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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New coach, no problem thus far for Liberty
For those who think Liberty was going to have a major crash after head coach Hugh Freeze left for Ole Miss over the offseason, then think again.
The Flames thus far haven’t missed a beat under new head coach Jamey Chadwell, who has led the squad to a 4-0 start following a 38-6 win at previously unbeaten Florida International.
Liberty has gotten good outstanding quarterback play from Kaidon Salter, who has thrown for 919 yards and 11 touchdowns and rushed for 293 yards and five touchdowns in the first two games.
The Flames will now have a bye week for hosting Sam Houston State on Oct. 5.
Hokies end nonconference portion of schedule on 3-game losing streak
Hokies stumble to finish of nonconference play Virginia Tech will get a fresh start this week with a schedule of all conference games in the ACC for the rest of the season, which is good because it was a rough nonconference portion of the slate for the Hokies.
Inconsistency in all phases of the game continued to plague Virginia Tech, which dropped a 24-17 decision at Marshall.
Virginia Tech committed nine penalties for 70 yards and gave up 214 yards rushing to Marshall, and new quarterback Kyron Drones is continuing his learning curve at the position.
Drones does bring a dual-threat element to the attack, but he was just 19 of 35 passing for 159 yards subbing for the injured Grant Wells.
Still, it might not be the worst thing in the world at this point to just let Drones take his lumps in hopes he’ll be better for it in the long run.
The Hokies hope the lumps they took in the nonconference season will pay dividends in conference play, starting with a home contest under the lights against Pittsburgh on Saturday night.
Landen Clark shines again as Radford prevails in battle of unbeatens
In a highly-anticipated matchup between two unbeaten teams, Radford earned a 49-22 win over Alleghany thanks in large part to a brilliant all-around performance by Landen Clark.
At quarterback, Clark passed for 274 yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns.
If that weren’t enough, he had a 43-yard interception return for a touchdown.