THE GAME
Gardner-Webb plays the third of four road games in a row on Saturday, trekking to Virginia to battle Liberty at 3:30 pm in Lynchburg (ESPN+). Matt Warner, Joe Jauch and Emily Austen will provide that call. Dave Friedman and Reginald Walker, Jr., will call the game on WGNC 1450 AM / 101.1 FM (TuneIn Radio App) as well.

SERIES NOTES
Saturday will be the 25th meeting between the two programs on the gridiron ... Liberty leads the series 14-9-1 and has captured 10 of the last 11 games ... Gardner-Webb's last win in the series came in 2015 when the Runnin' Bulldogs took a 34-20 win over No. 15 Liberty on October 10 in Spangler Stadium ... Liberty topped GWU 23-20 in overtime the last time the two teams met in Williams Stadium (10/29/16) ... Liberty and Gardner-Webb played the Big South Conference's inaugural football game on October 5, 2002 in Lynchburg, Va., with Gardner-Webb pulling out a 31-21 win en route to the league's first football trophy ... Gardner-Webb posted three-straight wins in the series from 2001-2003 and won five of six meetings between 2001 and 2006 ... The two teams played 18-straight seasons from 2000-2017 before Liberty moved up to FBS.

THE HEAD COACHES
Gardner-Webb head coach Tre Lamb is the second-youngest skipper in Division I football at age 33. He is 8-13 in his brief tenure, with four of those losses coming to 85-scholarship FBS programs. Hugh Freeze is in his fourth season as head coach at Liberty and has posted a 31-12 mark. Freeze also previously served as head coach at Ole Miss from 2012-2016 and Arkansas State in 2011. He is 73-44 overall in 12 seasons as a college head coach.

TOUGH SLATE
Gardner-Webb's non-conference slate is among the toughest in FCS, with the six teams – including Liberty – posting a combined 28-7 record heading into this weeke (80.0 percent). All six opponents, Division II Limestone (4-2), FCS contenders Elon (5-1) and Mercer (5-1) and FBS foes Coastal Carolina (6-0), Marshall (3-2) and Liberty (5-1) are either ranked or have received votes in their respective national top-25 polls. Elon and Mercer are currently ranked in the FCS top-15 tabulation by Stats Perform and the top-20 in the AFCA Coaches Poll. Gardner-Webb's overall schedule is currently rated 11th toughest by NCAA.com based on cumulative records of all 11 opponents.

THAT WAS FUN
Gardner-Webb posted its largest margin of victory ever in a Big South Conference game when it steamrolled Robert Morris 48-0 in the Pittsburgh suburbs on October 8. The previous mark was a 46-0 win over Charleston Southern on November 8, 2003 in Boiling Springs. The previous mark for a Big South road game was 42 points in a 57-15 win at Charleston Southern on November 9, 2002.

THE MAYOR OF ROCK HILL
Gardner-Webb deploys one of the most talented offensive players in the country in Narii Gaither (5-10, 181, Sr.). The Rock HIll, S.C., native is a preseason FCS All-America choice as an all-purpose back and is one of only two men in the nation returning  after leading his team in both rushing yards and receptions. Gaither, who nearly reached the 1,000-yard rushing mark last season despite playing in just eight full games, was also recently named to the Walter Payton Award Watch List – given annually to the top offensive player in the Football Championship Subdivision. He didn't disappoint in the season opener, churning out 137 yards and a score on just 13 carries – despite playing less than two full quarters. Gaither played just two snaps at Coastal Carolina before leaving with an injury and missed the next three games before returning with 11 carries for 106 yards at Robert Morris on October 8. 

ALSO FUN
Gardner-Webb's 48-0 win at Robert Morris on October 8 marked its first shutout in a Big South game since an 18-0 win at Charleston Southern on November 13, 2004. It was the first shutout for the Runnin' Bulldogs in a Division I game since beating No. 8 Wofford by a 3-0 score in Spartanburg on September 21, 2013.

BONJOUR
Defensive end Ty French (6-3, 234, Jr.) is a preseason FCS All-America choice, as well as one of the nation's most feared pass rushers. A disruptive force on the edge, the Moultrie, Ga., native had 14.5 tackles for loss last season and recorded 7.0 sacks over his final four starts of the season. A two-time, first-team All-Big South selection, French was recently named to the Buck Buchanan Award Watch List. The Buchanan Award is given each season to the top defender in the Football Championship Subdivision. French has 5.5 sacks so far this season, collecting a pair to go with three hurries at Marshall (10/1). He followed with two more sacks and a hurry at Robert Morris (10/8) and has six games with multiple sacks in 19 career starts. 

TIGHT SQUEEZE
Gardner-Webb has been close to breaking the door down in the column over the past two seasons, with six of its 11 losses coming by just one possession. Two of those losses came last season in double overtime in back-to-back weeks. Gardner-Webb had a stretch of five-straight losses come by one possession, including nailbiters this season at FBS Coastal Carolina (31-27) and CAA contender Elon (30-24).

DIALING LONG DISTANCE
Gardner-Webb has five active ball carriers who has at least one touchdown run of 40 yards or more during their time in Boiling Springs – Narii Gaither (96 yards, TD), Donovan Jones (79 yards, TD), Jalin Graham (73 yards, TD), Bailey Fisher (68 yards, TD) and Jayden Brown (41 yards, TD).

JAYDEN BROWN
Freshman Jayden Brown (5-9, 170) has emerged as a home run threat at running back. Brown came on in relief at Robert Morris and scored a pair of second-half touchdowns in a 48-0 win on the road. He posted a career-high 85 yards and two scores on 10 carries to earn Big South Freshman of the Week honors. Brown scored on a seven-yard run in the third quarter and plowed through defenders on a 41-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter. The rushing touchdowns were the first of his Gardner-Webb career. The former All-State selection at Miller Grove (Ga.) High led DeKalb County in rushing as a senior in 2021.).

PARTNERSHIP
The Big South Conference and the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) have created an association of their football member institutions, to begin with the 2023 NCAA Division I football season. The unique agreement combines the two conferences' football membership to ensure NCAA championship access. It will provide the football member institutions a schedule of games against all the teams in their home conference and additional games against schools from the other conference. This new model for FCS football also creates more stability for the multisport conferences.

CORNERING THE MARKET
Gardner-Webb has dominated the Big South's Freshman of the Week award in 2022, posting four winners in the first six weeks of play. Janiero Crankfield took the honor after the opener, followed by Jay Billingsley (Week 2), Ty Anderson (Week 5) and Jayden Brown (Week 6).

HOLD THE LINE
Gardner-Webb's defense has recorded 17.0 tackles for loss and 9.0 sacks over the past two weeks in games at Marshall (10/1) and Robert Morris (10/8). The Runnin' Bulldogs had 10.0 TFL and 3.0 sacks at Marshall and followed with 7.0 TFL and 6.0 sacks at Robert Morris. Ty French had a pair of sacks in each of those games.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Gardner-Webb will play a program-record seven road games this season, including four this month. The four-game road swing ties the longest in program history, with the previous set happening from September 12-October 17 in 2009. GWU went 2-2 that year with wins at Western Carolina and Charleston Southern sandwiching losses at NC State and Buffalo. Gardner-Webb will play in four different states before getting back home to play Bryant (10/29) in Spangler Stadium.

BEST IN STATE
Three current players on Gardner-Webb's roster were State Players of the Year as seniors. Quarterback Bailey Fisher (Rabun County HS, Ga.) earned Class 2A Offensive State Player of the Year honors in 2017. Defensive back Jamari Brown (Eastside HS, Ga.) was named Class 4A Defensive State Player of the Year in 2018. Running back Donovan Jones (Champagnat Catholic, Fla.) was the Class 2A Offensive State Player of the Year in 2020

HELLO OLD FRIENDS
GWU will face one more former Big South Conference foe in 2022, traveling to Liberty (10/15) after facing off at Coastal Carolina (9/10) and Elon (9/17). Elon is now a member of the CAA, while Coastal Carolina (Sun Belt) and Liberty (C-USA)  compete in the FBS.

PRESEASON HONOR
Narii Gaither (5-10, 181, Sr.) was named Big South Preseason Offensive Player of the Year in July, and is only the second Gardner-Webb man to earn that honor in league history. Quarterback Tyrell Maxwell was also named prior to the 2017 season after earning the postseason award in 2016. Gardner-Webb has seen seven men earn Big South Preseason Defensive Player of the Year honors, including four consecutive between 2007 and 2010.

ELITE COMPANY
Gaither is one of only three backs to pace the Big South Conference in total rushing yards for two consecutive seasons, joining Liberty's Dre Barnes (2002-2003), Stony Brook's Miguel Maysonet (2010-2012) and Coastal Carolina's De'Angelo "Hop" Henderson (2014-2015) also accomplishing the feat. Maysonet is the only man to lead the league for three consecutive seasons.

THE GREAT NATE
Janathian Turner (6-3, 306, R-Sr.) has enjoyed a strong 2022 so far, posting 5.0 tackles for loss on the season to go with 33 total hits. He recorded at least a half TFL in each of Gardner-Webb's first five games this season. 

A CUT ABOVE
Transfer Cutrell Haywood (6-0, 217, Gr.) joined the program in January from the University of Idaho and made a quick, strong impression. The Stockton, Calif., native totaled 145 receptions during his time with the Vandals, including a pair of 50-catch campaigns. He was an All-State choice at Stagg High, leading the entire state of California in yardage after catching 100 balls for 1,644 yards and 22 scores. He had 11 catches for 96 yards and a score at Coastal Carolina (9/10).

TACKLES AND BOOKS
All-Big South linebacker William McRainey (6-0, 219, Jr.) has started each game of his career so far and led the league, while ranking No. 15 nationally with 109 total tackles last season. The Shallotte, N.C., native earned 2021 CoSIDA Academic All-District honors and is an Academic All-America candidate again in 2022. McRainey had 14 hits at Marshall and followed with 10 stops (nine solo) at Robert Morris. He has 54 total tackles through six starts in 2022.

ANOTHER RECORD
Gardner-Webb's passing offense set the Big South single-game record for highest completion  percentage (based on a minimum 25 attempts) in this past Saturday's win at Robert Morris. GWU's passing accuracy of 85.2 percent on 23-of-27 passes bettered the old mark of 84.6 (22-of-26), which was established by Gardner-Webb vs. Point in the 2013 season.

MORE ON THE MAYOR
Narii Gaither (5-10, 181, Sr.) is 269 rushing yards away from 2,000 in his career, which would make him the 30th player in Big South history to reach the plateau. Meanwhile, Gaither has caught 56 passes out of the backfi eld for 459 yards and six scores, and needs three receiving touchdowns to break the Big South record for most career receiving touchdowns (8) by a running back. He needs four catches to become the 10th running back with 60 in a career.