Huddle up! Here’s a look back at this weekend on the gridiron, with three key takeaways from the state’s football scene -- and a glimpse at what’s to come next week.
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Flames make history in big win
In its nearly 50-year history, Liberty had never sold out its home football stadium for a game.
That all changed on Saturday, when a sellout crowd packed Williams Stadium for what turned to be a historic night for the Liberty football program.
The Flames routed a team that spent some time in the national rankings this year, BYU, earning a 41-14 win in front of that sellout crowd of more than 24,000.
The game that had present-day ramifications, not just historic ones.
Now on a five-game winning streak, Liberty is on the cusp of being a ranked team itself.
The Flames are essentially No. 27 in this week’s Associated Press top-25 poll, earning the second most votes of anyone outside the top-10 with 35 votes.
If Liberty can pull off the upset at a solid SEC team in Arkansas on Nov. 5, then the Flames will no doubt be a ranked team.
In a down year for Virginia and Virginia Tech, the Flames are definitely carrying the banner for the state right now.
Armstrong shows flashes of old self for Cavaliers in win over Georgia Tech
For one game anyway, Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong seemed to recapture the form that saw him throw for the second-most yards in the country last year.
In a 16-9 win over Georgia Tech, Armstrong threw for 255 yards and added 91 yards rushing in what have been his best performance of the season.
If that can continue, the Cavaliers (3-4) can at least save some respectability and qualify for a bowl game this year.
Heinecke cashes in again for Commanders in win
With Carson Wentz on the shelf with a broken finger, Taylor Heinecke once again got the start for the Commanders.
By helping leading Washington to a 23-21 win over Green Bay, Heinecke did what he seemingly did best last year, which is cash in on bonuses earned with every victory.
Every time Heinecke plays 60% of the snaps in a Washington win, he earns a bonus. For the win over the Packers, he earned an extra $125,000.
Last year, Heinecke earned $1.5 million in bonuses on top of his base salary of $1 million for wins he helped lead the Commanders to.