The 2020 calendar year will be one for the history books across the world, and the same can be said for the Liberty Athletics program. In March, the men’s basketball team was unable to compete in its second straight NCAA Tournament as the event was canceled amid the COVID-19 pandemic. On Thursday, Liberty’s 2020 record-breaking football regular season came to an abrupt end thanks to COVID-19.
“What a 2020, man,” Liberty head football coach Hugh Freeze said. “It’s been a blessing. It’s had a lot of highs, a lot of firsts. Top 25, 9 wins, TV appearances, Power Five wins, we celebrate all of that.”
Beginning Sunday, Nov. 29, the football team began to receive positive tests for the highly contagious virus, including star quarterback Malik Willis. As the week progressed, it became increasingly clear that the Flames would be unable to compete in Saturday’s game against Coastal Carolina because of a surge in positive COVID cases.
“11 straight weeks with relatively no COVID issues,” said Freeze. “We think the bubble principle that came about through our administration, our academics team, medical team, strength staff, nutrition, it all worked. Unfortunately, after 11 straight weeks of relatively no issues, somehow, someway we got stung starting last Sunday. It didn’t end up the way we wanted to.”
No. 25 Liberty (9-1) was preparing for a renewed rivalry game against No. 14 Coastal Carolina (9-0) on Saturday afternoon in Conway, South Carolina. It was set to be the first ever game between ranked opponents in Liberty’s brief FBS history as the Flames looked to knock off its first ever ranked FBS opponent with ESPN’s College GameDay broadcasting from Coastal Carolina Saturday morning.
“We were really looking forward to a top 25 game down at Coastal,” Freeze continued. “I love those type of games. I love the attention it brings to our program. Our kids, I think, would flourish in that competition and have a chance to beat a top 15 team. We prepared as hard as we could under some strange circumstances. Even late into the night last night were still preparing until we got the word this morning from our medical team that felt like we needed to pause football activity right now. It is disappointing, but man nothing can take away the joy of the accomplishments that our kids and staff have gotten done this year in this crazy 2020. We celebrate that a lot more than we will focus though on being disappointed about not being able to compete this Saturday.”
It’s a 2020 season that will long be remembered at Liberty. The best season in school history, no arguments can be made otherwise. Best-ever start to a season at 8-0, first ever national top 25 ranking for four weeks (and counting), first ever wins over ACC teams including an upset in Blacksburg over in-state foe Virginia Tech in a thriller. The Flames came one blocked field goal away from finishing the regular season unbeaten and with three wins over Power Five opponents. Even with that loss to NC State, Liberty has arguably the best resume in the country of any non-Power Five team.
“Certainly there is more work to be done, but to date you would have to say this is the most successful season in the history of our program,” Liberty Athletic Director Ian McCaw said. “Just a great credit to Coach Freeze and the team, just all the accomplishments going back through the two ACC wins, beating Virginia Tech and Syracuse, the incredible start, obviously. It has been a magical ride, and we expect that ride to continue a little longer after we complete our pause. The job that this coaching staff has done, if you think about it, just our second full year of an FBS program, to be nationally ranked and have an opportunity to get to 10 wins is really, we’re so far ahead of schedule, it’s really remarkable.”
Despite all the accomplishments of the season, the Flames felt they had more to prove. They wanted to prove worthy of the top 25 ranking. They wanted to get to 10 wins with the first ever win over an FBS Top 25 team with College GameDay on hand. The program did everything they could this week to play the nationally ranked and undefeated Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, but the positive tests kept coming.
Only one defensive coach was available to attend practice throughout the week. The Flames divided practices up between offensive, defensive, and special teams practices so that offensive coaches could also coach the defense. As late as Wednesday evening, the Flames’ coaching staff was still putting in a game plan to prepare for the upcoming showdown with more hours this week than any previous week this season preparing.
“Really felt like last night, I just had a feeling that the tests were going to come back good and we were going to play,” said Freeze. “Then, unfortunately, we get the tests back last night and it was uncomfortable enough for the doctors to say there’s something going on we need to pause.”
With the increased positive tests, Freeze felt it was out of his hands and there was nothing he could do to get his team on the field Saturday.
“When you look at the sheer facts after last night’s tests, the health of our kids and the safety of them comes first. There’s something trending in a bad direction. I’m not qualified to say. So, I did not push back at all after last night’s results.”
Liberty stayed in constant communication with Coastal and College GameDay throughout the week letting all parties know about the COVID issues the team was experiencing. The entire team was tested on Sunday, got the results back on Monday with positives, and began daily communication with the respected parties. The entire team was again tested on Wednesday, and everyone knew the results of those tests would be paramount to Liberty’s ability to play Saturday. When more positives came back late Wednesday, the Flames knew they couldn’t move forward, and Freeze says anyone thinking his team didn’t want to play Coastal is wrong.
“That’s so far from the truth,” said Freeze. “Do they say that about every other team? We have a top 25 opponent that we have a chance to go solidify our ranking and have another marquee win on national TV. I’ve never shied away from opportunities like that.”
The scheduled game against Coastal Carolina will be rescheduled, McCaw says, at a date to be determined. The Flames and Chanticleers have future games scheduled in 2023, 2024, 2027, 2028, and 2029.
“We will have to visit with Matt Hogue down at Coastal on (rescheduling),” said McCaw. “If we can do it earlier we will, but I would expect this game would be perhaps rescheduled around 2030 or something like that. I will be in a rocking chair by then, by the way.”
With Liberty’s open and transparent communications, Coastal Carolina and ESPN were able to quickly move and make contingency plans, setting up a game between top 15 and undefeated BYU and the Chanticleers. There have been rumors that Liberty and BYU could work out a game between the two Independents on Dec. 19 when both teams have openings, but at that point it is getting very close to the beginning of the bowl season
“We’ve certainly contemplated that as a possibility,” McCaw said of playing BYU in a couple weeks. “But it does run into the beginning of the bowl season and most likely that would be when our bowl game would be, it would be on the front end of it. So, I think right now, we are kind of waiting to see how the bowl situation unfolds and we will go from there.”
Liberty has now paused all team activities as they look to get the COVID outbreak under control. The team is expected to be tested again this week to ensure all positive cases have been identified. At that point, the Flames will hope to begin to work towards preparing for a possible bowl opportunity.
“We are very hopeful for a bowl opportunity, and certainly very deserving with the 9-1 record and top 25 ranking,” said McCaw. “I think bowl games will start to be selected as early as next week. I think it will be a staggered basis. I think as of now there are 9 or 10 games that have been canceled thus far, but we remain very hopeful about our opportunities. We’ll pause our team, but expect to bring them back sometime next week and prepare for a bowl game.”
Liberty has a contract with ESPN Events who has several bowl tie-ins of which would be the most likely for the Flames to be slotted into. These bowl games include the Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl (Dec.19), Myrtle Beach Bowl (Dec. 21), Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Dec. 22), RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl (Dec. 22), New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 24), Camellia Bowl (Dec. 25), Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl (Dec. 26), and Cure Bowl (Dec. 26).
“We just really wait to hear from ESPN as to what opportunities may be presented to us,” McCaw said. “I think certainly one thing we have learned this year, is nothing is guaranteed, either the regular season or the bowl season. With all the games being canceled, and certainly we’ve seen already bowl games being canceled, we understand that there could be additional ones. This is a year of uncertainty and a year where you can’t guarantee anything, but at the same time I think certainly the performance of our team during the course of the year makes us very deserving of a bowl game and I expect the team will have that opportunity.”
