2021 Liberty Bowl

2021 AutoZone Liberty Bowl
2021 AutoZone Liberty Bowl
63rd Liberty Bowl
Mississippi State Bulldogs	Texas Tech Red Raiders
(7–5)	(6–6)
SEC	Big 12
7	34
Head coach: ; Mike Leach	Head coach: ; Sonny Cumbie; (interim)
Date	December 28, 2021
Season	2021
Stadium	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
Location	Memphis, Tennessee
MVP	Donovan Smith (QB, Texas Tech)
Favorite	Mississippi State by 10
Referee	Riley Johnson (ACC)
Attendance	48,615
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN; ESPN Radio
Announcers	ESPN: Dave Neal (play-by-play), Deuce McAllister (analyst), and Andraya Carter (sideline); ESPN Radio: Sean Kelley (play-by-play), Barrett Jones (analyst), and Ian Fitzsimmons (sideline)
Liberty Bowl
< 2020	2022 >

The 2021 Liberty Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 28, 2021, with kickoff at 6:45 p.m. EST (5:45 p.m. local CST) and televised on ESPN.^[3] It was the 63rd edition of the Liberty Bowl, and was one of the 2021–22 bowl games concluding the 2021 FBS football season. Sponsored by automotive retailer AutoZone, the game was officially known as the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

Teams

Consistent with conference tie-ins, the game was played between teams from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Big 12 Conference.

This was the eighth meeting between Mississippi State and Texas Tech, with the most recent prior meeting coming in 1970; the Bulldogs led the all-time series, 4–2–1.^[4]

Mississippi State Bulldogs

Mississippi State, from the SEC, finished the regular season with an overall record of 7–5. This was the Bulldogs' third Liberty Bowl appearance, having appeared in the 2007 and 2013 editions, winning both. In 2007, Mississippi State defeated UCF, 10–3. In the 2013 game, the Bulldogs defeated Rice, 44–7. Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach was the head coach at Texas Tech from 2000 to 2009.

Texas Tech Red Raiders

Texas Tech, from the Big 12, finished the regular season with an overall record of 6–6. This was the Red Raiders' first Liberty Bowl appearance. The team was led by interim head coach Sonny Cumbie, who was the starting quarterback at Texas Tech during the 2004 season, playing for Leach.

Game summary

2021 AutoZone Liberty Bowl

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Mississippi State	0	7	0	0	7
Texas Tech	10	3	14	7	34

at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, Tennessee

Date: Tuesday, December 28, 2021
Game time: 6:45 p.m. EST (5:45 p.m. local CST)
Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 69 °F (21 °C) • Wind: S 10 MPH
Game attendance: 48,615
Referee: Riley Jefferson
TV announcers (ESPN): Dave Neal (play-by-play), Deuce McAllister (analyst), and Andraya Carter (sideline)
Box score

Game information

First quarter

(12:40) TTU - Tahj Brooks 19-yard rush, Jonathan Garibay kick good. Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:20. Texas Tech 7–0
(3:03) TTU - Jonathan Garibay 31-yard field goal. Drive: 14 plays, 79 yards, 6:24. Texas Tech 10–0

Second quarter

(14:08) MSU – Rara Thomas 17-yard pass from Will Rogers, N. McCord kick good. Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 3:55. Texas Tech 10–7
(0:13) TTU – Jonathan Garibay 26-yard field goal. Drive: 4 plays, 6 yards, 0:18. Texas Tech 13–7

Third quarter

(9:03) TTU – Donovan Smith 1-yard rush, Jonathan Garibay kick good. Drive: 4 plays, 95 yards, 1:00. Texas Tech 20–7
(0:02) TTU – J. J. Sparkman 14-yard pass from Donovan Smith, Jonathan Garibay kick good. Drive: 9 plays, 60 yards, 4:04. Texas Tech 27–7

Fourth quarter

(8:47) TTU – SaRodorick Thompson 1-yard rush, Jonathan Garibay kick good. Drive: 8 plays, 85 yards, 3:42. Texas Tech 34–7

Statistics

Statistics	MSU	TTU
First downs	21	24
Plays–yards	73–344	72–512
Rushes–yards	20–54	44–260
Passing yards	290	252
Passing: comp–att–int	32–53–1	15–28–0
Time of possession	28:41	30:57

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Mississippi State	Passing	Will Rogers	32/53, 290 yards, TD, INT
	Rushing	Dill Johnson	9 rushes, 62 yards
	Receiving	Austin Williams	5 receptions, 74 yards
Texas Tech	Passing	Donovan Smith	15/28, 252 yards, TD
	Rushing	Tahj Brooks	16 rushes, 107 yards, TD
	Receiving	Myles Price	3 receptions, 72 yards

References

^ @Theo_DeRosa (December 28, 2021). "Liberty Bowl MVP: Donovan Smith" (Tweet). Retrieved December 28, 2021 – via Twitter.
^ "2021-22 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. December 6, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.
^ "2021 College Football Bowl Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
^ "Winsipedia - Mississippi State vs. Texas Tech". Winsipedia.com. Archived from the original on October 15, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2021.

Externals links

Game statistics at statbroadcast.com

[1] @Theo_DeRosa (December 28, 2021). "Liberty Bowl MVP: Donovan Smith" (Tweet). Retrieved December 28, 2021 – via Twitter.

[2] "2021-22 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. December 6, 2021. Retrieved December 11, 2021.

[3] "2021 College Football Bowl Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved June 16, 2021.

[4] "Winsipedia - Mississippi State vs. Texas Tech". Winsipedia.com. Archived from the original on October 15, 2014. Retrieved December 5, 2021.

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v t e 2021–22 NCAA football bowl game season
Bahamas (Dec. 17) Cure (Dec. 17) Boca Raton (Dec. 18) Celebration (Dec. 18) New Mexico (Dec. 18) Independence (Dec. 18) LendingTree (Dec. 18) LA (Dec. 18) New Orleans (Dec. 18) Myrtle Beach (Dec. 20) Famous Idaho Potato (Dec. 21) Frisco (Dec. 21) Armed Forces (Dec. 22) Gasparilla (Dec. 23) Frisco Classic (Dec. 23) Camellia (Dec. 25) Quick Lane (Dec. 27) Birmingham (Dec. 28) First Responder (Dec. 28) Liberty (Dec. 28) Guaranteed Rate (Dec. 28) Pinstripe (Dec. 29) Cheez-It (Dec. 29) Alamo (Dec. 29) Duke's Mayo (Dec. 30) Music City (Dec. 30) Peach (Dec. 30) Las Vegas (Dec. 30) Gator (Dec. 31) Sun (Dec. 31) Outback (Jan. 1) Fiesta (Jan. 1) Citrus (Jan. 1) Rose (Jan. 1) Sugar (Jan. 1) Texas (Jan. 4)
College Football Playoff games: Cotton (Dec. 31) Orange (Dec. 31) National Championship Game (Jan. 10)
All-Star Games Hula Bowl (Jan. 15) Tropical Bowl (Jan. 15) NFLPA Collegiate Bowl (Jan. 29) East–West Shrine Bowl (Feb. 3) Senior Bowl (Feb. 5) HBCU Legacy Bowl (Feb. 19)

v t e Liberty Bowl
History & conference tie-ins	History Philadelphia Municipal Stadium Convention Hall Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium Big 12 Conference Southeastern Conference American Athletic Conference
Games	1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2009 2010 (January) 2010 (December) 2011 2012 2013 2014 2016 (January) 2016 (December) 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Notes	There was no Liberty Bowl in 2008 or 2015. There was a Liberty Bowl in January and December of 2010 and 2016.