Liberty Flames vs. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers Cure Bowl Preview

There is a lot of excitement surrounding the Cure Bowl. The game has the most attractive matchup in its relatively brief history, as 9-1 Liberty faces 11-0 Coastal Carolina. Liberty lost only once, on a blocked field goal at the end of a one-point loss to North Carolina State. Coastal Carolina pulled off an unbeaten regular season. The Chanticleers were set to play Louisiana-Lafayette in the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game, but COVID-19 problems canceled that contest. Coastal won the Sun Belt because it had beaten Louisiana-Lafayette during the regular season.

Now these two teams meet in a bowl game. Coastal Carolina, should it win to go 12-0, might finish the season in the top 10, a phenomenal accomplishment for a small school which didn’t even play Division I FBS football a handful of seasons ago. Liberty coach Hugh Freeze is rumored to be in the mix for prominent coaching jobs, mostly in the Southeastern Conference. A win here could change the marketplace for him in the near future. There’s a lot going on in this game.

Details

Opening Line: Coastal Carolina -6

Current Line: Coastal Carolina -7.5

Over/Under: 50

Location: Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Florida

Start Time: 7:30 PM ET

Last Meeting: First-ever meeting

Overview

The statistical profiles for these teams are noticeably similar. Go down the line and you’ll quickly see. Liberty scores 38.3 points per game, Coastal Carolina 37.5. Liberty allows 19.2 points per game, Coastal 18.7. Liberty throws for 231 yards per game, Coastal 224. Liberty runs for 252 yards per game, Coastal 223. Liberty’s defense allows 172 passing yards per game, Coastal 203. Liberty’s run defense allows 130 yards per game, Coastal 138. Strictly by the numbers, these teams are close.

The point of differentiation which separates the two teams is the level of competition. Liberty has played some FCS (lower division, below the FBS) opponents this season, such as Western Carolina, while Coastal Carolina made a late-year scheduling adjustment and played BYU, a top-15 team. Coastal Carolina has taken on tougher teams in the Sun Belt than Liberty has as an independent football program.

The quarterbacks in this game are both terrific. Malik Willis of Liberty and Grayson McCall of Coastal Carolina have both thrown for over 2,000 yards, but what makes them special is how well they take care of the ball while making big plays. Willis has 20 touchdown passes and just four interceptions. McCall has 23 touchdowns and only two interceptions. Clearly, the team which can force turnovers figures to gain a big edge, at least if the takeaway creates a short field or occurs in the red zone. These are teams with balanced offenses. They get very even distribution of rushing and passing yards. Success in the run sets up the pass, and vice-versa. The defenses will try to put the offenses in predictable passing downs.

Trends

– Liberty is 7-0 ATS in its last seven games overall.

– Coastal Carolina is 5-0 ATS versus opponents with a winning record this season.

– Coastal Carolina is 7-1-1 ATS in its last nine games overall.

Bottom Line

The reality that Coastal Carolina has taken on tougher competition than Liberty – BYU being the foremost example – is hard to overlook in this game. Moreover, Coastal Carolina didn’t play the Sun Belt title game this past weekend, so the Chanticleers should be physically fresh for this game. It sets up well for them.

Prediction: Coastal Carolina 34, Liberty 20

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