The 2020 Cure Bowl was a college footballbowl game played on December 26, 2020, with kickoff at 7:30 p.m. EST on ESPN.[4] 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.[5][6]
Teams
Based on conference tie-ins, the Cure Bowl was expected to feature teams from the American Athletic Conference (AAC) and the Sun Belt Conference.[7] The contest matched independentLiberty against Coastal Carolina of the Sun Belt. The two teams had previously met 14 times, with each program winning seven times.[8] They were due to play a regular season game in early December 2020, but it was canceled due to COVID-19 issues within Liberty's program.[9]
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 entered the game with an 11–0 record (8–0 in conference play) and ranked ninth in the AP Poll. The Chanticleers[a] defeated two ranked teams during the regular season, Louisiana 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.[11] 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.[12] 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.[13][14][15]
