The Liberty Flames are bowl eligible for a third consecutive season after finishing with a 7-5 record following the end of the regular season. As the coaching staff has hit the recruiting trail hard this week, the Flames are eagerly awaiting their destination for Bowl Season this year.
There are 83 bowl-eligible teams for 82 bowl spots which meant one team was not going to be going bowling. That was until a 42nd yet to be named bowl game was added. ESPN Events will stage an extra game in the Dallas-Fort Worth area so that all 83 eligible teams plus 6-7 Hawaii will have the chance to go bowling.
With Selection Sunday just around the corner when the College Football Playoff teams will be announced, as well as the remaining New Year’s Six games, followed by the rest of the bowl games, here’s a look at what bowls Liberty is currently being projected into.
- USA Today: Boca Raton Bowl vs Marshall (7-5)
- 247Sports: Boca Raton Bowl vs Marshall (7-5)
- Sporting News: Boca Raton Bowl vs Eastern Michigan (7-5)
- Sports Illustrated: Frisco Bowl vs Air Force (9-3)
- The Athletic: Frisco Bowl vs Tulsa (6-6)
- College Football News: SERVPRO First Responder Bowl vs Nevada (8-4)
- Yahoo Sports: SERVPRO First Responder Bowl vs Nevada (8-4)
- ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura: Cure Bowl vs Florida (6-6)
- Athlon Sports: Cure Bowl vs Appalachian State (10-2)
- CBS’ Jerry Palm: Myrtle Beach Bowl vs Kent State (7-5)
- Pro Football Network: Camellia Bowl vs Eastern Michigan (7-5)
- Action Network: Lending Tree Bowl vs Central Michigan (8-4)
- Bowl Season: Quick Lane Bowl vs Eastern Michigan (7-5)
As you can see, the most popular destination is the Boca Raton Bowl in Florida with three projections. After that, there are two projections each for the Frisco Bowl in Texas, the First Responder Bowl which is also in Texas, and the Cure Bowl in Orlando. The Myrtle Beach, Camellia, Lending Tree, and Quick Lane bowls all have one projection for the Flames.
Liberty is looking to return to a bowl game for the third straight season after Hugh Freeze led the program to bowl appearances in its first two seasons as a full FBS member. Liberty has only made an appearance in the Cure Bowl in Orlando, Florida, winning that game against a Sun Belt opponent in each of the past two seasons. In 2019, the Flames knocked off Georgia Southern, and in 2020 Liberty defeated former Big South rival Coastal Carolina in overtime.
The Flames are 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.).
