The Pac-12 runner-up and the highest ranked Group of Five school take center stage when No. 8 Oregon battles No. 18 Liberty in the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day. The two teams are meeting for the first time in a game that features two of the country’s most entertaining offenses.
Oregon finds itself back in the New Year’s Six for the first time since 2020, which was also a trip to the Fiesta Bowl. Oregon flirted with a College Football Playoff berth after winning 11 games in the regular season, but the Ducks were undone by a pair of losses to undefeated Washington — first on the road in October and then again in the Pac-12 Championship Game.
Liberty enters the Fiesta Bowl seeking what would unquestionably rank as the biggest win in program history. The Flames are in their first New Year’s Six game in just their sixth season competing at the FBS level. The Conference USA newcomer Flames went a perfect 13-0 en route to a league championship in their first season under coach Jamey Chadwell, and a victory over a top-10 Oregon team would mark a program-defining milestone.
Viewing information, additional storylines and more for the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl are below.
Oregon vs. Liberty: Need to know
QBs take center stage: Monday will be the final stanza of Oregon quarterback Bo Nix’s lengthy collegiate tenure. His career has spanned five seasons between stops with Auburn (2019-21) and with the Ducks (2022-23). Nix enters the Fiesta Bowl needing just 11 passing yards to topple the 15,000-yard mark for his career, a feat only six other quarterbacks have accomplished before him. Liberty’s offense is also headlined by a dual-threat SEC transfer in Kaidon Salter. Salter started at Tennessee in 2021 before joining the Flames. He enters the Fiesta Bowl riding a breakout season. The Conference USA MVP threw for 2,750 yards and 31 touchdowns on top of 1,064 yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground.
Liberty’s biggest test: Liberty may be undefeated, but the Flames are roughly two-touchdown underdogs for a reason. According to ESPN, the Flames’ regular season schedule ranked 133rd — dead last — among all FBS teams, with no ranked or Power Five opponents to show. The Fiesta Bowl matchup with Oregon will be the first time Liberty has faced a ranked opponent since suffering a one-point loss at Wake Forest in the opening weeks of the 2022 season. The Flames did win their most recent matchup…
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