Liberty is 13-0 having defeated New Mexico State in the 2023 CUSA Championship Game and now the Flames await their bowl destination which will be officially announced Sunday afternoon. Will the Flames get that coveted New Year’s Six Bowl spot? With Tulane’s loss to SMU on Saturday in the AAC Championship Game, it is a very real possibility. It is between Liberty and SMU.
Several outlets have updated their bowl projections and we have assembled those projections for where Liberty is being pegged.
- Mark Schlabach (ESPN): Cure Bowl vs Appalachian State (8-5)
- Kyle Bonagura (ESPN): Military Bowl vs Syracuse (6-6)
- Jerry Palm (CBS Sports): Fiesta Bowl vs Oregon (11-2)
- Brad Crawford (247Sports): Fiesta Bowl vs Missouri (10-2)
- Brett McMurphy (Action Network): Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl vs Penn State (10-2)
- Steve Lassan (Athlon Sports): Fiesta Bowl vs Oregon (11-2)
- Oliver Hodgkinson (College Football Network): Fiesta Bowl vs Missouri (10-2)
- Bill Bender (Sporting News): Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl vs Penn State (10-2)
- The Athletic: Cure Bowl vs Troy (11-2)
- Bleacher Report: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl vs Missouri (10-2)
- USA Today: Famous Toastery Bowl vs Toledo (11-2)
- Fox Sports: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl vs Missouri (10-2)
- The Game Haus: Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl vs Oklahoma (10-2)
Having transitioned to Conference USA this summer, there is a new set of bowl tie-ins CUSA has and the Flames will be eligible for.
First off, Liberty will be in the mix for the Fiesta, Cotton, or Chik-fil-A Peach Bowl if it is the highest ranked Group of Five champion. For the rest of the bowls, CUSA doesn’t have a true pecking order of bowl picks. Instead, the bowls are picked based off a number of factors including geography and best possible matchups.
Here are the bowls where Conference USA has a primary selection:
Bahamas Bowl
Nassau, Bahamas vs MAC
Armed Forces Bowl
Fort Worth, Texas vs American
New Orleans Bowl
New Orleans, Louisiana vs Sun Belt
New Mexico Bowl
Albuquerque, New Mexico vs Mountain West
Independence Bowl
Shreveport, Louisiana vs TBD
If CUSA has additional bowl eligible teams, there are also a number of bowls where CUSA teams can be selected as a secondary team:
Cure Bowl
Hawaii Bowl
Frisco Bowl
Boca Raton Bowl
Under first year head coach Jamey Chadwell, Liberty will be looking to make a fifth consecutive bowl appearance. The Flames have reached a bowl game in each of the four seasons of full FBS eligibility. Liberty is 3-1 in previous bowl games.
I like reading your insights into Liberty. And since you follow Flames football closely I was disappointed that you didn’t give your prediction. So, do you think Liberty will be part one of the New Year’s Six?
Yes, I believe Liberty will be in the NY6, but nobody really knows what the group of committee members will do.