Postseason college football bowl game College football game
| 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) | |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | | Mississippi State | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | | Texas Tech | 10 | 3 | 14 | 7 | 34 | |
| Date | December 28, 2021 |
|---|
| Season | 2021 |
|---|
| Stadium | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium |
|---|
| Location | Memphis, Tennessee |
|---|
| MVP | Donovan Smith (QB, Texas Tech)[1] |
|---|
| Favorite | Mississippi State by 10 |
|---|
| Referee | Riley Johnson (ACC)[2] |
|---|
| Attendance | 48,615 |
|---|
| United States TV coverage |
|---|
| Network | ESPNESPN 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
[edit] 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
[edit] Main article: 2021 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team
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
[edit] Main article: 2021 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team
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
[edit] 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
[edit] | 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
[edit] - ^ @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
[edit] - Game statistics at statbroadcast.com
| 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) |
| 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 (Jan)
- 2010 (Dec)
- 2011
- 2012
- 2013
- 2014
- 2016 (Jan)
- 2016 (Dec)
- 2017
- 2018
- 2019
- 2020
- 2021
- 2022
- 2023
- 2024
- 2026
|
|---|
| Notes | - There was no Liberty Bowl in 2008 or 2015.
- There was a Liberty Bowl in January and December of 2010 and 2016.
|
|---|
| Mississippi State Bulldogs bowl games |
|---|
- 1912 Bacardi Bowl
- 1937 Orange Bowl
- 1941 Orange Bowl
- 1963 Liberty Bowl
- 1974 Sun Bowl
- 1980 Sun Bowl
- 1981 Hall of Fame Classic
- 1991 Liberty Bowl
- 1993 Peach Bowl
- 1995 Peach Bowl
- 1999 Cotton Bowl Classic
- 1999 Peach Bowl
- 2000 Independence Bowl
- 2007 Liberty Bowl
- 2011 Gator Bowl
- 2011 Music City Bowl
- 2013 Gator Bowl
- 2013 Liberty Bowl
- 2014 Orange Bowl
- 2015 Belk Bowl
- 2016 St. Petersburg Bowl
- 2017 TaxSlayer Bowl
- 2019 Outback Bowl
- 2019 Music City Bowl
- 2020 Armed Forces Bowl
- 2021 Liberty Bowl
- 2023 ReliaQuest Bowl
- 2026 Duke's Mayo Bowl
|
| Texas Tech Red Raiders bowl games |
|---|
- 1938 Sun Bowl
- 1939 Cotton Bowl Classic
- 1942 Sun Bowl
- 1948 Sun Bowl
- 1949 Raisin Bowl (December)
- 1952 Sun Bowl
- 1954 Gator Bowl (January)
- 1956 Sun Bowl
- 1964 Sun Bowl
- 1965 Gator Bowl (December)
- 1970 Sun Bowl
- 1972 Sun Bowl
- 1973 Gator Bowl
- 1974 Peach Bowl
- 1976 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl
- 1977 Tangerine Bowl
- 1986 Independence Bowl
- 1989 All-American Bowl
- 1993 John Hancock Bowl
- 1995 Cotton Bowl Classic
- 1995 Copper Bowl
- 1996 Alamo Bowl
- 1998 Independence Bowl
- 2000 Galleryfurniture.com Bowl
- 2001 Alamo Bowl
- 2002 Tangerine Bowl
- 2003 Houston Bowl
- 2004 Holiday Bowl
- 2006 Cotton Bowl Classic
- 2006 Insight Bowl
- 2008 Gator Bowl
- 2009 Cotton Bowl Classic
- 2010 Alamo Bowl (January)
- 2011 TicketCity Bowl
- 2012 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas
- 2013 Holiday Bowl
- 2015 Texas Bowl
- 2017 Birmingham Bowl
- 2021 Liberty Bowl
- 2022 Texas Bowl
- 2023 Independence Bowl
- 2024 Liberty Bowl
- 2026 Orange Bowl ‡
‡ denotes College Football Playoff quarterfinal game |