When Liberty and Oregon meet inside State Farm Stadium in Glendale on New Year’s Day, they’ll do so more than 2,100 miles from the Flames’ Lynchburg, Virginia, main campus.
Between the two programs, there will be more than 3,300 miles of travel involved for the Fiesta Bowl, with a 988-mile difference between the schools. That difference in mileage constitutes the 10th most unfair travel matchup of the 40-plus bowl games that’ll unfold between this Saturday and early January.
Ahead of the game and to aid in Arizona sports betting, BetArizona.com broke down the numbers on this year’s longest bowl travelers.
Perhaps because of the long travel, Arizona betting apps list Washington as the longest shot on the board to win the College Football Playoff national championship at +750. Michigan is the favorite at +185.
Where This Year’s Fiesta Bowl Ranks
The battle between the Conference USA champs and one of the Pac-12’s hottest teams ranks well behind the most unfair bowl game, however, with the 2023 Hawai’i Bowl taking home that honor — with a 2,380-mile differential between the two teams in this year’s game (Coastal Carolina and San José State).
As for the game itself, this year’s Fiesta Bowl sees a gaudy betting line on ESPN BET Arizona, with the 11-2 Ducks currently listed as a 17.5-point favorite to go with a -800 moneyline.
A victory over the Flames would be Oregon’s first in the Fiesta Bowl since they beat Kansas State (35-17) in 2012. The Ducks lost their last game held inside State Farm Stadium (34-17) to Iowa State in the 2020 Fiesta Bowl.
Overall, the Ducks are 2-1 all time in the Fiesta Bowl, which are the school’s only three bowl games held in Arizona. Liberty has never played a bowl game in Arizona — with the Fiesta Bowl joining the Boca Raton, LendingTree and Cure bowls as postseason destinations for the program since it moved up to the FBS in 2018.
