Mike Leach set for Texas Tech reunion as Mississippi State lands in Memphis' Liberty Bowl
STARKVILLE — Mississippi State football is headed to Memphis, and coach Mike Leach is set for a reunion against his former team.
The Bulldogs accepted a bid to the Liberty Bowl in Memphis on Dec. 28 (5:45, ESPN), the program announced Sunday. Mississippi State (7-5, 4-4 SEC) will face Texas Tech (6-6, 3-6 Big 12), the school that fired Leach in 2009.
The Bulldogs finished the regular season with a 31-21 Egg Bowl loss to Ole Miss, but the team improved in Leach’s second season. The season had several highlights, including ranked road wins against Texas A&M and Auburn, the latter of which included a program-record comeback.
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But there were also disappointing losses, the likes of which prevented Mississippi State from taking an even larger step between the seasons. At the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in September, Memphis snuck out with a two-point win, aided by a 94-yard punt return that proved pivotal to the outcome — and shouldn’t have counted. The Bulldogs also lost a winnable game against Arkansas, missing three field goals in that three-point defeat.
And if Mississippi State had defeated Ole Miss, it would’ve secured a second-place finish in the SEC West for the first time since 2014.
The Red Raiders had a turbulent season, firing coach Matt Wells on Oct. 25 despite a 5-3 record at the time. Texas Tech hired Baylor associate head coach Joey McGuire last month to replace Wells. Sonny Cumbie is serving as Texas Tech's interim coach and will coach the team in the bowl game before departing to become Louisiana Tech's coach.
Since firing Wells, the Red Raiders have lost three of their final four games, including consecutive defeats against Oklahoma State and Baylor. They haven’t found a consistent level of success since Leach was head coach in Lubbock, where he recorded an 84-43 overall record, including two Cotton Bowl appearances and one Big 12 title.
Texas Tech finished 6-6 this year, ending up in ninth place in the Big 12 with a 3-6 conference mark. Leach hasn't faced Texas Tech since he was fired in 2009.
Liberty Bowl associate executive director Harold Graeter told The Clarion Ledger on Thursday that the game had “great interest” in hosting Mississippi State. The selection process isn’t that straightforward, though.
Each school and bowls with SEC tie-ins submit a list of preferences to the conference. The SEC has the final say on who lands in which bowl. The Liberty Bowl planned to include Mississippi State on its list, Graeter said.
The Bulldogs haven’t featured in the Liberty Bowl since 2013, when quarterback Dak Prescott helped lead a 44-7 win against Rice with a five-touchdown performance — two on the ground and three through the air.
Mississippi State had been projected to feature in the Texas Bowl, Outback Bowl and Music City Bowl, among others. But the Liberty Bowl gained traction over the last week as the most probable destination — and that's how it turned out.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Mississippi State football lands Liberty Bowl matchup with Texas Tech
