2019 Cure Bowl
Postseason college football bowl game
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The 2019 Cure Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 21, 2019, in Orlando, Florida, with kickoff at 2:30 p.m. EST on CBS Sports Network.[6] It was the fifth edition of the Cure Bowl, and one of the 2019–20 bowl games concluding the 2019 FBS football season. This was first Cure Bowl played at Exploria Stadium, as all prior editions were held at nearby Camping World Stadium.[7] With FBC Mortgage as the title sponsor, the game was officially known as the FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl.[8] Liberty defeated Georgia Southern 23–16, to claim their first bowl win in program history.[9][10]
| 2019 FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 5th Cure Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 21, 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Exploria Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Orlando, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Jessie Lemonier (DE, Liberty)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Georgia Southern by 4.5[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Kevin Hassell (Mountain West)[3] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 18,158[4] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$573,125[5] | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | CBS Sports Network | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Carter Blackburn (play-by-play), Aaron Taylor (analyst), John Schriffen (sideline) | ||||||||||||||||||
Teams
The game was played between the Liberty Flames and the Georgia Southern Eagles. Georgia Southern held a 3–0 record against Liberty in prior meetings.[11]
Liberty Flames
Liberty finished their regular season with a 7–5 record while competing as an independent. This was the Flames' first bowl game since joining the Football Bowl Subdivision, accomplished in their first season of being eligible to qualify for a bowl game.
Georgia Southern Eagles
Georgia Southern finished their regular season with a 7–5 record (5–3 in conference), in second place of the East Division of the Sun Belt Conference. This was the Eagles' third bowl game since moving to the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2014; they had an undefeated record of 2–0 in prior bowls. Their 2018 team won that season's Camellia Bowl over Eastern Michigan, 23–21.
Game summary
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 7 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 23 |
| Georgia Southern | 0 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 16 |
at Exploria Stadium • Orlando, Florida
- Date: Saturday, December 21, 2019
- Game time: 2:30 p.m. EST
- Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 72 °F (22 °C) • Wind: E 12 mph
- Game attendance: 18,158
- Referee: Kevin Hassell
- TV announcers (CBS Sports Network): Carter Blackburn (play-by-play), Aaron Taylor (analyst) and John Schriffen (sideline)
- ESPN game summary
| Game information |
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Statistics
| Statistics | LIB | GASO |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 19 | 14 |
| Total yards | 402 | 289 |
| Rushes–yards | 37–132 | 46–194 |
| Passing yards | 270 | 95 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 16–35–2 | 10–19–1 |
| Time of possession | 31:18 | 28:42 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | Passing | Stephen Calvert | 16/35, 270 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT |
| Rushing | Frankie Hickson | 22 carries, 120 yards | |
| Receiving | Johnny Huntley | 2 receptions, 90 yards | |
| Georgia Southern | Passing | Shai Werts | 10/19, 95 yards, 1 TD |
| Rushing | Wesley Kennedy III | 9 receptions, 104 yards, 1 TD | |
| Receiving | Mark Michaud | 2 receptions, 53 yards |