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No. 24 Liberty stayed perfect on the year with a 49-35 win over New Mexico State (10-4) in the Conference USA Championship Game on Friday. The win not only gives the Flames (13-0) their first FBS conference title, it also keeps them alive for a potential New Year's Six bowl game bid under the direction of first-year coach Jamey Chadwell.
The Flames outscored New Mexico State 28-14 in the final 30 minutes. Liberty quarterback Kaidon Salter finished 20-of-25 passing for 319 yards and two touchdowns .He added 165 yards and a score on the ground for the team's sixth-consecutive win by double digits.
New Mexico State (10-4) finishes the year with its best record since 1960 but will have to wait at least one more year for the program's first conference title. The Aggies won just 35 total games between 2009-2021 before coach Jerry Kill arrived in 2022.
- Liberty finds itself in a tight battle with Tulane for the Group of Five's automatic New Year's Six bowl bid. Liberty fans will be highly interested spectators when the Green Wave face SMU Saturday in the AAC Championship Game.
- New Mexico State quarterback Diego Pavia injured his elbow on a 75-yard touchdown pass early in the third quarter, bringing what had been a stellar day to an unfortunate end. He finished 11 of 16 for 188 yards and three touchdowns. Backup Blaze Berlowitz was forced to finish the game for the Aggies. He finished 10 of 19 for 134 yards with one touchdown and an interception.
- The Flames put up 49 points and 712 total yards of offense against a New Mexico State group that came into the game as the No. 1-ranked defense in Conference USA.
- Liberty takes home the Conference USA title in in its first year of membership. The Flames had been an independent since moving up to FBS in 2018.
