OXFORD, MS - NOVEMBER 05: Head coach Hugh Freeze of the Mississippi Rebels reacts during the first half of a game against the Georgia Southern Eagles at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium on November 5, 2016 in Oxford, Mississippi. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)

Liberty Flames HC Hugh Freeze avoided a near fatality recently. Here are all the details and what it means for Week 1 vs Syracuse football.

Everyone is excited for the official kickoff between the Syracuse football squad and the Liberty Flames in Week 1.

Some things are bigger than football and Flames head coach Hugh Freeze came dangerously close to death in early August.

He was released from the hospital last week after undergoing back surgery. While that may seem rather insignificant, what they found during surgery wasn’t.

During the operation, the medical staff noticed a potentially “life-threatening strand of staph infection entered his bloodstream and complicated what was already severe pain he was experiencing from a herniated disk in his back,” per ESPN.

If Freeze would’ve waited just a little bit longer, we could be discussing a much different story ahead of Liberty vs Syracuse in Week 1.

“The doctors told me if it had been another 24 hours, that strand of bacteria could have gotten to my heart and that I would have been fighting for my life,” Freeze told ESPN. “It’s the way God works because there’s no doubt that bacteria would have killed me if President Falwell wasn’t so quick to make sure we got the right people involved.”

So how will this affect the start to the 2019 season?

It’s still unclear whether or not Freeze will be able to fully participate in this game on the sideline or up in the booth.

Hugh Freeze has never coached a game from up in the booth, according to the Charlotte Observer.

All of the complications have forced Hugh to miss two weeks of preparation ahead of the Week 1 matchup vs the Orange.

While Freeze has a ton of coaching experience under his belt, this is still his first year with the Liberty program.

Now there are a few ways to look at this:

On one hand, a first-year head coach being forced into the press box for the first time ever could be a tactical advantage for Syracuse.

Playing devil’s advocate, this could be a motivational ploy for the Flames. They could dedicate this game to their coach and get an emotional boost in front of their sold-out 25,000 crowd at Williams Stadium in Lynchburg, Virginia.

At the end of the day, Syracuse is the better football team. If they want to achieve all of their hopes and dreams, they have to take it one game at a time. This latest storyline is just another reminder that the Orange can’t overlook anyone regardless of the circumstances.