Liberty's home opener looks like a formality on paper, but Gardner-Webb has crashed this party before — and this time the Bulldogs bring an entirely new offensive identity.
+14-9-1 all-time series edge, unbeaten vs FCS since FBS move
+deepest, most experienced group is the offensive line
+home opener after already playing on the road
−coming off a 4-8 season with real offensive questions
−skill positions largely unproven under Chadwell
This is Jamey Chadwell's fourth year in Lynchburg, and it comes off a rough 4-8 debut into 2025 that left plenty to prove before Conference USA play ramps up. Gardner-Webb, meanwhile, shows up with a totally new coaching staff — 30-year-old Kris McCullough arrives from Division II UT Permian Basin, where his group led the nation in passing yards. The last time these two met, in 2022, Liberty escaped with a 21-20 win that nearly cost the program its perfect record against FCS competition since jumping to the FBS level.
Gardner-Webb's new identity is real, but it's being built on shaky ground. McCullough's staff wants to sling it around the field, yet they're doing it with a rebuilt receiving corps after the top 2 pass-catchers left the program, and behind an offensive line that lost all 4 returning all-conference starters to the portal. Redshirt-senior Cole Pennington, a Marshall transfer, is the presumed answer at quarterback, with bruising back Carson Gresock — 798 yards and 14 touchdowns a year ago — as the steadying piece while the passing attack finds its footing.
Liberty's counter is stability up front. Fourth-year offensive line coach Bill Durkin returns the most experienced group on the roster, even with skill-position questions lingering after last year's slide. Both sides are treating this as an early gut check — Gardner-Webb wants proof its new system travels against FBS competition, and Liberty wants a clean get-right game before tougher tests against Ball State and Coastal Carolina later in September.
History says this shouldn't be close. Liberty leads the all-time series 14-9-1 and hasn't lost to an FCS opponent since moving up to the FBS level. But the 2022 meeting is a reminder that a hungry, well-coached FCS team can hang around if the FBS side comes out flat, and Gardner-Webb's new staff has already shown it can move the ball fast at a lower level.
For Liberty, this is about establishing rhythm and building confidence in a rebuilt offense before conference play. For Gardner-Webb, it's a measuring-stick trip that tells the fanbase whether McCullough's system is the real deal or still a work in progress against tougher competition.
