Sam Houston (1-3) at Liberty (4-1), Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. EDT.
Opening Line: Liberty by 13.5. Against the spread: Liberty 3-2, Sam Houston 3-1.
How to watch: ESPNU
Key stats
Liberty Offense
Overall: 416.8 yards per game (53rd in FBS)
Passing: 208.6 yards per game (91st)
Rushing: 208.2 yards per game (31st)
Scoring: 30.4 points per game (69th)
Liberty Defense
Overall: 301.4 yards per game (32nd in FBS)
Passing: 173.4 yards per game (29th)
Rushing: 128 yards per game (56th)
Scoring: 17.8 points per game (33rd)
Sam Houston Offense
Overall: 408 yards per game (57th in FBS)
Passing: 308 yards per game (15th)
Rushing: 100 yards per game (129th)
Scoring: 27.8 points per game (76th)
Sam Houston Defense
Overall: 335.5 yards per game (57th in FBS)
Passing: 145.3 yards per game (8th)
Rushing: 190.3 yards per game (124th)
Scoring: 24 points per game (76th)
Both teams perform well defensively on third down. Liberty is 18th in the FBS, allowing opponents to convert 28.3% of the time. Sam Houston ranks 13th, allowing a 26.8% third down conversion rate.
Liberty is 128th in the FBS averaging 79.6 penalty yards per game, compared to Sam Houston's 76th-ranked 59 per-game average.
Sam Houston is 95th in FBS in red zone offense, scoring on 81.8% of trips. Liberty's red zone defense ranks 24th at 72.7%.
Both teams rank high in time of possession. Liberty is 9th in the FBS with an average time of possession of 33:56, while Sam Houston's 22nd-ranked average is 33:02.
Team leaders
Liberty
Passing: Deshawn Purdie, 936 yards, 7 TDs, 0 INTs, 60.0 completion percentage
Rushing: Kam Davis, 457 yards on 64 carries, 3 TDs
Receiving: Makai Jackson, 469 yards on 19 catches, 5 TDs
Sam Houston
Passing: Landyn Locke, 1,168 yards, 11 TDs, 3 INTs, 66.2 completion percentage
Rushing: Alton McCaskill, 165 yards on 43 carries, 1 TD
Receiving: Chris Reed, 220 yards on 11 catches, 3 TDs
Last game
Liberty beat Delaware 30-14 on Oct. 2. Purdie led Liberty with 157 yards on 13-of-20 passing (65.0%) for no touchdowns and no interceptions. Davis carried the ball 17 times for 147 yards and scored two touchdowns. Jackson had five receptions for 90 yards.
Sam Houston fell to Texas Tech 49-14 on Sept. 26. Locke led Sam Houston with 195 yards on 23-of-37 passing (62.2%) for two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also carried the ball eight times for 25 yards. McCaskill carried the ball eight times for 25 yards, adding two receptions for seven yards. Tim Burns Jr. had two receptions for 61 yards and one touchdown.
Next game
Liberty plays at Kennesaw State on Oct. 22. Sam Houston hosts Western Kentucky on Oct. 14.
