Following Liberty’s win Saturday night on homecoming against Maine, the Flames are being projected into a bowl game by several pundits. ESPN, CBS Sports, and the Sporting News currently have the Flames projected to make a bowl game.
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach projects Liberty into the Cure Bowl on December 21st in Orlando, Florida which will air on CBS Sports Network at 2:30 p.m. Schlabach has the Flames picked to face Georgia State from the Sun Belt.
CBS’ Jerry Palm projects Liberty into the Quick Lane Bowl on December 26th in Detroit, Michigan which will air on ESPN at 8 p.m. Palm has the Flames slated against Western Michigan from the MAC.
The Sporting News has Liberty in the Birmingham Bowl facing Boston College on January 2nd at 3 p.m. airing on ESPN. The Jared Birmingham Bowl is played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Albama and pits teams from the SEC and American Athletic Conference. Should either of these conferences not fulfill their bowl commitments, the Birmingham Bowl can take a team from Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, or an at-large team.
Liberty is in its first season as a full-fledged FBS member and eligible to make a bowl game provided it reaches bowl eligibility of 6 FBS wins. The Flames currently have 4 FBS wins, as one win against an FCS team is able to count. The Flames conclude the season with five straight FBS opponents, needing two wins to become bowl eligible.
This year, Liberty is in its 2nd season of a 2-year agreement with the Cure Bowl. It is a secondary bowl agreement which will give the Flames the opportunity to replace a team from the American Athletic Conference or the Sun Belt Conference should either league fail to field enough deserving teams. CBS currently projects Cincinnati and Arkansas State to play in the December 21 Cure Bowl in Orlando, Florida.
Beginning with the 2020 season, Liberty has reached a bowl agreement with ESPN which could put the Flames in one of at least six bowl games – Boca Raton Bowl, Camellia Bowl, Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl, Myrtle Beach Bowl, or the New Mexico Bowl.
