6 Group of Five contenders for New Year’s Six Bowls
By Andrew Tineo
Liberty Flames
The Flames were one point away from an undefeated season in 2020 and making a valid argument for a New Year Six spot, alongside Cincinnati. Liberty’s lone loss came in a 14-15 contest against North Carolina State.
One dynamic that made Liberty hard to game plan against is the rushing options of running back Joshua Mack and quarterback Malik Willis, who both return. The Flames ranked ninth nationally in rushing, averaging 252.4 per game.
Contrary to popular belief, the Flames defense is just as good as their offense. Liberty was excellent against the pass and shared the load, with eight different players nabbing interceptions.
The 3-3-5 scheme, with the “Ban” and “Rov” positions signifies hybrid players. Durrell Johnson and Javon Scruggs started at those spots respectively and return this year. Those are important positions as they play multiple parts of the field and are considered to be “glue guys” within the defense.
The Flames schedule is polar opposite of the Wolfpack, with an backheavy slate. Campbell, Troy, and Old Dominion start the slate, which then continues with Syracuse, who will be jockeying with Duke for last place within the ACC.
Matchups with North Texas and UMass will be interesting, but not enough to fully phase the Flames.
The homecoming happens on November 6, when Liberty travels to play at Hugh Freeze’s old stomping grounds in Oxford at Ole Miss. The following week, Liberty plays another member of this list, with Louisiana at home.
Those last two mentioned games will dictate whether the Flames can go undefeated or drop to 10-2 and miss out on another New Year Six bowl.