1.) How's that offensive line going to hold up? I admit to a little bit of concern every time I look at what Liberty has done offensively with Mike Brown under center, but their game plan could crumble before it ever gets started if the new guys up front play like new guys up front. With that experience went a lot of size too, and three of State's projected starters along the defensive line are as big or bigger than most of Liberty's offensive linemen. That does not bode well for the Flames in the trenches.
2.) Asa Chapman picked the wrong week to not stop doing drugs. Chapman's skills are crucial to Liberty's 3-4 defensive scheme, and as they say, you can't teach size. At 380 pounds or so, he's a tough object for anybody to move and has a decided weight advantage over any offensive lineman he lines up against. The Flames have some experienced players who can fill in at nose guard, but nobody even approaching that heft. The most likely replacement is Greg Schuster, who is listed at 285 pounds. Obviously, I-AA teams don't come into games against I-A teams with many edges, if they have any at all. Liberty's lost a significant one here.
3.) Liberty players to watch on Saturday: offensively, the talented Mike Brown (#10) and Chris Summers (#1) are the guys to keep an eye on. Though I suppose it's really not necessary to tell you to keep you eye on the opposing quarterback since that's sort of a fundamental part of watching football. Moving on. Summers is nursing an injury but will be in the starting lineup. He tore one of his pecs while weightlifting, which I'd imagine has to sting a lot.
Defensively, safety Ryan Ayers (#6) is worth watching to see how he handles the job as a redshirt freshman. Both Ayers and cornerback Walt Aiken (#19) transferred in from I-A progams, and they're both supposed to be pretty good. Touching on an earlier point, it'll also be interesting to see how Chapman's replacement(s) handle the job.