No. 23 Liberty (10-1) defeated No. 12 Coastal Carolina (11-1), 37-34, to win the 6th Cure Bowl and Liberty’s second straight win in the event, becoming the first ever two time Cure Bowl champion. With the win, Liberty joins Appalachian State as the only teams transitioning from FCS to FBS football to ever win a bowl game during each of their first two seasons of full bowl eligibility.
The game went to overtime and the Flames’ blocked the Coastal field goal as the Flames win.
The win is also Liberty’s first ever victory over an FBS Top 25 opponent in the team’s third try as the Flames match the program record for most victories in a season. Liberty also won 10 games in 2008 when the team finished the year at 10-2. The Flames now own an 8-7 series lead over their former Big South rival Chanticleers and Liberty is now 6-1 all-time against Sun Belt opponents, including a 3-1 mark under Hugh Freeze.
The loss is Coastal’s first of the season as their longest active winning streak among FBS teams of 12 straight wins comes to an end. It’s the second time Liberty has defeated Coastal Carolina at the end of the season when the Chanticleers were undefeated, as the Flames ruined the undefeated Coastal season in 2014 when the Chanticleers were the No. 1 ranked FCS team.
Much more to come.
