The Liberty Flames (7-5) and Eastern Michigan Eagles (7-5) are preparing to meet in the 2021 Lending Tree Bowl on Saturday, December 18th from Mobile, Alabama. The Flames are an 8 point favorite against EMU as Liberty is hoping to improve to 3-0 all-time in bowl games.
According to ESPN’s FPI, Liberty’s best win came against the #63 ranked FPI team UAB while Eastern Michigan’s best win came against the #58 ranked FPI team Toledo.
The rest of Liberty’s win came against FCS Campbell, #101 Troy, #105 Old Dominion, #63 UAB, #89 Middle Tennessee, #96 North Texas, and #130 UMass. Liberty’s average win came against a team ranked 97.3 in FPI.
Liberty’s losses were against #72 Syracuse, #120 Louisiana-Monroe, #17 Ole Miss, #51 Louisiana, and #57 Army. Liberty’s average loss came against a team ranked 63.4 in FPI.
In addition to the win over Toledo, Eastern Michigan’s other wins came against FCS St Francis (PA), #130 UMass, #119 Texas State, #85 Miami (OH), #123 Bowling Green, #58 Toledo, and #79 Western Michigan. Their average win came against a team ranked 99 in FPI.
EMU’s losses were against #13 Wisconsin, #97 Northern Illinois, #93 Ball State, #114 Ohio, and #78 Central Michigan. Their average loss came against a team ranked 79 in FPI.
Here’s how several college football media outlets rank the Flames (and the Eagles) out of 130 FBS schools entering bowl season.
Rankings with asterisk indicate teams are ranked by data and formula, not by human polling.
- ESPN* (Football Power Index) — 67 (91)
- CBS Top 130 — 61 (88)
- Massey Ratings* — 83 (99)
- Sagarin Ratings* (258 FBS/FCS teams ranked) — 71 (101)
- The Athletic 130 – 67 (77)
