Liberty QB Malik WillisMatt Stamey/Associated Press
On the one hand, I’m pleasantly surprised that there were 14 bowl games played before New Year’s Eve.
Late in the regular season, it felt like there was another bowl getting canceled every week. Then, a whole bunch of teams opted out of bowl season, and they had to call off even more games on Selection Sunday. Throw in the ever-present possibility of last-minute COVID-19 cancellations and there were many points before Dec. 21 when I wasn’t sure any games outside the New Year’s Six would happen.
On the other hand, most of those 14 games were…well…the nicest thing I can say is that they happened.
Ten were decided by double digits. One of the four close ones (Marshall-Buffalo) was pretty much unwatchable, in large part because each team’s star running back, Brenden Knox and Jaret Patterson, sat out the game. One of the other close ones (Miami-Oklahoma State) was marred by D’Eriq King’s torn ACL, which hung like a pall over what otherwise would have been an entertaining second half.
But the Cure Bowl between Liberty and Coastal Carolina?
That game was awesome and preposterous.
It was clear early on that the undefeated Chanticleers had no answer for the legs of Liberty’s dual-threat QB Malik Willis. He ran 10 times for 48 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter while pacing the Flames to a 14-0 lead. (He ended up rushing for 137 yards and four scores.)
Once Coastal’s offense woke up, though, this became a highly entertaining back-and-forth affair. There was one stretch in which points were scored on eight out of 10 possessions, and one of the exceptions was when the Chanticleers ended a 78-yard Liberty drive with an interception in the end zone.
The complete madness came in the final minute. Liberty drove the length of the field with the game tied at 34-34. In trying to drain all the time off the clock before kicking the game-winning chip shot, Joshua Mack fumbled at the goal line while Coastal Carolina was trying to pull him into the end zone to get the ball back.
Let me type that again for anyone who missed this game: The defense was literally trying to pull the ball-carrier across the goal line, and he was so desperately trying to not score that he fumbled in his effort to keep the ball from crossing the plane. Given what happened at the end of the Indiana-Penn State game (and the NFL’s Atlanta-Detroit game), I can appreciate why Liberty was trying not to take the touchdown. But, wow, it was so bizarre to watch that unfold.
After the fumble, the game went to overtime, where Liberty won anyway on a blocked field-goal attempt.