Mississippi State to Face Texas Tech in Liberty Bowl

Mississippi State coach Mike Leach will face his former team in the postseason. The Bulldogs will play Texas Tech in the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 28 in Memphis, Tennessee.

Leach coached the Red Raiders from 2000-2009. The Bulldogs have made 12 consecutive bowl appearances. The Red Raiders are in their first bowl game since 2017. They're led by offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie, with Joey McGuire taking over after the season. Cumbie has already been hired as Louisiana Tech's head coach.

Mississippi St. (7-5, SEC) vs Texas Tech (6-6, Big 12), Dec. 28, 6:45 p.m. ET

LOCATION: Memphis, Tennessee.

TOP PLAYERS
Mississippi St: Quarterback Will Rogers, just a sophomore, leads the country in completions and completion percentage and ranks second in passing yardage.

Texas Tech: PK Jonathan Garibay is the team's lone first-team All-Big 12 Conference player. He made 13 of 14 field goals, including an FBS-recprd 62-yarder as time expired to beat Iowa State on Nov. 13.

NOTABLE
Mississippi State: Coach Mike Leach has led his teams to 18 bowl games in 20 years as a head coach, including all 10 seasons at Texas Tech. The Bulldogs played in Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium already this season, losing 31-29 to Memphis on Sept. 18.

Texas Tech: Interim coach Sonny Cumbie, who played for Leach at Texas Tech, will lead bowl preparations before returning to his new job as Louisiana Tech's head coach. Baylor assistant and longtime Texas high school coach Joey McGuire was hired nearly a month ago and takes over the Red Raiders following the season.

LAST TIME
Mississippi State 20, Texas Tech 16. (Oct. 17, 1970)

BOWL HISTORY
Mississippi State: Twelfth consecutive bowl appearance, going 7-4 during that stretch and 14-10 overall in the postseason.

Texas Tech: First postseason trip since 2017 and first appearance in the Liberty Bowl. Making 39th overall bowl appearance.

Click here to listen to the newest episode of Big Game Friday Morning.