Perhaps the biggest shake up within the last realignment may be taking place in the NY6.

IMO, Liberty getting out of Independent purgatory is the biggest development outside of the P5.

CUSA kept some decent football programs and coaches. WKU and La Tech are always respectable. FIU is in a recruiting hotbed. NMSU just hired Jerry Kill and JSU just hired Rich Rod. Sam is an FCS power with their chip last year.

Nevertheless, as one of the founding CFP conferences, CUSA has now given Liberty their pathway to the access bowl. That conference is made for the ascent of Liberty Flames football to the NY6.

The AAC has been dominant in the CFP era. However, did CUSA's addition of Liberty awaken a sleeping giant? Liberty has shown they will spend like a P5 if that's what it takes. Not many G5 schools would sign a Hugh Freeze. If Freeze leaves, there is no limit to who they will hire.

As the AAC has shown, to win big you have to spend big. I see Liberty getting into the mix quick. Within their first four years, I believe they will make a New Years Day.

Book it.

(02-23-2022 06:21 PM)TroyTBoy Wrote:  Perhaps the biggest shake up within the last realignment may be taking place in the NY6.

IMO, Liberty getting out of Independent purgatory is the biggest development outside of the P5.

CUSA kept some decent football programs and coaches. WKU and La Tech are always respectable. FIU is in a recruiting hotbed. NMSU just hired Jerry Kill and JSU just hired Rich Rod. Sam is an FCS power with their chip last year.

Nevertheless, as one of the founding CFP conferences, CUSA has now given Liberty their pathway to the access bowl. That conference is made for the ascent of Liberty Flames football to the NY6.

The AAC has been dominant in the CFP era. However, did CUSA's addition of Liberty awaken a sleeping giant? Liberty has shown they will spend like a P5 if that's what it takes. Not many G5 schools would sign a Hugh Freeze. If Freeze leaves, there is no limit to who they will hire.

As the AAC has shown, to win big you have to spend big. I see Liberty getting into the mix quick. Within their first four years, I believe they will make a New Years Day.

Book it.

Pretty sure Liberty has made every New Year’s Day since it was founded as Lynchburg Baptist College back in 1971. If you are talking about a New Year’s Day bowl game, I don’t think any of CUSA’s affiliated bowls (Bahamas, Hawai’i, Armed Forces, New Mexico, and New Orleans) are played in January. With CFP expansion dead for the next four years the only chance Liberty would likely have would be going undefeated and being the highest ranked G5 champ to get a bid to a NY6 bowl. That will be a very tall task even if the Flames go undefeated as the new CUSA, with 2 FCS call-ups in Jacksonville State and Sam Houston, will rank significantly behind the Sun Belt, MWC, AAC, and MAC in the league-wide S&P+ and FEI rankings. I also think that Brother Freeze will eventually replace Harsin at Auburn in the next year or so once the buyout drops, unless the Tigers miraculously overcome this offseason’s insane, booster-driven turmoil. I do agree that Liberty is well-positioned to be the big fish in the new CUSA’s small pond, but even in Virginia JMU and ODU are clearly in the better G5 league by all metrics.

(02-23-2022 06:38 PM)CarlSmithCenter Wrote:  I do agree that Liberty is well-positioned to be the big fish in the new CUSA’s small pond, but even in Virginia JMU and ODU are clearly in the better G5 league by all metrics.

On point. You're not going to see 50,000 people invade Lynchburg for six Saturdays every fall.

I believe it since the same thing happens after each conference realignment. Decent team left to play mainly crap goes undefeated. Boise (WAC), UCF, etc. have all experienced this. Then said team goes to much better conference and usually falters.

Liberty football now has a chance to elevate itself. But I'm not sure I foresee a UCF, Boise, Cincy and/or TCU level of success given Liberty's C-USA home (which might not allow for such success — though I could be proven wrong). Utah is an odd comparison given that it is a "State U" with a massive statewide fan base.

Liberty football has done a fine job to date and can continue to attract national attention.