Liberty beat Gardner-Webb 24-23 on Saturday at Williams Stadium, going ahead for good on Jaylen Henderson's 54-yard touchdown pass to Darius Copeland with 2:34 left.
Tyler Simpson's 41-yard field goal at 11:54 of the first quarter gave the Runnin' Bulldogs a 3-0 lead. Liberty answered with Deshawn Purdie's 65-yard pass to Makai Jackson at 11:07 and Jaylon Coleman's 20-yard run at 8:48. Simpson kicked a 35-yarder at 5:12 to make it 14-6. Gardner-Webb went ahead in the second quarter: Sabin McLaughlin returned a fumble 35 yards for a touchdown at 9:11, and Randy Young ran 65 yards at 5:44 for a 20-14 lead. Chase Reeves's 30-yard field goal as the half ended cut it to 20-17.
Simpson's 27-yard field goal at 2:34 of the third put Gardner-Webb up 23-17. Henderson's throw to Copeland at 2:34 of the fourth, with Reeves's kick, gave Liberty the win.
Purdie was 6 of 17 for 122 yards and a touchdown; Jackson caught two passes for 69 yards, and Peyton Jones ran 13 times for 76 yards. Cole Pennington threw for 186 yards on 16 of 38 with two interceptions for Gardner-Webb, and Young finished with 75 yards on four carries. Liberty outgained Gardner-Webb 379 yards to 304 but was flagged 11 times for 96 yards and converted 2 of 12 third downs. Gardner-Webb committed three turnovers to Liberty's two. Attendance was 15,708.
Reporting source: ESPN public site API (game summary) Captured Sep 14, 2026, 3:19 AM UTC