The Liberty Flames are going bowling once again! For a third consecutive season the Flames have become bowl eligible and will continue their season into December. Liberty (7-5) has accepted an invitation to the Lending Tree Bowl where the Flames will take on Eastern Michigan (7-5).
The Lending Tree Bowl from Mobile, Alabama will be played on Saturday, Dec. 18 at 5:45 p.m. EST on ESPN at Hancock Whitney Stadium on the University of South Alabama Campus in Mobile.
The Eastern Michigan Eagles finished 7-5 overall and 4-4 in the MAC. The only similar opponent between the Flames and Eagles this season is UMass. Eastern Michigan won at UMass, 42-28 while Liberty defeated the Minutemen in Lynchburg, 62-17. Eastern Michigan will play in their fourth bowl game in the previous six seasons.
It will be a rematch of the Oct. 14, 1989 game when Liberty defeated Eastern Michigan, 25-24 in Ypsilanti, Michigan in the program’s first ever win over an NCAA FBS opponent. The Flames were an FCS member at the time.
Liberty finished the regular season at 7-5 under third year head coach Hugh Freeze. The Flames have lost three straight to end the regular season with losses to Ole Miss, Louisiana, Army after starting the year at 7-2. Liberty picked up four wins over teams that were bowl eligible while playing seven different opponents that qualified for a bowl game.
The Flames will be looking to improve to 3-0 all-time in bowl games following wins over Georgia Southern, 23-16, and Coastal Carolina, 37-34 in overtime, in the Cure Bowl each of the past two seasons.
