We’ve all heard the “if a tree falls in the forest, and nobody’s there to hear it, does it make a sound” thing.
Liberty could win its 13th game of the season on Friday, and a Conference USA Championship, if it can beat New Mexico State for a second time. But it probably won’t get any closer to getting into the College Football Playoff than, say, Mitch Lucas.
(That’s me.)
The Flames are 12-0, and host New Mexico State (10-3) in Lynchburg, Virginia on Friday with the C-USA title on the line, the first of a series of championship games this weekend, actually the first of two on Friday: the Pac-12 Championship is tonight in Las Vegas, the rematch between Washington and Oregon.
Here’s a Conference USA preview, courtesy of Hank Kurz Jr., of the Associated Press (Unbeaten Liberty seeking second victory of the season against New Mexico State in CUSA title game).
Kickoff for Liberty-NMS is at 6 p.m. on the CBS Sports Network.
Adding to the drama is that Liberty coach Jamey Chadwell has been up for vacancies at Texas A&M and Mississippi State. If another coaching vacancy opens, is Chadwell out the door, ala Hugh Freeze, who left for Auburn after last season?
A victory today isn’t just a given, to be sure. It was the Aggies, remember, that took down the SEC’s Auburn Tigers two weeks ago, beating them handily at Jordan-Hare Stadium after going into that game as a 25 1/2-point underdog.
To pull an upset, NMS will have to somehow slow a locomotive-like running game by Liberty, which leads the nation at nearly 295 yards a game. Something will have to give: Liberty leads the conference in scoring, and the Aggies lead the conference in rushing defense.
