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An independent program, Liberty will be making its third
straight bowl appearance and will also be seeking its third
consecutive bowl victory.
The Flames appeared in and won the last two Cure Bowls in
Orlando, earning an overtime win against Coastal Carolina last
year.
The victory last year capped off a 10-1 season for the Flames,
and coach Hugh Freeze has expressed some dissatisfaction with
this team's 7-5 record heading into Saturday.
"I don't feel like I got the most out of our team this year,"
Freeze said. "I want one more shot. That burns within me, and
hopefully it burns within our team and within our coaches to
prepare to play a really good football team and us play very
well against them on national TV."
A television audience will likely see standout junior
quarterback Malik Willis in a Liberty uniform for the last time.
Expected to be one of the first quarterbacks taken in this
spring's NFL draft, Willis has completed 61.6 percent of his
passes for 2,626 yards and 24 touchdowns against 12
interceptions. He has also run for 820 yards and 11 TDs.
"It's a monster challenge," Eastern Michigan coach Chris
Creighton said of containing Willis. "He can run it, he can
throw it, he runs their offense. He's super, super talented. We
know he's dangerous on the ground and in the air, by design and
on his own when things don't go exactly how they planned."
Eastern Michigan will be making its third bowl appearance in
four seasons, but the Eagles haven't enjoyed the same postseason
success that Liberty has.
The Eagles have lost their last three bowl games by a combined
10 points and haven't won a bowl game since beating San Jose
State in the 1987 California Bowl.
Eastern Michigan, which finished tied for fourth in the MAC
West, is also looking for its first eight-win season since 1987.
Despite not having a standout player like Willis, the Eagles'
offense is averaging 31 points a game offense.
Quarterback Ben Bryant has completed 68.8 percent of his passes
for 2,921 yards and 14 touchdowns with six interceptions. Jawon
Hamilton (631 yards, four TDs), Darius Boone Jr. (400 yards, six
TDs) and Samson Evans (264 yards, 12 TDs) lead a balanced
rushing attack.
The programs have met once before. In 1989, Liberty earned a
25-24 win at Eastern Michigan, its first over an FBS program.
--Field Level Media
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