Campbell Fighting Camels (0-0) vs. Liberty Flames (0-0)
September 4, 2021 6:00 pm EDT
The Line: Liberty Flames -20.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Liberty Flames meet the Campbell Fighting Camels Saturday in week 1 2021 college football action from Williams Stadium. This will be the first game of the 2021 campaign for both teams. Campbell managed to play a quartet of games last year, falling in all four of them. As for the Flames, they fared much better with a 10-1 record and a bowl victory. Check back all season long for free college football picks at Sports Chat Place.
The Big South suspended the 2020 fall football season, so Campbell technically participated as an independent. The Camels were able to get four games in during the fall, but lost all four—three of them being blowouts.
Campbell kicked things off with a 27-26 loss to Georgia Southern, then fell big to Coastal Carolina 43-21. The struggles continued with losses to Appalachian State 52-21 and Wake Forest 66-14 to complete the Camels’ winless 2020.
Over on the Flames’ side, they fared much better. Liberty finished 10-1 on the season, one game behind BYU in the Division I FBS Independents rankings. The Flames started out the year at 8-0 before falling in a rough 15-14 result at NC State.
Liberty regrouped after the loss to destroy UMass 45-0, then had to suspend activities ahead of a matchup versus Coastal Carolina. Fittingly, the Flames were selected to meet up with Coastal Carolina in the Cure Bowl, where Liberty took the overtime victory 37-34.
The Camels are 5-1 ATS in their last six road games and 4-1 ATS in their last five overall. Campbell is 4-1 ATS in the last five in September and 4-1 ATS in their last five non-conference games.
Meanwhile, Liberty is 7-0 ATS in their last seven non-conference games and 4-0 ATS in their last four home games. The Flames are 13-3 ATS in their last 16 overall and 6-0 ATS in their last six on turf.
PICK: I’m probably sticking with Liberty here. Campbell’s 2020 campaign was a learning experience, and the team certainly has to step things up to be competitive in this coming season. Quarterback Hajj-Malik Williams should be a big producer, and if he’s improved his accuracy we should see the Camels’ scoring go up accordingly.
As for Liberty, they averaged 483 yards and 38 points per game last year, and it’s looking like they’ll continue to pour in the production. QB Malik Willis is back after 944 rushing yards and 14 ground scores. He’ll be working with a great offensive line that gets all five starters back. On paper at least, the Flames aren’t losing much from last year and should be dangerous yet again.
