Mobile’s LendingTree Bowl pits Liberty, former Auburn backup Willis against Eastern Michigan
Liberty Flames quarterback Malik Willis is an explosive talent favored to be drafted into the NFL in an early round. Willis and his team return to Alabama for the third time this season to face Eastern Michigan in the LendingTree Bowl. Liberty returned home victorious from its games with Troy and UAB. (Liberty Athletics)
Don’t blame Eastern Michigan coach Chris Creighton if he pulls out a thesaurus to describe Liberty quarterback Malik Willis.
Somehow, “dual threat” just doesn’t cut it.
“Is there a word that means more than two for dual?” he asked of the signal-caller his Eagles will face at 4:45 p.m. Saturday in the LendingTree Bowl on ESPN. “He can run it. He can throw it. He runs their offense. He’s super, super talented.
“We know that he’s dangerous on the ground and in the air, by design and on his own when things don’t go exactly how they had planned,” Creighton continued. “He’s a huge, huge challenge for us, for sure.”
The EMU coach was asked if the QB his squad will face at Hancock Whitney Stadium on the campus of the University of South Alabama is like anyone they’ve encountered before.
“I don’t think that we’ve faced someone that they say is going to be getting drafted in the high rounds,” he replied, “so I’d probably have to say no to that.”
Even former Wyoming QB Josh Allen, now of the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, doesn’t quite match what Willis brings to the field.
“Josh is a great athlete, for sure,” Creighton said. “But I see them differently. Josh was long and had big strides, but more of a power runner, although he’s a really good athlete. Malik is going to be a lot more explosive and dynamic in terms of running the ball.”
This will be 7-5 Liberty’s third time playing in Alabama this season and Willis left his mark on each contest. The former Auburn backup spoiled UAB’s home opener at Protective Stadium by sparking a second-half surge that yielded a 36-12 Flames victory. Willis had two rushing touchdowns and a passing score on his way to amassing 431 total yards – 144 on the ground and 287 through the air.
Three weeks earlier, the Flames outlasted Troy 21-13. Willis had 93 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries on the ground and connected on 13 of 18 passes for 154 yards and two TDs despite being sacked five times.
But the Liberty defense isn’t shabby, either, holding opponents under 320 yards six times this year and ranking 14th in the country in opponents’ third-down conversion rate against the Flames.
“We just don’t see a weakness,” Creighton said. “They’re very athletic. All of them can run and it always starts inside. They’ve got a 6-5 and 6-6, 300-plus-pound nose (Ralfs Rusins) and defensive tackle (Elijah James).”
Across the field, Flames coach Hugh Freeze has his concerns in facing the 7-5 Eagles.
“They’re big and physical on the offensive line and the defensive line,” he said. “That is a concern. Our D-line has held up pretty well against most of the lines we’ve played this year, so I’m optimistic there.
“We’ve got to handle their RPO (run-pass option) world and shock plays off their play-action,” Freeze continued. Jose Ramirez is “a heck of a pass rusher, and we’ve struggled with that all year. We’ve got to have a plan for that and their big inside guys are really, really strong and hard to move.
“They’re a really good team and you’re going to have to play well to beat them,” he said. “But that’s what you want in a bowl game.”
The Flames have not shined brightly of late, losing their last three games. But Freeze said he is proud that Willis is set to lace ’em up once more with his Liberty brothers.
“I’m proud of all of our kids who have chosen that this is what we want,” the coach said. “We want to finish. We want to finish together. Yeah, it’s a sacrifice, but the good things in life usually come from hard times and things you had to sacrifice and work for. But this is what we signed up for, so finish.”
