty’s coaching staff can recruit. It wasn’t just that Liberty had holes on offense to fill from last year’s 10-2 team, but they were HUGE holes to fill. Brock Smith was a three-year starter at quarterback. Rashad Jennings was the Big South’s all-time leading rusher and is in the NFL. Dominic Bolden and Jonathan Crawford were all-conference receivers. Teams with those sort of personnel losses, at least at the FCS level, aren’t supposed to come in and hang around all day with Big East teams. That’s why there was a 32-point line on this game (which Liberty covered easily). But the players Danny Rocco and company are recruiting are college ready athletes who are ready to compete right away. Freshman tailback Aldreakis Allen held his own physically against a big West Virginia front. Mike Brown looks like he can be a superstar in the Big South. Championship-level programs replenish, and anyone who thinks this is going to be a down year for Liberty football is sorely mistaken.

2. Tommy Beecher has gained the respect of his teammates. The South Carolina transfer missed spring practice and earned the starting quarterback job in the summer, but it was hard to tell what his leadership role would be, seeing as he was new to the program. Everyone I talked to today beamed over Beecher’s ability to bounce back from big hits and direct drives against a pretty tough West Virginia defense.

3. Liberty still can’t stop the pass. The Flames’ Cover 2 scheme has been susceptible to breakdowns in the last three seasons, and Saturday was no different. Any time West Virginia needed to complete a big pass, it did. Part of that was because the Flames couldn’t get any pressure on Jarrett Brown, and they couldn’t contain him when he broke free of the pocket. The Flames’ secondary will need to improve before conference play begins.

4. I had a couple of LU supporters say “I wonder what JMU thinks of this score?“ during the game. To which I say, uh, Liberty plays Lafayette before it plays JMU, and Lafayette is quite capable of beating the Flames, just like the Leopards did last year. Looking ahead to the Dukes would be foolish.

5. Unless there’s an injury, Liberty won’t have to worry about the kicking game for three years. Matt Bevins and Mike Larsson are both sophomores, and both looked strong Saturday. Bevins hit a career-long 49 yard-field goal in a big spot, when the game was still close in the second quarter. Larsson showed a strong leg and great hang time on his punts, allowing the coverage team time to get downfield. Freshman long snapper Robby Cramer was impressive too, quicker to get downfield than I thought he would be.

6. The outside receivers will get better as rapport between Beecher and Chris Summers and Freddie Brown improves. First off, Liberty probably won’t face another team this year with a 6-5 cornerback like WVU’s Robert Sands. Second, West Virginia did a great job covering Liberty’s deep threats and neutralizing the Flames’ run game. Still, Rocco said he wants to get Summers and Brown more involved in the offense, starting next week against North Carolina Central.

7. Liberty had close to 1,000 fans at the game. Just for perspective, late in the 2005 season, the Flames barely drew 2,000 fans for a HOME GAME against Coastal Carolina. Yeah, this program has come a ways since then.

That’s all for tonight. Check out the stories in tomorrow’s paper and we’ll be back Monday to look at NCCU, the opponent for LU’s home opener.