Fiesta Bowl ends with a dud in last year before CFP takes over as Oregon routs Liberty
The Vrbo Fiesta Bowl has become known for its thrilling and unique matchups, with games like Oklahoma and Boise State in 2007 in one of the most famous college football games of all time, or in 1987 when it was a defacto national championship when no other bowl could put two independents together as No. 1 Miami took on No. 2 Penn State at Sun Devil Stadium, or just last year when No. 3 TCU shocked the sports world and upset No. 2 Michigan to move onto the College Football Playoff final.
But the 53rd edition of the Fiesta Bowl was a dud as No. 8 Oregon ran over No. 23 Liberty 45-6 in the last year of this game before it becomes a permanent fixture of the College Football Playoff as the field expands to 12 teams in 2024.
It was the largest margin of victory in bowl history, beating the previous record of 38 when Nebraska beat Florida 62-24 back in 1996.
Oregon quarterback Nix had a field day, tying the Fiesta Bowl record for most passing touchdowns with five. He tied Notre Dame’s Jack Coan, who did it in 2022 against Oklahoma State in a 37-35 loss, and Florida State’s Peter Tom Willis, who did it in 1990 in a 41-17 win over Nebraska. Nix finished the game 28 of 35 passing with 363 yards, essentially a perfect ending to one of college football’s longest careers (he holds the NCAA record for most starts by a QB in collegiate history).
With his 80% completion rate on Monday, Nix leaves college football with an individual record: a new single-season NCAA record for completion percentage at 77.45%, breaking the old record held by Alabama’s Mac Jones.
Despite all of that, Liberty held its head highs after the school’s first berth in a bowl of this size.
Just six years ago, Liberty was at the Football Championship Subdivision level and wasn’t even allowed to participate in a bowl game. Fast forward since then, and Liberty has been in a bowl game every year they’ve been eligible, joining Appalachian State as the only school to do that in NCAA history.
The game did not go the way Liberty hoped. That’s obvious. But it’s hard to ignore the progress the school has made in such a short amount of time. The Flames have come a long way from playing in the Cure Bowl and the Boca Raton Bowl. For a brief period, Liberty got the most exposure it has ever gotten probably playing on a stage like this. It’s a big deal for the Christian university founded by Jerry Falwell Sr. in 1971 in Lynchburg, Virginia.
“It was a great opportunity,” Liberty coach Jamey Chadwell. “It was a special moment. It was a fantastic five days here. The hosts were tremendous. Our players had a wonderful experience, from helping with the Girl Scouts to just the practices, and the different things we were able to do here.”
“I think also from a standpoint, the extra bonding you get from your team and doing something special like this, is hard to come by, especially at our level. We didn’t take that for granted. It was a wonderful week — except for the last 60 minutes.”
For sophomore quarterback Kaidon Salter, the signal-caller had a game to forget with only 126 yards on 15 of 24 passing. Salter — who ESPN analyst Robert Griffin III recently said could win the Heisman in 2024 — wasn’t pleased with how he played, but also said the team had no reason to hang its head after the loss. Hearing the cheers of Liberty fans, irrelevant of the final score, lifted Salter’s spirit as he was leaving the field into the locker room.
In the bowels of State Farm Stadium after his postgame press conference, Salter reflected on what the moment meant to him. The hype of the game lived up to Salter’s expectations.
“It was a big blessing to be here with the team,” Salter said. “A lot of our guys, this is the last game of their college career — their last game in general, last time playing on a football field. Just being out here and play(ing) with these guys on this field, it’s such a big stage, was a very big blessing. This game right here doesn’t define us, and we know we’ll come back better next year. We know what it takes to get here now, so we know what we gotta do to get here. We just gotta keep on working every day and know that we can be a better team than we were yesterday, every day.”
While some may look at the score and think Liberty should never get an opportunity to play in a game like this again, those within Liberty, unsurprisingly, staunchly disagree.
The school has only been at the Football Bowl Subdivision level since 2018. It worked its way through as an independent for the next four years before joining Conference USA this season. And in its first season with C-USA, Liberty went 13-1 and won a conference championship.
This does not feel like the end of Liberty’s football journey, but rather the beginning.
Sixth-year linebacker Tyren Dupree has been there through it all — literally — watching the program go from FCS to FBS. Dupree is in a rare position; not many on the roster have experienced or seen the things that Dupree has.
“I just told them that in the locker room — I was like, ‘Do not have your heads down,’” Dupree said. “This is not the last time that you guys are gonna be here. We’ve done this in a short amount of time that we’ve been a FBS program. I’m so excited to see what God and Coach (Chadwell) has to bring to this university. We’re not done.”
Chadwell was a little more assertive when looking ahead to the future.
He’s hoping to use this week, and the season as a whole, as the foundation for his next pitch to recruits.
“Well, I think from a recruiting standpoint, obviously, you have a chance to be on a national stage,” Chadwell said. “You have the success. You have a chance to hoist a conference trophy. So more people know about us. I think the challenge for us is — and this program — will be back on this stage. Mark that down. Conference USA will be back on this stage. We will be back in this.”
“The reason why is because today, we saw how far we're away. The guys that are returning and the guys we're bringing in, will be our benchmark. We're shooting for the College Football Playoff and today is a great motivator, because it tells us how far we are. And we're far away right now. But we will be back on that, and I hope future recruits and people know that we're heading in a great direction.”
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Fiesta Bowl ends with a dud in last year before CFP takes
