The 2020 Cure Bowl was a

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bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...

played on December 26, 2020, with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. EST on

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. It was the 6th edition of the Cure Bowl, and was one of the 2020–21 bowl games concluding the 2020 FBS football season. Sponsored by mortgage lender FBC Mortgage, the game was officially known as the FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl. Liberty defeated Coastal Carolina in overtime, 37–34, to claim their second consecutive Cure Bowl victory.

Teams

Based on conference tie-ins, the Cure Bowl was expected to feature teams from the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

(AAC) and the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that has been affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football confe ...

. The contest matched

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against Coastal Carolina of the Sun Belt. The two teams had previously met 14 times, with each program winning seven times. They were due to play a regular season game in early December 2020, but it was canceled due to

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

issues within Liberty's program.Domingo, Ida (December 4, 2020).
Liberty, Coastal Carolina game canceled after coronavirus concerns within football program
. '' WSET-TV''. ''MSN.com''.

Liberty Flames

Liberty entered the game with a 9–1 record, having only lost to NC State, and ranked 23rd in the AP Poll. This was Liberty's second bowl game in program history; after joining FBS in 2018, the Flames defeated Georgia Southern in the 2019 Cure Bowl.

Coastal Carolina Chanticleers

Coastal Carolina entered the game with an 11–0 record (8–0 in conference play) and ranked ninth in the AP Poll. The Chanticleers defeated two ranked teams during the regular season,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

and BYU, giving each of those programs their only loss. The BYU game was a hurriedly-scheduled substitute for the canceled Liberty game; it had been officially confirmed only two days before kickoff. The Chanticleers were due to play a rematch with Louisiana in the Sun Belt Championship Game, but it was cancelled due to positive COVID-19 cases within Coastal Carolina's program. This was the first-ever bowl game for the Coastal Carolina program, having joined FBS in 2017.

Game summary

This became the first game of the 2020–21 bowl season to go to overtime. Tied at 34–34, Liberty was poised to score a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter. With a first-and-goal at Coastal Carolina's three-yard-line with 1:20 left to play, Liberty executed a running play designed not to score, to use up time on the clock. Coastal Carolina made no attempt to stop Liberty from scoring, so Liberty's ball carrier took a knee and lost two yards on the play. On second down, Liberty again appeared to try to stay out of the end zone, but as the Flames' running back approached the goal line, there was a fumble, which Coastal Carolina recovered. Coastal Carolina was not able to advance the ball significantly in the little time remaining, and the game went to overtime. Liberty had possession first in overtime; after running three plays that gained four yards, the Flames had a five-yard delay-of-game penalty, then successfully kicked a 44-yard field goal, to take a 37–34 lead. In Coastal Carolina's overtime possession, the Chanticleers had three incomplete passes, then attempted a 42-yard field goal that was blocked, leaving the final score at 37–34 for Liberty.

Statistics

Notes

References

External links

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Game statistics
at statbroadcast.com {{Liberty Flames bowl game navbox Cure Bowl Cure Bowl Cure Bowl Cure Bowl Coastal Carolina Chanticleers football bowl games Liberty Flames football bowl games