The Flames kickoff their pursuit of their 4th straight Big South Championship on October 9th at Williams Stadium against Charleston Southern during Homecoming weekend.

In front of what will likely be (barring bad weather) the largest home crowd in LU history, it should be an electric atmosphere.  While the school formerly known as Baptist College of South Carolina would seem like a natural rival for the Flames, it never really has occurred.  CSU seems to have a strongest rivalry with nearby Coastal Carolina.  And it doesn’t help that we have beaten the Bucs 8 of the last 9 years usually by about 3 touchdowns.  The lone loss to CSU came in 2005 in the 1-9 season that got Ken Karcher fired and even then we only lost 31-30 in Charleston.  Interestingly enough, the Bucs were co-champs in the league the last time someone other than Liberty was involved in the championship.

Courtesy: Orlando Sentinel

The primary reason the Bucs have continued to show improvement despite major budget challenges and less than stellar facilities is head coach Jay Mills.  Despite having to schedule money games like the one above in the Swamp last fall, he has managed to keep the program in the middle of the Big South pack with bailing wire & chewing gum during his seven seasons at CSU.  That is a testament to Mills’ coaching ability which has led him to be a regular on lists of candidates for other FCS coaching gigs.  In fact, he led the Bucs to a 4-game winning streak to close out the season last year all against Big South opponents … including an overtime victory over league co-champ Stony Brook.  That’s something not even the Flames can brag about right now.

This season the Bucs’ money game is in Honolulu against the University of Hawaii.  As glamorous as that might sound, road trips to face the Warriors typically have a tough impact on teams the following week due to the strenuous travel in addition to the FBS caliber of play which often leads to injuries for FCS teams.  This impacts us because guess where the Bucs play the week after going to Hawaii … that’s right, Williams Stadium.

Courtesy: Zimbio

The unquestioned leader of the Bucs offense is quarterback A.J. Toscano.  The former JUCO teammate of Doncel Bolt enters his senior season bringing a gritty toughness coming off a 2009 effort where he posted 2092 yards through the air in 11 games with 12 TDs & 12 INTs.  He added 325 yards and 4 TDs on the ground to establish himself as one of the best field generals in the Big South.   Former South Carolina Mr. Football Richard Mounce has transferred in from Clemson after burning out on baseball and he could be a player to watch down the road for the Bucs.

Toscano’s top weapon is receiver/running back Gerald Stevenson.  As a junior in ’09, Stevenson led the Bucs with 55 catches for 724 yards and 3 TDs.  He also is the top returning rusher with 364 yards and 3 TDs while averaging 7.0 yards per carry.  He also handles most of the kick return opportunities.

Courtesy: Associated Press

On the other side of the ball, the leading returning tackler is senior linebacker Fred Godfrey.  With 67 tackles in 11 games, he leads a defense that lost a number of key contributors.  In the secondary, junior safety Chris Kuzdale (pictured above tackling Tim Tebow) is back after picking off a team-best 3 passes in ’09 while posting 64 tackles.

Courtesy: Life.com

Much like Liberty, CSU feels very confident in their senior kicker John Paglia.   In 2009, he connected on 16-of-22 field goals & 28-of-30 PATs.  For anyone without the last name Bevins, those are very strong numbers.

In summary, the Bucs will be a very game opponent for most everyone in the Big South.  I would expect them to be in the hunt along with Gardner-Webb, Coastal Carolina & Stony Brook as the primary challengers for the Big South crown outside of Lynchburg.  But considering the jet lag the Bucs will likely be suffering from coming off their trip to Hawaii, it will be tough for CSU to knock off the Flames in front of possibly over 20-thousand LU fans.