Liberty plays spoiler in OT thriller
No. 23 Flames finish 10-1 by dealing No. 9 Coastal Carolina its only loss
ORLANDO, FLA. — Disappointed to reach overtime after a bizarre sequence, No. 23 Liberty regrouped Saturday night and ended No. 9 Coastal Carolina’s chance for a perfect season by outlasting the Chanticleers 37-34 in the Cure Bowl.
Liberty fumbled away the ball when Coastal Carolina was trying to save time for its offense by offering the Flames a go-ahead touchdown. But Liberty prevailed with a blocked kick in overtime.
Elijah James knocked Massimo Biscardi’s 42-yard field-goal attempt away to cap a wild finish for the Flames (10-1).
Coastal Carolina (11-1) won the coin toss before overtime and elected to play defense, then forced the Flames to fourth-and-long. So Liberty took the lead on Alex Barbir’s 44-yard field goal.
But the Chanticleers threw three incomplete passes, prompting their need to kick to try to force another overtime period. It never arrived as the ball skidded away after James’ block, sending the Liberty fans and players into a celebration.
The end of regulation will be hard to forget.
With the score tied at 34, Liberty moved into field-goal range and seemed primed to take the lead in the final minute. So the Chanticleers attempted to yield a touchdown to save time for their offense, even pulling Liberty running back Joshua Mack forward when he tried to stop. But while being yanked toward the end zone, Mack fumbled inside the 1 with 41 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and safety Alex Spillum recovered the fumble to end the drive.
Pinned deep, Coastal ran three conservative plays and let the clock expire rather than try to score.
“I thought it was a touchdown, but they called it a fumble,” said Liberty quarterback Malik Willis, who set several records in the game. “But the next opportunity we got, we took advantage of it.”
Willis, a transfer from Auburn, ran for 137 yards and four touchdowns and completed 19 of 29 passes for 220 yards despite two interceptions. He set single-season school records for total touchdowns (passing and rushing) with 34, and for rushing yardage by a quarterback (944).
The Flames’ only loss came to North Carolina State on a blocked field goal. They posted road victories over ACC members Syracuse and Virginia Tech, beating the Hokies on a late field goal after a timeout had canceled a play when Tech blocked a kick and ran it back for the apparent winning touchdown.
They’ll almost certainly be the only team from the Commonwealth to finish in the AP Top 25. The Flames hadn’t been nationally ranked since their FCS days, which lasted through the 2017 season.
“No question this is the best season Liberty University has ever
had,” safety Javon Scruggs said.
Coastal Carolina overcame a 14-0 deficit, driving 72 yards to tie the score at 34 in the fourth quarter. Grayson McCall ran in a 2-point conversion to make it 34-34 after throwing a 5-yard touchdown pass to Greg Latushko with 3:01 remaining.
Coastal Carolina had won 12 straight.
“We couldn’t do anything with their quarterback,” Chanticleers coach Jamey Chadwell said.
“You see why he was a five-star player.”
McCall had a big game, completing 21 of 32 passes for 318 yards and three touchdowns with one interception. The redshirt freshman also ran for 96 yards.
It was the first time any Top 25 team had played in the six-yearold bowl. The teams were scheduled to meet Dec. 5 in the regular season, but that game was canceled because of Liberty’s COVID-19 problems.
Willis led touchdown drives of 64 and 66 yards on the Flames’ first two possessions, running 7 yards for the first touchdown and 6 yards to make it 14-0 late in the first quarter.
Braden Matts’ interception turned the game in Coastal Carolina’s direction early in the second quarter. Biscardi’s 21-yard field goal got the Chanticleers on the board, and McCall connected with tight end Isaiah Likely on a 25-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-10 with 2:02 left in the half.
Biscardi added a 33-yard field goal on the final play of the half after Barbir kicked a 37-yarder for Liberty.
Scruggs’ 59-yard interception return set up the Flames at the Costal Carolina 10 early in the second half, and Willis’ third TD run made it 24-13. Coastal Carolina answered quickly on McCall’s 43-yard scoring pass to Latushko.
Javon Heiligh caught 16 passes for 168 yards for the Chanticleers, who never led.