Flames go to 6-0 before off week, clash vs. Hokies

Liberty 56, Southern Mississippi 35

LYNCHBURG — Malik Willis threw for 345 yards and six touchdowns — five in the first half — and Liberty remained unbeaten Saturday.

The Flames piled up 537 yards of offense, racing to a 35-7 halftime lead as Willis found five different receivers with scoring strikes.

Liberty will take a 6-0 record into its Nov. 7 game at Virginia Tech.

Army 49, Mercer 3

WEST POINT, N.Y. — Sandon McCoy had three 1-yard touchdown runs and Army beat the Southern Conference’s Bulldogs (0-2).

McCoy increased his TD total to eight this season and 18 for his career as the Black Knights (6-1) rolled to their fourth straight victory.

Cade Ballard threw a 53-yard scoring pass to Tyrell Robinson for Army’s first points. It was the first career touchdown pass for Ballard and first scoring reception for Robinson.

Meanwhile, Army accepted a bid to the Independence Bowl, becoming the first team in the country to gain a spot in the postseason.

Rutgers 38, Michigan State 27

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Isaih Pacheco ran for two first-half touchdowns as Rutgers snapped a 21-game Big Ten losing streak in coach Greg Schiano’s first game back with the Scarlet Knights.

Michigan State has a new coach too, and Mel Tucker’s debut was forgettable from the start. The Spartans (0-1) turned the ball over seven times — four in the first half — and never led against a Rutgers team that hadn’t won a conference game since Nov. 4, 2017, against Maryland.