Liberty’s chances of making the College Football Playoff are all but gone.
The previously undefeated Flames defeated Kennesaw State 27-24 on Wednesday night. Kennesaw State entered the game 0-6 in its first football season at the FBS level and the win is the Owls’ first in 11 games against college football’s highest-level opponents.
Oh, and Liberty was a 26.5-point favorite before kickoff. To put that in perspective, Northern Illinois’ stunning Week 2 upset over Notre Dame came when the Huskies were a 28.5-point underdog.
Liberty never led again after Kennesaw State tied the game at 7-7 in the first quarter. The Owls took the lead for good in the third quarter on a six-yard touchdown from Qua Ashley, and Austin Welch’s second field goal of the fourth quarter extended the Owls’ lead to two scores with less than five minutes remaining.
Still, there was some craziness at the end. LIberty got the ball back with six seconds left and no more timeouts. Kaidon Salter’s pass flew out of bounds and seemingly without time on the clock, and Kennesaw State fans stormed the field.
But there was still a second left when the ball hit a player on the Liberty sideline. The play was under review as Kennesaw State students stormed the field and it had to be cleared before Liberty could attempt another futile attempt at a miracle victory.
Liberty was the top non-power conference team in the College Football Playoff standings last season and earned a spot in the Fiesta Bowl. The Flames went 13-0 to sweep Conference USA in one of the easiest schedules in the country before finishing one ahead of 11-2 SMU in the final rankings.
That ranking earned Liberty a trip to the Fiesta Bowl against Oregon. And Liberty was totally outmatched as Oregon won 45-6.
After that blowout, it was easy to see that Liberty needed another undefeated season in 2024 to possibly make the new 12-team College Football Playoff. The top five conference champions will receive automatic bids to the postseason, and with four power conferences remaining after the Pac-12’s dissolution, the top team from American, Conference USA, MAC, Mountain West or Sun Belt will make the playoffs.
But Conference USA is the weakest conference in the country, and Liberty’s non-conference schedule included Campbell, East Carolina, UMass and Appalachian State before the game against the Mountaineers was canceled due to Hurricane Helene.
Even before tonight, an undefeated season might not have been enough. Teams like Boise State and UNLV in the Mountain West have looked strong, each with one loss. Army and Navy are both undefeated in the American. And Louisiana is 6-1 in the Sun Belt. All of these teams have played much tougher schedules than Liberty.
However, that’s all probably a moot point now. Even if the Flames win the rest of the way, they’re going to need a lot of help to get into the playoff.
