2023 Feast Bowl very first look: Previewing Liberty-Oregon matchup
It wasn’t precisely the matchup Oregon expected when the Ducks suited up to play the Pac-12 championship with hopes of clinching the conference and an area in the College Football Playoff. However in the end, playing Liberty in the Vrbo Carnival Bowl was the matchup they– after two losses to Washington this season– got.In some methods, this game strongly looks like in 2015’s Cotton Bowl, where a USC group coming off their 2nd loss of the season to Utah in the Pac-12 title game (one that likewise kept them from the CFP) dealt with a motivated Tulane team seeking to make their mark. In that game, the Trojans degraded in quick style, allowing Tulane to come back and win the game.Oregon, in this case, is hoping that’s not their fate as they deal with an unbeaten– and similarly inspired– Liberty team looking to show they belong in a New Year’s Six bowl.
No. 23 Liberty vs. No. 8 Oregon
Vrbo Carnival Bowl When: Monday, Jan. 1, 1 p.m. ET Where: State
Farm Arena, Glendale, Arizona How to watch: ESPN and
ESPN App Opening line: Oregon -16.0
Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter represented 3,814 overall lawns and 43 touchdowns this season. Brian Bishop/USA TODAY Sports Secret player: QB Kaidon Salter Salter, who transferred to Liberty from Tennessee ahead of the 2021 season, has actually been among the discoveries of the 2023 season in assisting Liberty to the best season in program history. Salter (3,814 total backyards and 43 overall goals) is the straw that stirs the beverage for the nation’s third-best offense (514.9 YPG) and leading rushing offense (302.9 YPG). 7 times this season, he has actually accounted for a minimum of four goals for an offense that scored at least 30 points in all but one game on the way to balancing 40.8 points per game (5th nationally). If the Flames have the ability to keep pace and possibly upend the high-powered Ducks, Salter figures to be in the middle of it.X factor: CB Kobe Singleton
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Junior cornerback Singleton’s four interceptions ranked second in Conference U.S.A. this season– right behind his teammate, sophomore security Brylan Green. The Flames are allowing 244.8 passing yards per game (5th in C-USA and 103rd nationally) as the Ducks’ vibrant passing offense (342.8 YPG)– 2nd in the FBS– looms. In addition to those four interceptions, Singleton has actually taped 35 tackles (24 solo) and has actually separated 12 passes. Singleton and the rest of the Flames’ secondary faces its stiffest obstacle yet as Oregon quarterback Bo Nix, among 4 Heisman Prize finalists, has picked apart opposing defenses all year (FBS-leading 77.2 completion percentage with 4,145 passing yards and 40 goals). The Flames will need to get Nix off schedule as best as they can.How Liberty wins: Manage the clock and keep Bo Nix off the field
The Flames could extremely well be positioned to do just that, courtesy of the nation’s finest running game (302.9 YPG). First-year Jamey Chadwell’s team has actually eclipsed 300 yards rushing seven times and they’ll be entering the Fiesta Bowl having actually hurried for 441 and 393 backyards, respectively, in their last two games– victories over UTEP and New Mexico State. Junior running back Quinton Cooley (1,322 with 16 touchdowns) and sophomore quarterback Kaidon Salter (1,064 hurrying lawns and 12 goals) paced Conference USA in rushing backyards and rushing touchdowns this season. Cooley and Salter will have to do much of the same if Liberty is to manage a stunner in Arizona.– Blake Baumgartner
Oregon’s Bo Nix tossed for 4,145 lawns and 40 goals against simply three interceptions this season. Jevone Moore/Icon Sportswire
Secret player: QB Bo Nix
The senior quarterback seemed all but finished with his long, college profession following a frustrating loss to Washington in the Pac-12 Championship, However Dan Lanning stated this week that Nix is expected to play in the Ducks’ bowl game matchup versus Liberty. Nix, one of this year’s Heisman finalist, finished his season with 4,145 backyards in the air, 40 touchdowns and just 3 interceptions. Once he leaves for the NFL draft, Oregon will have to look in other places for a quarterback that can replicate Nix’s skill and production. But for a minimum of one more game, they’ll have the ability to rely on him to lead them to a season-sealing victory.X element: Running back Jordan James With Bucky Irving likely headed to the NFL draft, the championship game might be an excellent spot for sophomore James to gain some momentum heading into next season. James didn’t quite have the touches or the output that Irving did this season, however he did average 7.1 yards per carry( 98 total brings)and entered the end zone 11 times on the ground. Liberty’s hurrying defense was 22nd in the country, so James– and Irving must he play– will need to be at their best for the Ducks’running game to assist set the tone on offense.How Oregon wins: Don’t change.If Nix plays in the game, well, the dish is simple: Keep playing the kind of game that assisted them beat everybody but Washington
this season. With Nix at the helm, Oregon’s offense(the top-ranked unit in the nation )can control the pace of the game to their liking, while the defense is one of the very best run defenses in the nation, so Liberty’s strong running game (302.9 yards per game )might satisfy their match. If the Ducks are able to develop the ground game– something Lanning explained they were unable to do in the Pac-12 title game versus Washington– they’ll be in good condition to prevent the upset.– Paolo Uggetti