Cure Bowl: Coastal Carolina vs. Liberty odds, picks and prediction

Previewing Saturday’s Coastal Carolina Chanticleers vs. Liberty Flames Cure Bowl sports betting odds and lines, with college football betting picks, tips and predictions.

The 11th-ranked Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (11-0) and the Liberty Flames (9-1) meet Saturday for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff at Camping World Stadium in Orlando for the FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl. Below, we analyze the Coastal Carolina-Liberty college football betting odds and lines, with picks and predictions.

Rankings courtesy of the Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.

Coastal Carolina vs. Liberty: Betting odds, spread and lines

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 4:41 p.m. ET.

  • Money line: Coastal Carolina -300 (bet $300 to win $100) | Liberty +240 (bet $100 to win $240)
  • Against the spread/ATS: Coastal Carolina -7 (-105) | Liberty +7 (-115)
  • Over/Under: 59.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)

Coastal Carolina vs. Liberty: Three things to know

  1. Despite an 11-0 record, a Sun Belt conference championship and a win over fellow non-Power 5 contender BYU, the Chanticleers were not only snubbed for a major bowl bid, but they’re playing in one of the earlier, lesser bowls. At least the powers that be, due to some other canceled games, have moved this kickoff from noon to primetime.
  2. Head coach Jamey Chadwell’s CCU offense rolled up 446.8 total yards per game to rank 26th, and it was 15th with 223.2 rushing YPG. It was also good for 37.5 points per game to check in at 18th. Defensively it was rock solid, too, conceding just 18.7 PPG to rank 15th.
  3. Liberty just missed a perfect 10-0 season by one point, as it fell 15-14 at NC State Nov. 21. It still covered that game, and it wrapped up the regular season with a 7-0 ATS run, while going 8-2 ATS overall. The Flames were a strong rushing offense, going for 252.1 YPG to rank eighth, and 38.3 PPG to check in 17th. Defensively, Liberty allowed just 301.2 YPG to rank seventh, and it was 17th in scoring defense with 19.2 PPG allowed.

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Coastal Carolina vs. Liberty: Odds, betting lines, predictions and picks

Prediction

Coastal Carolina 36, Liberty 31

Money line (ML)

Coastal Carolina (-275) will cost you nearly three times your potential return, so it’s a very risky play. It is going to cap off a perfect 12-0 season, but it’s going to be a tight game against a very good Liberty squad. PASS.

Against the spread (ATS)

LIBERTY +7 (-115) is a strong play as it rides in cashing in seven straight games. Liberty’s high-octane rushing offense and lockdown defense made every single game a thriller this season. This will easily be its biggest test, however. Liberty beat two of the three Power 5 teams it faced (Syracuse and Virginia Tech) while covering in each of the three outings. It is not intimidated by any opponent, and that won’t change in Orlando.

Over/Under (O/U)

OVER 59.5 (-110) is the best play on the board in the Cure Bowl. This one will be an entertaining game under the lights. Liberty rolled up 38.3 PPG this season with 483.5 YPG, while Coastal Carolina is good for 37.5 PPG and 446.8 YPG. Hopefully the scoreboard operator at Camping World Stadium has his/her fingers limbered up, because he/she will be busy Saturday night.

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