Two programs coming off ugly 4-8 seasons collide in Lynchburg, both hoping a busy offseason of roster turnover shows up before conference play even starts.
Bush’s Picks
BALLLIB
BALLLIB
OverUnder
Best BetLiberty
Liberty gets this one at Williams Stadium against a Ball State team that produced one of the worst offenses in the entire FBS a season ago. The Flames have real questions of their own after a 4-8 slide, but a roster with 5 CUSA Preseason Watch List names gives them a floor the Cardinals haven't shown they have yet.
Ball State
+Added 4 Power Four D-line transfers this offseason
+Dual-threat QB addition in Keldric Luster
+Extra year for Uremovich's system to take hold
−3rd-fewest yards, 5th-fewest points in FBS in 2025
−Fewer than 5 wins in three straight seasons
−Road trip right after facing Ohio State
Liberty
+5 players on 2026 CUSA Preseason Watch List
+Home game at Williams Stadium in September
+New DC Shawn Quinn brings fresh defensive scheme
−Coming off a 4-8, 3-5 CUSA step back
−Coach Chadwell recovering from serious surgery
−Lost each of last two meetings with Kennesaw State
Ball State comes into Saturday, September 19 having just weathered a trip to Ohio State and a home date with Stony Brook, which means Liberty will be getting a Cardinals team that's already had two weeks to figure out who it actually is on offense. Ball State brought in Texas State transfer Keldric Luster and Concord transfer Tyler Mizzell this offseason to settle a quarterback spot that produced some of the worst offensive numbers in the country a year ago. Liberty, meanwhile, promoted Malcolm Dixon to quarterbacks coach in the offseason, a smaller move but one that signals the Flames want continuity at the position rather than another shake-up.
The bigger story in Lynchburg is health, not depth chart. Head coach Jamey Chadwell was diagnosed with a serious medical condition last summer, had surgery in early January, and is expected back to full duties before spring ball. That's the kind of storyline that hangs over a program regardless of what the scoreboard says, and it's worth watching how it shapes Liberty's sideline continuity into the fall.
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BALL Ball State
LIB Liberty
On paper this reads like two rebuilding jobs meeting at an awkward moment. Ball State's coaching staff went out and grabbed four Power Four defensive line transfers, including Wake Forest's Ka'Shawn Thomas and Louisville's Kendrick Gilbert, plus edge rusher Jared Badie from San Diego State, in an obvious effort to fix a defense that got run over as much as the offense struggled to move the ball. Liberty countered on its own side of the ball by adding defensive coordinator Shawn Quinn, a fresh voice for a unit that finished 3-5 in CUSA play last fall.
Ball State Cardinals
Sep 12?vs Stony Brook—
Sep 5?@ Ohio State—
Liberty Flames
Sep 12?vs Gardner-Webb—
Sep 5?@ James Madison—
Recent form.
Neither team is walking in with real momentum. Ball State has failed to win more than 4 games in three straight seasons, and last year's offense was somehow worse than the record suggests — third-fewest yards per game and fifth-fewest points per game among all 136 FBS teams. Liberty's 2025 was its own step back, a 4-8, 3-5 CUSA finish that ended a stretch of the program being one of the sport's steadiest overachievers. Kennesaw State has beaten the Flames in each of their last two meetings, a reminder that Liberty's grip on the top of CUSA has loosened.
Ball State Cardinals
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Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Liberty Flames
(0)
Fully healthy — no injuries on ESPN's report
Injury report — info via ESPN.
Liberty does have some name recognition heading into the year, with 5 players — WR Jamari Person, OL DJ Geth, DL Mike Jarvis, LB Deuce Spurlock and PR Darius Copeland — landing on the CUSA Preseason Watch List. That's a deeper well of proven pieces than Ball State can currently claim, and it's a big reason the Flames still look like the favorite in their own building against a Cardinals team that's rebuilding almost everything at once.
