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Mississippi State bowl game history: Every bowl game the Bulldogs have played in

By Ethan Lee

TAMPA, FLORIDA - JANUARY 02: Nathaniel Watson #14, Will Rogers III #2, and Jett Johnson #44 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs wave a Mike flag in memory of Mike Leach after defeating the Illinois Fighting Illini 19-10 in the ReliaQuest Bowl at Raymond James Stadium on January 02, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA - JANUARY 02: Nathaniel Watson #14, Will Rogers III #2, and Jett Johnson #44 of the Mississippi State Bulldogs wave a Mike flag in memory of Mike Leach after defeating the Illinois Fighting Illini 19-10 in the ReliaQuest Bowl at Raymond James Stadium on January 02, 2023 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images) /
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Head coach Mike Leach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs arrives before the AutoZone Liberty Bowl against the Texas Tech Red Raiders
MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE – DECEMBER 28: Head coach Mike Leach of the Mississippi State Bulldogs arrives before the AutoZone Liberty Bowl against the Texas Tech Red Raiders at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on December 28, 2021 in Memphis, Tennessee. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images) /

2021 Liberty Bowl: Miss. State football faces the Texas Tech Red Raiders in Memphis

Things kinda came full circle in a couple ways for the Mississippi State Bulldogs here. One, Mike Leach got the distinct pleasure of facing off against his former employer, the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Two, MSU got to end the season at 7-6 after the Liberty Bowl.

Unfortunately for the Mississippi State football fans who managed to go to this edition of the Liberty Bowl, it wasn’t exactly a fun way to end the year.

The Bulldogs had their roster significantly impacted by pandemic-related depth issues. So, a large part of the 2021 Mississippi State football team wasn’t actually available to play for the Bulldogs against the Red Raiders.

And that was a big reason for the Bulldogs failing to keep this game competitive. State simply didn’t have the firepower or the depth on defense to keep up with what Texas Tech wanted to do on offense.

Ultimately, the Bulldogs fell 34-7.

It was frustrating and really a rather appropriate way of capping off a Miss. State football season that was largely defined by highs and lows. The Air Raid wasn’t fully installed yet and the Bulldogs lacked enough depth to contend against better teams in the SEC.

But it was a step in the right direction. Leach was known for long term building projects and he got the Bulldogs to another bowl game. This time by conventional means. MSU was working to establish a foundation and it looked like that was starting to work out.

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