Liberty Flames (8-4) vs. Toledo Rockets (8-5)
The 2022 bowl season continues Tuesday, December 20, with the Liberty Flames taking on the Toledo Rockets in the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl at FAU Stadium in Boca Raton, Florida, and the kick-off is set for 7:30 PM ET.
Liberty meets Toledo for the first time since 2007 when the Rockets beat the Flames 35-34. Toledo opened as a 3-point fave, and the totals sat at 55.5, but that moved to Toledo +4.5 with a total of 53.5 points by Saturday morning.
After four winning seasons (34-15 record overall) at Liberty, Hugh Freeze took over at Auburn a couple of weeks ago. The former Ole Miss head coach led the Flames to an 8-4 record in 2022, but Liberty enters Tuesday’s clash riding a three-game losing streak.
After a surprising 21-19 win at Arkansas in Week 10, the Flames have lost at UConn 36-33 as 13.5-point road favorites and to Virginia Tech 23-22 as 10.5-point home favorites and New Mexico State 49-14 as 24-point home favorites. Ten players entered the transfer portal including WR Jaivian Lofton, DE Stephen Sigs, and OL Will Buchanan.
Flames DE Durrell Johnson adds another All-America honor to his accolades ???? Congratulations @_Channel_9! pic.twitter.com/Co4pqV5nqu
— Liberty Football (@LibertyFootball) December 15, 2022
Junior signal-caller Jonhathan Bennett tossed for 1,534 yards, 12 touchdowns, and nine interceptions this past regular season. He also had 76 carries for 181 yards and a couple of touchdowns. The Flames lost Dae Dae Hunter in Week 10 due to a knee injury, and sophomore running back has accounted for 1,001 yards from scrimmage and nine scores through nine appearances in 2022. Junior RB Shedro Louis posted 492 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, while sophomore WR Demario Douglas had 73 catches for 977 yards and six scores.
Liberty was scoring 28.3 points per game in 2022 (tied-67th in the nation). The Flames ranked 78th in passing yards (222.2) a nd 47th in rushing yards per contest (178.6). On the other side of the ball, Liberty was yielding 24.9 points per game (56th) on 201.3 passing yards (28th) and 144.1 rushing yards (58th).
The Flames are undefeated in the bowl season. Under Hugh Freeze, Liberty won the Cure Bowl twice in 2019 and 2020, and the LendingTree Bowl in 2021.