Liberty opened the 2023 season with a win on Saturday against Bowling Green, 34-24. Now, the Flames prepare to open Conference USA play this week against New Mexico State.
Several outlets have updated their bowl projections and we have assembled those projections for where Liberty is being pegged.
- Mark Schlabach (ESPN): Liberty not projected in a bowl game
- Kyle Bonagura (ESPN): Bahamas Bowl vs Miami (OH)
- Jerry Palm (CBS Sports): New Orleans Bowl vs Louisiana
- College Football News: Armed Forces Bowl vs SMU
- Brad Crawford (247Sports): New Orleans Bowl vs South Alabama
- Brett McMurphy (Action Network): Bahamas Bowl vs Ball State
- Steve Lassan (Athlon Sports): New Orleans Bowl vs Troy
- Erick Smith (USA Today): Armed Forces Bowl vs UTSA
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, the Conference USA champion 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 and if it’s not in the College Football Playoff. 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.
