Liberty thought it had the Cure Bowl locked up, leading Coastal Carolina by eight with three minutes left. The sidelines were dancing until Coastal’s quarterback pulled off a touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the game. That woke Liberty up fast. They drove down the field and got inside the 5-yard line with a chance to win it in regulation. Instead of punching it in, they tried to burn clock. But their running back went too far trying not to score, holding himself out of the end zone and fumbling near the goal line. Coastal recovered in a dog pile that had everyone scrambling. Ref confirmed possession, and Liberty’s sideline fell apart.
Coach Hugh Freeze looked stunned. Players were trying to hold it together. The game went to overtime. Liberty kicked a field goal on fourth and eleven. Coastal tried to do the same to tie it, but Liberty’s James got a hand on the ball and blocked it. Game over. Liberty redeemed their late-game meltdown with a clutch defensive play. Freeze could finally breathe. Players rushed the field, hugged everyone in sight, and even celebrated hard enough to accidentally punch a teammate in the face. Total chaos. Coastal almost pulled off the comeback, but Liberty survived with the win.