Liberty (7-5) will conclude its 2021 season on Saturday in the Lending Tree Bowl against Eastern Michigan (7-5) from Mobile, Alabama’s Hancock Whitney Stadium. The game will be televised on ESPN with kickoff scheduled for 5:45 p.m. EST.

This will be the second ever meeting between the two programs and the first with both at the FBS level. In the first matchup, the Flames pulled off the upset in the program’s first ever win over an FBS program, knocking off the Eagles, 25-24, in Ypsilanti, Michigan on Oct. 14, 1989 when Liberty was still an FCS member.

Chris Creighton is in his eighth season as head coach of Eastern Michigan. He has an overall record of 37-56 and a 22-40 mark in Mid-American Conference play. This will be the fourth bowl game for the Eagles under Creighton. They are winless in the previous three bowl trips, falling in the 2016 Bahamas Bowl, the 2018 Camellia Bowl, and the 2019 Quick Lane Bowl.

Earlier this season, EMU picked up wins in the non-conference over Saint Francis (PA), UMass, and Texas State while falling to Wisconsin. The Eagles finished 4-4 in the MAC and were tied for fourth place in the West Division. Eastern Michigan has lost two of its last three games entering the Lending Tree Bowl.

Coming off consecutive losing seasons, Coach Creighton turned to Cincinnati quarterback Ben Bryant to lead the Eagles this season. The 6’3″ senior quarterback join the team prior to the 2021 season after spending the previous three seasons at Cincinnati where he was the Bearcats backup quarterback. This season, Bryant has completed 256 of his 372 passes for 2,921 yards, 14 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. He’s not much of a rushing threat, as he has -26 rushing yards on the season.

Behind Bryant, Eastern Michigan is averaging 31 points and 381.6 yards of offense per game. The Eagles pick up 263.6 yards through the air and 118 on the ground each contest. Bryant’s two favorite targets are wide receivers Hassan Beydoun and Dylan Drummond. he 5’8″ Beydoun led the team with 86 receptions and 932 yards on the season to go along with his four touchdowns. He was named second-team all-conference following the campaign. Drummond is second on the team with 58 receptions for 653 yards and a team-leading 6 touchdowns.

It’s a three-headed attack at running back for Eastern Michigan. Jawon Hamilton leads the team with 631 yards on 6.2 yards per carry. Darius Boone, Jr. has 400 rushing yards this season and six touchdowns. Samson Evans adds 264 rushing yards and a team-best 12 touchdowns.

On defense, the Eagles are surrendering 27.8 points and 430.3 yards of offense per game. Defensive lineman Jose Ramirez is third on the team this season with 59 tackles, but he really makes his damage in the opposing team’s backfield. Ramirez leads the team with 10.5 tackles for loss, 6 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles. He also has 10 quarterback hurries on the season. Linebackers Tariq Speights (85) and Terry Myrick (77) lead the team in tackles.

“They are big, physical offensive lines and defensive lines,” said Freeze. “That is concerning. Our D-Line has held up pretty well against most of the lines we have played this year, so I’m optimistic there. We’ve got to handle their RPO world and shot plays off of their run action. Then, we’ve got to handle 55’s a heck of a pass rusher. We’ve struggled with that all year. We’ve got to have a plan for that. Their big inside guys are really, really strong and hard to move. I think we’ve got a good plan. Excited about the opportunity to go out and do it. They are a really good team. You’re going to have to play really well to beat them, but that’s what you want in a bowl game.”

NOTABLES

  • The Flames are looking to join Appalachian State as the only teams to win bowl games in their first three seasons of bowl eligibility after transitioning from FCS to FBS football.
  • Liberty is 2-0 when playing in Alabama this season, with wins over Troy, 21-13, on Sept. 11 and UAB, 36-12, on Oct. 2.
  • Malik Willis has accounted for a program-record 35 touchdowns (24 passing/11 rushing) this season.
  • Liberty is one of nine FBS teams to close out each of the last three seasons (2018, 2019, 2020) with a victory.
  • The Flames posted a program record four wins over bowl teams this season with wins over Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Old Dominion, and UAB.
  • Liberty is looking to avoid its first four game losing streak in four years when the Flames dropped four straight from Sept. 23-Oct. 21, 2017.
  • The Flames are hoping to become the third FBS program to win eight or more games in each of their first three seasons as fully bowl eligible FBS members after transitioning from FCS. Appalachian State did so from 2015-present and Marshall did so from 1997-2003.
  • Liberty has not trailed at any point during its two bowl games. The Flames have led for 95:58 during bowl games and tied for 24:02.

QUOTABLES

Hugh Freeze – “I’m really excited for our team to be able to play on national TV and represent our university and our efforts to go 3-0 in bowl games in our time here. Really didn’t like the way our season ended. Felt like it’s my fault and I’m responsible and I want to have a different feeling going into the offseason. So, we’re really excited about this opportunity. Playing a wonderfully well coached team in Eastern Michigan. Chris Creighton is one of the best men in coaching. He’s a molder of men. His kids play extremely hard for him, and obviously their record reflects that. Big, physical offensive line. Very, very, very disciplined defense. We’ve got a great challenge, but it’s one we’re looking forward to.”

Hugh Freeze – “Coach Creighton, I have known him for a while. Just salt of the earth guy, a believer. He hired RJ Fleming from here. I think that just speaks to the culture to which he’s used to build the program now. Been very, very competitive all year long with really good teams.”

DL Coach Josh Aldridge – “I think we look fresh. You can tell they had some time off. A lot of really good energy the last couple of practices, especially on our side of the ball. Been very pleased about it. They are definitely motivated and excited about trying to go 3-0 in bowl games, especially our seniors, pretty senior-laden group on the defensive side of the ball.”

OL Coach Sam Gregg – “I was really appreciate of how Hugh treated me. He gave me an opportunity. These kids here mean a lot to me. We’ve had a really good three years. I wanted to be there with them the best I could before I moved on.”

Safety Javon Scruggs – “Enjoying the last few days that I will possibly see some of the senior guys that are about to go away from here. Just build more camraderie with the younger guys that will still be here. That’s my biggest look forward to this week, just spending more time with the guys and learning more about the guys this week.”

OL Jacob Bodden on EMU – “They are very big and very physical up front. They play hard and are very well coached.”

PREDICTION

Liberty 31, Eastern Michigan 24

The Flames will be looking to get back in the win column and finish the season on a high note after ending the regular season with three straight losses. Liberty has the talent and experience to beat Eastern Michigan to win a third straight bowl game. The question comes down to the team’s focus and motivation this week.