Bowl bleep: One college football team could reportedly be left out of postseason even with 10-1 record
Winning 10 games is no small feat in college football, regardless of which level you’re playing. At the FBS level, that kind of year results in an automatic bowl bid and potentially even a New Year’s Six game. But that may not be the case for one Group of 5 program.
According to Stadium’s Brett McMurphy, there’s a chance that Liberty — a darling of the 2020 college football season — could potentially end the season with a 10-1 record and still miss out on playing in the postseason. The NCAA’s decision to eliminate bowl eligibility requirements and Liberty’s lack of bowl tie-ins could create a unique situation.
From McMurphy:
Liberty may not receive bowl bid even though Flames could finish 10-1, sources told @Stadium. Reason is LU doesn't have guaranteed bowl tie-in & w/out any win requirements for teams to be bowl eligible, bowls expected to fill w/their designated conference affiliations source said
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) November 30, 2020
Liberty currently owns a 9-1 record with just one game remaining on the schedule, a Dec. 5 showdown with No. 20 Coastal Carolina (9-0), another underdog story of the season.
The Flames have been particularly impressive with wins over two ACC programs, defeating Syracuse 38-21 in October and taking down Virginia Tech 38-35 in November. The only loss Hugh Freeze’s team has endured was a 15-14 contest at the hands of NC State, also out of the ACC.
Over the weekend, Liberty got its ninth win of the season with a 45-0 victory over UMass.
So, even though Liberty has a chance to finish 10-1 — or at worst 9-2 — and was ranked for a good portion of the 2020 season, it may not result in a bowl bid. We’ll see what happens in the coming weeks.