Cure Bowl 2020: 3 takeaways from Liberty’s wild win over Coastal Carolina

1. Both teams have bright futures

Coastal Carolina came into this game on the heels of a disappointing finish to a wild stretch run that included close wins over BYU and Troy. However, the Sun Belt Championship matchup with Louisiana was cancelled. Despite not being able to finish the season how they wanted, the Chanticleers appeared in their first bowl game since joining the FBS in 2017.

Of course this was not the outcome they were hoping for, but the foundation will return. Grayson McCall and their top three receiving leaders (Heiligh, Isaiah Likely, and Kameron Brown) should be returning to campus next fall.

They will lose lead rusher Torrance Marable, but Reece White did get plenty of action finishing averaging 5.6 yards per carry this year. All in all, it was a great season with much more to build from here.

Liberty had a very good season as well that included wins over ACC teams in Syracuse and Virginia Tech while having their one loss come against NC State by just one point. This was in addition to being ranked in the AP Top 25 for the first time in school history. Liberty picked up their first 10-win season since 2008, and first overall since joining the FBS.

Hugh Freeze has done a great job in turning this program into a legitimate threat. They have played plenty of top level competition despite being an Independent program. With Freeze continuing to lead the charge and one more year of Malik Willis, this program will continue to trend upwards.