CULLOWHEE, N.C. – Western Carolina’s season-opening road game this Saturday, Nov. 14, at No. 22 Liberty has been optioned for broadcast on ESPNU, it was announced Wednesday. Kickoff at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia, is scheduled for noon.
 
Saturday’s game was previously slated to air on ESPN3. Fans can still watch the game through the WatchESPN app.
 
Western Carolina and NCAA FBS Independent Liberty (7-0) meet for the seventh time in the all-time series – and the first since 2008. The all-time series stands tied 3-3 with Liberty having won the previous two meetings. WCU does hold a 2-1 edge in matchups in Lynchburg all-time. The Flames, off to their best start in the program’s 48-year history, are among the FBS national rankings for the first time since reclassifying in 2019.
 
WCU has been on ESPNU a couple of times including a pair of 2016 trips to both College Station, Texas, to face Texas A&M and nearby Knoxville, Tennessee, to face the Tennessee Volunteers. In a home appearance on ESPNU back in 2007, the Catamounts outscored 11th-ranked Wofford 41-10 in the second half to stage a feverish rally before falling to the Terriers, 47-44, in a Thursday night game.
 
The move this weekend marks WCU’s second straight appearance on ESPN’s linear television channels as the 2019 regular-season finale at nationally ranked Alabama was televised on ESPN.