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- Well, the buzz for today’s game isn’t quite what it was last week for James Madison. That, of course, is not shock. With about an hour left before kickoff, the student section is about a quarter full and the “home” side of the stadium is nearly empty. Contrast that to last week, when the student section was full 2 1/2 hours before kickoff. I’m just making an observation here, not placing any judgment. This is no different than when an SEC school hosts an FCS team. There are certain games where you can linger at the tailgate a little longer. This is one of them.

Some thoughts on this matchup, in numbered form:

1. I was pretty harsh in my assessment of West Virginia Wesleyan’s chances in today’s preview that ran in the News & Advance. There’s no point in sugar-coating this one, though. This game is akin to the game Liberty played at Connecticut in 2005, when you just looked at the rosters and realized Liberty had no business playing a Big East team at that point in its development. In the end, Connecticut won 59-0 and it could have easily been much worse had UConn actually tried in the second half. West Virginia Wesleyan is simply not a physical match for the Flames. They have very little team speed on defense and are in the bottom 20 in Division II in several defensive categories. This is a name-your-score game for the Flames, and I don’t expect it will be competitive for more than a quarter, if that.

2. This Reggie Taylor kid, though, looks like he’s a legit player. A stout tailback, Taylor is tied for 10th nationally in Division II in rush yards per game (108.0).

3. Liberty coach Danny Rocco talked a lot about improvement, though, so the film from this game will be severely scrutinized and if any Flames are seen not playing hard, there will be consequences. Look, the motivation for this one has to be internal. It’s going to be apparent very quickly that, though West Virginia Wesleyan will try hard, this game will not be competitive. Where the coaching staff will be looking today:

3a. The running backs. No matter the opponent, Aldreakis Allen and B.J. Hayes absolutely need to get going today. They’re not running with confidence right now, and success breeds confidence. The player to watch here is SirChauncey Holloway. If he shows some skill today, it could mean the Flames move Hayes around a lot, in the backfield, in the slot, etc., as the season moves forward. Allen just isn’t experienced enough yet to carry the ball 22 times in a game, so he needs a sidekick before any Hayes move could be made.

3b. The receivers, specifically Freddie Brown. He’s had some problems with drops this year, and I haven’t been impressed with his on-field confidence and demeanor. Liberty could stand to get the 6-3 transfer from South Carolina going. Watch too for Pat Kelly, the LCA grad who has been impressive in practice of late.

3c. The front seven. Liberty really got manhandled up front by James Madison last week, and the Flames in turn will likely manhandle West Virginia Wesleyan. So I think the coaching staff will want to see a lot of solid tackling both up front and in the secondary this week, as tackling has been an issue at times this year.

4. Look for lots of youngsters to play today, as long as the game sort of goes to script. Rocco told me Thursday that he’s set up some special “red” teams this week, featuring a lot of younger players scrimmaging against each other in preparation for seeing lots of live time today. We’ll probably get our first real good look at redshirt freshman quarterback Tyler Brennan today, along with some of the younger guys in the secondary like Ron Hobby and Kevin Fogg.

5. West Virginia Wesleyan is 10-37 over the last five seasons, so no, this is not a Division II powerhouse we’re talking about here.

6. Liberty’s 23-game win streak against DII opponents, broken down game-by-game:

2008 - Liberty 44, Glenville State 27
2008 - Liberty 49, North Greenville 10
2007 - Liberty 35, Shippensburg 14
2007 - Liberty 38, Tusculum 14
2006 - Liberty 31, Glenville State 7
2006 - Liberty 27, St. Paul’s 0
2005 - Liberty 17, Concord 6
2004 - Liberty 55, West Virginia Tech 17
2003 - Liberty 47, Kentucky Wesleyan 7
2002 - Liberty 35, West Liberty State 6
2001 - Liberty 41, Wingate 13
2000 - Liberty 50, Wingate 26
1999 - Liberty 38, Johnson C. Smith 2
1999 - Liberty 48, Fayetteville State 14
1999 - Liberty 21, Virginia Union 12
1998 - Liberty 21, Glenville State 7
1997 - Liberty 16, Virginia Union 8
1997 - Liberty 56, Glenville State 7
1996 - Liberty 27, Livingstone 17
1995 - Liberty 76, West Virginia Tech 6
1994 - Liberty 40, New Haven 22
1994 - Liberty 37, Catawba 12
1994 - Liberty 52, Concord 0

The last loss came against Indiana (Pa.), 23-7 in 1993.

7. Some fun facts about West Virginia Wesleyan coach Denny Creehan:

7a. He was the defensive coordinator of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League last season.

7b. He’s been on Division I coaching staffs at Army, Duke, Rutgers and Arkansas State.

7c. Creehan ran a 3-4 defense while on the staff of the Calgary Stampeders from 2004-07. He served as associate head coach and defensive coordinator.

7d. Creehan also spent time with the Edmonton Eskimos. The man must know a little bit about Alberta.

8. West Virginia Wesleyan has 75 (!) freshmen on its roster.

9. The most represented state on the WVWC roster is Florida (27), followed by Pennsylvania (20) and West Virginia (15).

9a. There are four Virginians on the roster—LB Aaron Lamb (Waynesboro), C Jacob Lipscomb (Waynesboro) and, two others presumably, but I only see two listed on the roster in the game notes.

That’s it for now. I’ll be sure to throw up some enlightening tweets during the game.