Coastal Carolina vs Liberty: Cure Bowl prediction and game preview.
Coastal Carolina vs Liberty: Cure Bowl Broadcast
Date: Saturday, December 26
Game Time: 12:00 pm ET
Venue: Camping World Stadium, Orlando. FL
Network: ESPN
– All of the CFN Fearless Predictions
Coastal Carolina (11-0) vs Liberty (9-1) Game Preview
For latest lines and to bet on the NFL, go to BetMGM
Three Reasons Why You Should Watch The Cure Bowl
– Be super-ticked if this isn’t among the best bowl games of the entire season. Liberty beat two ACC teams and would’ve made it a third if not for a late blocked kick against NC State. The team is the real deal, and so is a Coastal Carolina team that deserved to finish higher than 12th in the final College Football Playoff poll. Both of these teams were hoping for something bigger than this, but facing each other will be enough of a test.
– The Liberty offense is all but unstoppable when it gets going. Former Auburn quarterback Malik Willis is a total yardage machine, former FCS star Joshua Mack leads a loaded group of backs, and the offense keeps on coming with big play after big play. It’s a fun team with a fun style, but …
– No one is more interesting than a Coastal Carolina team with a great energy, an offense that no one can quite seem to figure out – it’s brilliant at getting the key guys in space on the outside – and a defensive front that’s as active and productive as any in college football. Especially considering its win over a BYU that destroyed UCF in the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl. a win will almost certain’y mean a top ten finish.
Why Coastal Carolina, Liberty Will Win
What’s Going to Happen, Prediction, History
NEXT: Why Coastal Carolina Will Win, Why Liberty Will Win, Coastal Carolina vs Liberty Prediction
Why Coastal Carolina Will Win
– Did you see that BYU team that destroyed UCF in the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl? Coastal Carolina was able to figure it out in the thrilling 22-17 win – the team has the talent, the scheme, and the ability to control the game throughout.
It starts with the lines – if you can hold up against the BYU offensive and defensive fronts, you can handle just about anyone. Coastal Carolina doesn’t allow sacks, its defensive side gets behind the line, and the energy and effort don’t stop.
– The offense is brilliant at controlling the clock, getting everyone moving and the short-range receivers in space, and dominating on third downs. Liberty is fantastic at all of those things, too, but the Chanticleers are just a wee bit sharper overall. QB Grayson McCall has thrown 23 touchdown passes, two picks, and he has rushed for 473 yards and six touchdowns. He keeps the chains moving.
– Not to schedule-shame a team that played three ACC teams and beat two of them, but there were a whole lot of free spaces on the Liberty slate. FIU, ULM, and UMass were among the three worst FBS teams this season, and Southern Miss didn’t exactly set the world on fire. Throw in games against North Alabama and Western Carolina, and there’s a lot of inflation to the stats.
Yeah, the team looked great when it stepped up against Virginia Tech, but the offense was slowed by NC State. Coastal Carolina is a step up in competition to at least the level of the mid-tier ACCers – at least this year.
But …
Why Liberty Will Win
– Yeah, Coastal Carolina beat BYU, and it took out Kansas on the road, but Liberty hung tough with the ACC. It’s got an SEC-level head coach in Hugh Freeze, an SEC-level quarterback in all-around offensive machine Malik Willis, and it has enough great running backs to make it all go.
Like Coastal Carolina, Liberty is brilliant at getting its playmakers in space with quick plays on the outside, and it has the home run hitting ability in both phases.
– For all of the good things Coastal Carolina does, the secondary has been hit a bit ever since the wipeout of Georgia State, giving up over 200 yards in each game since.
Troy provided a big push in the 42-38 loss with 354 yards with big play after big play, and Willis can do that, too. He threw 20 touchdown passes with just four picks – three of them came against NC State – with plenty of deep shots.
– It’s an active Coastal Carolina defensive front, but it doesn’t make a whole lot of plays behind the line. The run defense was able to stop Georgia Southern’s option offense, but it wasn’t able to keep Louisiana in check and got hit for over 200 yards by the Appalachian State ground game. Liberty will run for over 200, but …
NEXT: What’s Going To Happen, Coastal Carolina vs Liberty Prediction, Cure Bowl History
What’s Going To Happen
Louisiana and Georgia State don’t do the exact same things, but they’re not far off. Each one has a mobile playmaking quarterback, and each one has a deep and talented backfield. Coastal Carolina had issues with Louisiana, and it shut down Georgia State to a dead stop.
And it won both games.
Malik Willis is a good enough quarterback to make the Liberty passing game go, and this is the type of chip-on-its-shoulder program that’s going to come out roaring after being dismissed following the close loss to NC State. It beat Georgia Southern from the Sun Belt in last year’s Cure Bowl, but …
Coastal Carolina will pull through.
Liberty is just that good, the running game will work, and the defensive front won’t get powered on, but the Chanticleers are still in a rhythm after playing just two weeks ago. The Flames haven’t played for a month.
It’ll be a close, fun game that should be the best and most even matchup of the bowl season. Coastal Carolina will complete the dream season by holding on with a great late defensive stop.
Cure Bowl: Coastal Carolina vs Liberty Prediction, Line
Coastal Carolina 34, Liberty 30
Bet on Coastal Carolina vs Liberty with BetMGM
Coastal Carolina -7, o/u: 59.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2
– CFN Experts Picks: Cure Bowl
Must See Rating: 5
5: New Year’s Day on the couch
1: New Year’s Eve going out
Cure Bowl History
Dec. 2,1 2019 Liberty 23, Georgia Southern 16
Dec. 15, 2018 Tulane 41, Louisiana 24
Dec. 16, 2017 Georgia State 27, WKU 17
Dec. 17, 2016 Arkansas State 31, UCF 13
Dec. 19, 2015 San Jose State 27 Georgia State 16
