Liberty picked up its third consecutive win by knocking off UMass, 42-24, on Saturday. The Flames now begin to turn their attention to this weekend’s homecoming game against Gardner-Webb at 3:30 p.m. With a win this week, Liberty will become bowl eligible for a fourth straight season.
Here’s an updated look at where the Flames are being projected in early season bowl projections as head coach Hugh Freeze and Liberty seeks to reach a 4th straight bowl game:
- Mark Schlabach (ESPN): Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl (Tampa) vs UTSA (4-2, 2-0 CUSA)
- Kyle Bonagura (ESPN): Myrtle Beach Bowl (Conway) vs Kent State (2-4, 1-1 MAC)
- Jerry Palm (CBS Sports): Camellia Bowl (Montgomery) vs Troy (4-2, 2-1 Sun Belt)
- Brad Crawford (247Sports): Camellia Bowl (Montgomery) vs Arkansas State (2-4, 1-2 Sun Belt)
- Brett McMurphy (Action Network): TBA Bowl vs Marshall* (3-2, 0-1 Sun Belt)
- Steven Lassan (Athlon Sports): Cure Bowl (Orlando) vs Kent State (2-4, 1-1 MAC)
- College Sports Madness: Independence Bowl (Shreveport) vs East Carolina (3-3, 1-2 American)
- Oliver Hodgkinson (Pro Football Network): New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque) vs San Diego State (3-3, 1-1 Mountain West)
*McMurphy notes that ESPN will create a bowl this fall to replace the San Francisco Bowl if it is not played and this is where he projects Liberty this week.
The Flames finished the 2021 campaign with an 8-5 record and won a third straight bowl game with a convincing 56-20 win over Eastern Michigan in the Lending Tree Bowl. Liberty is just one of five FBS teams in the country who have won a bowl game each of the last three seasons, joining Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, and Louisiana.
In its third year of full FBS eligibility, Liberty earned a third straight bowl victory. The Flames, who also won the Cure Bowl in 2019 and 2020, join Appalachian State as the only teams to win bowl games in each of their first three years after transitioning to FBS from FCS. Liberty has now won eight or more games for the 13th season in program history, including all three years under head coach Hugh Freeze.
Liberty is currently in the midst of a multi-year agreement with ESPN Events which could place the Flames in one of at least six bowl games: Boca Raton Bowl (FAU Stadium; Boca Raton, Fla.), Camellia Bowl (Cramton Bowl; Montgomery, Ala.), , Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Albertsons Stadium; Boise, Idaho), Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl (Toyota Stadium; Frisco, Texas), Myrtle Beach Bowl (Brooks Stadium; Conway, S.C.) and New Mexico Bowl (Dreamstyle Stadium; Albuquerque, N.M.).
