The Flames improved to 8-5 on the season while the Eagles dropped to 7-6.
Senior quarterback Ben Bryant led Eastern Michigan's passing attack with 200 yards through the air.
Sophomore Samson Evans led all Eagles rushers with 52 yards and one touchdown in the contest, picking up 4.0 yards per carry. Freshman Darius Boone Jr. also added 51 yards on the ground, averaging 4.2 yards per carry.
Junior wide out Hassan Beydoun pulled in 11 catches for 83 yards.
Senior Jeff Hubbard paced the Eastern Michigan defensive effort, totaling one interception. Senior defensive end Turan Rush added six tackles, 1.0 TFL, and one sack in the loss.
Both Eastern Michigan and Liberty forced one turnover in Saturday's contest, with Eastern Michigan turning that takeaway into seven points.
How It Happened
Eastern Michigan took a 3-0 lead over Liberty after scoring the game's first points on the first drive of the game.Liberty then scored to take a 13-3 lead before the Eagles put a touchdown on the board to cut into the lead and make it a 13-10 game.
Eastern Michigan scored again with 5:26 left in the fourth quarter to narrow the advantage and make it a 56-13 game. The Eagles scored one more time in the contest, narrowing the gap to 56-20.
Game Notes
» Eastern Michigan converted 6-of-17 third downs while Liberty was successful on 3-of-9.
» Senior Terry Myrick led the Eagles with eight tackles.
»EMU used its opening drive to go 66 yards over 14 plays and score a field goal. The drive was the fifth game-opener this season in which EMU came away with points.
»Senior quarterback Ben Bryant threw for 200 yards in the game on 23-of-36 passing. His performance moved him past 3,000 yards passing this season, the single-best mark of his career.
» Junior Hassan Beydoun finished the game with 83 yards on 11 receptions. The effort was his team-leading sixth game of the season with five-or-more catches in a game. Beydoun finished the season with a team-best 94 receptions.
» EMU saw seven different pass catchers finish the contest with 10-or-more yards in the contest.
» Senior Thomas Odukoya brought down a 15-yard reception for the Eagles in the contest. That play was his second-longest haul of the season.
» Junior kicker Chad Ryland was a perfect 2-for-2 on field goal attempts in the game. Ryland finished the season hitting 18 consecutive field goals, the single-best stretch of his career.
» Senior Jeff Hubbar made an impact in the secondary against Liberty, recording his first interception of the season (third career) and second-ever pick-six. His first score via an interception came in 2017, when he ran an INT back 46 yards for a score against Ball State, Nov. 2.
» Eastern's pick-six, via Hubbard, was the team's first since it ran back a 98-yard pick for a score at Wisconsin, Sept. 11.
» EMU was called for 9 penalties (82 total yards). This was just the sixth game for EMU with more than four penalties. Coming into the contest, EMU was the most disciplined team in the country in every major category.
» Senior punter Jake Julien booted five punts for 232 yards (46.4 per kick), with a long of 50. Julien ended his career with a punt of 50+ yards in three consecutive bowl games.
» Freshman Zach Westmoreland hauled in the team's longest reception of the game, a 21-yarder.