With Stony Brook’s record-setting win over Gardner-Webb, the stage is set for a winner-take-all championship game against Liberty and, for Stony Brook, a chance to claim the conference title all for itself.

“It’ll be the most important game that we as a 2011 version of Stony Brook football,” head coach Chuck Priore said. “We’ll have the opportunity to be challenged by a very good football team.”

Stony Brook and Liberty will both go into next Saturday with 5-0 records in Big South play.

The winner of the game will not only be crowned the sole winner of the conference, but also gain an automatic bid into the NCAA FCS playoffs. The two teams hope that this grudge match will help decide the top dog in the Big South.

“When you talk about how to build a program, it’s getting yourself on the map,” Priore said. “It rewards our kids and our program, and the support we have gotten from our alumni.”

It will be the third straight year that the two teams will face-off against each other to end the regular season.

Like the upcoming game, the last two meetings also had championship implications. On both occasions, the teams ended up sharing the Big South title.

“I don’t think there is any question there is a love-hate relationship,” Priore said about Liberty.

Stony Brook will be hoping that Saturday’s game will have a happier ending than last season’s finale.

Needing either a win or to limit Liberty to less then 38 points in order to secure its first-ever playoff bid, Stony Brook lost 54-28.

The bitter memory is something the Seawolves hope to get over this weekend.

“The better team on that Saturday won,” Priore said. “Hopefully, the better team this Saturday will win.”

In that game, Liberty’s star quarterback, Mike Brown, torched Stony Brook.

The red-shirt senior had 334 passing yards and 160 rushing yards in that game.

“He’s a terrific football player, one of the leaders of their team,” Priore said. “We got to control the opportunity he has to have success, and with that, it’s just run to the football hard and play good defense.”

Stony Brook will be relying on its running back duo of Miguel Maysonet and Brock Jackolski, who have both rushed for over 1,000 yards for the second consecutive season.Jackolski and Maysonet have been even more impressive during the Seawolves’ seven game winning streak.

The duo has combined for 26 of Stony Brook’s 36 rushing touchdowns this season.

“They are a big part of what we do,” Priore said. “But it can’t be the only thing we can do; we’ll spread the wealth around and be successful across the board with what we do.”

With Stony Brook’s website dubbing the upcoming game the ‘Battle for the Big South,’ Priore will be hoping for a similar result of the finale two years ago, when  Stony Brook upset Liberty 36-33 on a last-minute drive.Like that game, Priore hopes that the twelfth man will play a big role in helping his team this Saturday at Kenneth P. LaValle Stadium.

“It’s certainly a great opportunity and I’m excited that it’s going to be at home, certainly excited about our fans to see a championship game,” Priore said. “Just come out and support your team and it’ll be well appreciated.”