Liberty (8-4, 5-3 CUSA) concluded its season on Saturday with a 26-7 loss to Buffalo (9-4, 6-2 MAC) in the Bahamas Bowl on Saturday in Nassau, Bahamas.
With several starters missing, particularly on offense, the Liberty offense was never able to get on track in the first half. QB Kaidon Salter, RB Quinton Coole, offensive linemen Jordan White, Xavior Gray, and Jordan Hall were all out of the game, as well as others. It showed as the Flames were only able to manage four yards of offense in the first quarter. Those yards all came on the ground thanks to seven rushing attempts. Ryan Burger, Salter’s backup pat quarterback throughout the season, made his first Liberty start. He misfired on his first five passing attempts and did not complete his first pass until midway through the second quarter.
The Flames would go 3 & out on their first four offensive drives. Fortunately, the defense brought their game, limiting the Buffalo offense and keeping them out of the end zone in the first half. The Bulls would connect on three first half field goals to take a 9-0 lead. Buffalo kicker Upton Bellenfant, who entered the transfer portal and has committed to Texas Tech, played in the game for the Bulls, connecting on field goals from 42 yards, 43 yards, and 20 yards for all the first half scoring.
The first sign of life for the Liberty offense came when Billy Lucas broke free up the middle for a long run. He moved the Flames from out of the shadow of their own end zone into Buffalo territory with a yard that went over 50 yards. Just a few plays later though, with Liberty facing a 3rd and long, Burger was stopped short of the first down on his QB draw and he fumbled, the Bulls recovering.
After the defense stopped the Buffalo offense and forced another punt late in the first half. The Flames would move the ball in their two minute offense, picking up a couple of first downs and moving the ball into Bulls territory. With the clock winding down, Liberty setup for a 49-yard field goal by Colin Karhu that was no good.
Both offenses struggled to move the ball throughout the game though obviously Buffalo had more success. The teams battled issues with the wind that was pretty steady blowing in one direction of the stadium throughout the day. The grass field, which was planted just a few weeks prior to the game, was patched with sand frequently throughout the contest at each timeout.
The Bulls got the ball to start the 2nd half and they would add on to their lead. Buffalo converted a 4th and 1 and got more than was needed, running into the end zone from 40+ yards to score the first touchdown of the day and take a seemingly commanding 16-0 lead.
On the Flames’ first play of the second half, Ryan Burger was able to escape the pocket and ran for a gain of 56 to set the Flames up in the red zone with a first down at the 15. Two plays later, facing a 3rd and 5, Burger scrambled. As he tried to extend the play to pick up the first down, the ball was knocked loose as he fumbled for the second time in the game. The ball would bounce into the end zone where it would be recovered by the Bulls for a touchback.
Buffalo would add a field goal and then intercept a Nate Hampton pass and return it for a touchdown in the final quarter to extend their lead.
Nate Hampton would come on the field at quarterback in the fourth quarter for the Flames in relief of Burger. Hampton, who is in the transfer portal and has committed to Gardner-Webb, completed 2 of 9 passes for 40 yards, 1 touchdown, and an interception. He would connect with Reese Smith for a 36-yard touchdown pass, giving the Flames their only points of the game, coming with just seven minutes remaining.
Burger finished the day 4 of 12 passing for 40 yards. He also rushed 11 times for 57 yards with a long of 57. Billy Lucas had 3 carries for 57 yards, Caden Williams rushed 10 times for 31 yards and Vaughn Blue had 6 attempts for 14 yards.
Treon Sibley had 2 receptions for 11 yards while Reese Smith, Bentley Hanshaw, and Billy Lucas each had one reception.
The Flames finished the game with 242 yards of total offense. Liberty had 35 rushing attempts for 162 yards and completed 6 of 21 passes for 80 yards, 1 touchdown, and 1 interception. The Bulls finished with 359 yards of offense, rushing for 222 while completing 9 of 19 passes for 137 yards.
Buffalo becomes the first team to win multiple Bahamas Bowls as the Bulls also won in 2019, defeating Charlotte, 31-9.
Liberty loses two straight to conclude the season. The Flames have also lost three straight bowl games after beginning the program’s tenure in the FBS with three straight bowl wins.
Outclassed, out coached and outplayed
Mark,
I’m just as disappointed as you are in this game, but if you didn’t see this coming then you have not been following the Flames as closely as I have this year.
For starters, half our starting offense abandoned us for the portal as soon as the finale was over. Not to mention 3-4 of those who jumped ship were starting offensive linemen. As a result, our O-line was quite porous. a very good and physical Buffalo defense, with two of the top LBs in the country, were able to load the box nearly every play. Any backs that carried the ball were immediately TFL and Burger spent most of the time running for his life. I feel bad for the kid and surprised he played as well as he did being under constant duress. He literally had half a second to get it to our skill players while Ogbonna had at least 4-5 seconds to get the ball out. The game is won or lost in the trenches, is it not??
Our defense played great, but they were on the field 90% of the game! Lack of depth at O-line hurt us. Even if we had gone heavy more often, Lucas got hurt. With no Cooley or Jointer that leaves Vaughn and Caden. Neither has had enough PT to take on the second level of that Buffalo defense for a significant part of the game.
What would you do as coach if you were dealt this type of hand?
Defense played really well. Was curious why Hampton, who is already committed to leave played so many snaps. This might have been a chance to see Jayden Bradford attempts a few passes in a game that was clearly out of reach early in the 4th quarter.
Buffalo was more talented. Portal, draft prep, and injuries just enabled too much of a talent and experience gap. My only question is why did Hampton get snaps when he is already committed to another school? Why not let Jayden play the last offensive series?