Kaidon Salter threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as undefeated No. 24 Liberty maintained its hopes of a New Year's Six bowl bid by beating New Mexico State 49-35 in the Conference USA championship game Friday night.
Salter was 20-of-25 passing for 319 yards and rushed 12 times for 165 yards in a dominant performance for the Flames (13-0), who could play on New Year's Day as the highest-ranked Group of 5 team if No. 22 Tulane falls to SMU in Saturday's American Athletic Conference title game.
"If you've watched us for 13 weeks, we're the best G5 team in this country," Liberty coach Jamey Chadwell said to cheers from a crowd that had stormed the field. "Six wins over bowl teams. Our average margin of victory is 17 points. We have dominated our opponents. We belong in that New Year's Six."
With the score tied at 35, Billy Lucas ran for a 2-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to put Liberty ahead to stay. On New Mexico State's next possession, Brandon Bishop stepped in front of Eli Stowers and made a one-handed interception of third-string quarterback Blaze Berlowitz's pass in the end zone.
Four plays later, Salter turned a broken play into a 35-yard touchdown run. He was named the game's MVP.
"I feel like today I just went out and I had fun," Salter said. "That was the main goal today, although this was a championship game and a big game to everybody. To us, this was just the next one, and we just wanted to go out there and play for each other today."
Diego Pavia, who did not practice during the week because of a shoulder injury, threw three touchdown passes and ran for a score for the Aggies (10-4), whose eight-game winning streak ended. Pavia left the game during the third quarter and did not return.
"He's the toughest kid I've ever been around, and you can quote me on that," Aggies coach Jerry Kill said.
In came Berlowitz, who had not thrown a pass all season. His 11-yard touchdown pass to Trent Hudson tied the score with 2:57 left in the third quarter.
The Flames, with the country's No. 1 rushing offense, ran for 393 yards. Quinton Cooley had 11 carries for 71 yards and three touchdowns, Lucas finished with 86 yards on 14 carries, and Aaron Bedgood had 72 yards on five rushes. Liberty finished with 712 yards of offense, had 35 first downs and didn't turn the ball over while beating New Mexico State for the second time this season.
"That's the second time we've played [Salter], and he just doesn't make mistakes," Kill said.
Despite getting few defensive stops, New Mexico State kept it close until the final quarter. After Salter's 20-yard touchdown pass to CJ Daniels put Liberty ahead 35-21 in the third quarter, Pavia threw a 75-yard scoring pass to Jonathan Brady on the next play from scrimmage.
Liberty's next possession ended in a missed field goal. Berlowitz took advantage, hitting Hudson for the tying score.
"We obviously took their best shot," Chadwell said, "but there was never a doubt on our sideline that we weren't going to find a way to get it done."
Hudson had seven catches for 112 yards and two scores. Pavia was 11-of-18 passing for 188 yards and had 45 rushing yards. Berlowitz was 10-of-19 for 134 yards.
Liberty will make a bowl appearance for the fifth straight year since becoming a full FBS member in 2019. The Flames are 3-1 in bowl games.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.