AUTOZONE LIBERTY BOWL
MEMPHIS TIGERS
vs.
IOWA STATE CYCLONES
Friday, Dec. 29 | 3:30 p.m. ET
Simmons Liberty Bank Stadium
(57,266/AstroTurf)
Memphis, Tennessee
Television
ESPN
John Schriffen, Rocky Boiman and Dawn Davenport
National Radio
ESPN Radio
SiriusXM 80
Jorge Sedano and Orlando Franklin
Memphis Radio
WXMX-FM 98.9 (flagship)
SiriusXM 380
THE GAME
LIBERTY BOWL RESULTS (1-1)
12-19-59 Penn State 7, Alabama 0
12-17-60 Penn State 41, Oregon 12
12-16-61 Syracuse 15, Miami 14
12-15-62 Oregon State 6, Villanova 0
12-21-63 Mississippi State 16, North Carolina St. 12
12-19-64 Utah 32, West Virginia 6
12-18-65 Mississippi 13, Auburn 7
12-10-66 Miami 14, Virginia Tech 7
12-16-67 North Carolina State 14, Georgia 7
12-14-68 Mississippi 34, Virginia Tech 17
12-13-69 Colorado 47, Alabama 33
12-12-70 Tulane 17, Colorado 3
12-20-71 Tennessee 14, Arkansas 13
12-18-72 Georgia Tech 31, Iowa State 30
12-17-73 North Carolina State 31, Kansas 18
12-16-74 Tennessee 7, Maryland 3
12-22-75 USC 20, Texas A&M 0
12-20-76 Alabama 36, UCLA 6
12-19-77 Nebraska 21, North Carolina 17
12-23-78 Missouri 20, LSU 15
12-22-79 Penn State 9, Tulane 6
12-27-80 Purdue 28, Missouri 25
12-30-81 Ohio State 31, Navy 28
12-29-82 Alabama 21, Illinois 15
12-29-83 Notre Dame 19, Boston College 18
12-27-84 Auburn 21, Arkansas 15
12-27-85 Baylor 21, LSU 7
12-29-86 Tennessee 21, Minnesota 14
12-29-87 Georgia 20, Arkansas 17
12-28-88 Indiana 34, South Carolina 10
12-28-89 Mississippi 42, Air Force 29
12-27-90 Air Force 23, Ohio State 11
12-29-91 Air Force 38, Mississippi State 15
12-31-92 Mississippi 13, Air Force 0
12-28-93 Louisville 18, Michigan State 7
12-31-94 Illinois 30, East Carolina 0
12-30-95 East Carolina 19, Stanford 13
12-27-96 Syracuse 30, Houston 17
12-31-97 Southern Mississippi 41, Pittsburgh 7
12-31-98 Tulane 41, BYU 27
12-31-99 Southern Mississippi 23, Colorado State 17
12-29-00 Colorado State 22, Louisville 17
12-31-01 Louisville 28, Brigham Young 10
12-31-02 TCU 17, Colorado State 3
12-31-03 Utah 17, Southern Mississippi 0
12-31-04 Louisville 44, Boise State 40
12-31-05 Tulsa 31, Fresno State 24
12-29-06 South Carolina 44, Houston 36
12-29-07 Mississippi State 10, UCF 3
1-2-09 Kentucky 25, East Carolina 19
1-2-10 Arkansas 20, ECU 17 (ot)
12-31-10 UCF 10, Clemson 6
12-31-11 Cincinnati 31, Vanderbilt 24
12-31-12 Tulsa 31, Iowa State 17
12-31-13 Mississippi State 44, Rice 7
12-29-14 Texas A&M 45, West Virginia 37
1-2-16 Arkansas 45, Kansas State 23
12-30-16 Georgia 31, TCU 23
12-30-17 Iowa State 21, Memphis 20
12-31-18 Oklahoma State 38, Missouri 33
12-31-19 Navy 20, Kansas State 17
12-31-20 West Virginia 24, Army 21
12-28-21 Texas Tech 34, Mississippi State 7
12-28-22 Arkansas 55, Kansas 53
MEMPHIS
9-3, 6-2 American
Head Coach
Ryan Silverfield (Hamden-Sydney ’03)
30-19 fourth season
Memphis is making its 15th appearance in Bowl Season, while the Tigers have earned a bowl opportunity for 10 consecutive seasons, marking the ninth-longest active streak nationally … Memphis is playing in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl for the second time after the Tigers fell to Iowa State in the 2017 edition of the game … Memphis is 6-8 in its previous bowl outings … The Tigers have won their last two bowl games, including a 38-10 decision against Utah State last year in the First Responder Bowl … Memphis has won 87 games since the start of the 2014 season, the most among American Athletic Conference teams and 16th among all programs nationally since then … The Tigers matched their program record with five road victories in 2023 … Memphis went 9-3 in the regular season, with all three losses to teams ranked in the current top 25 … Memphis scored at least 20 points in 26 consecutive games, which is the longest active streak nationally … QB Seth Henigan, who earned all-conference second-team honors, has completed 294 of 442 passes for 3,519 yards and 28 touchdowns against nine interceptions … Henigan is second among American Athletic Conference signal-callers at 293.3 passing yards per game … RB Blake Watson is second in The American in rushing at 87.1 yards per game … Watson has rushed for 1,045 yards and a league-leading 14 touchdowns on his way to first-team all-conference honors … Watson is the eighth player in program history to turn in a 1,000-yard season … WR Roc Taylor has 61 receptions for 981 yards and four touchdowns on his way to second-team all-conference status, while WR DeMeer Blankumsee has 51 catches for 825 yards and six TDs … LB Chandler Martin, a transfer from East Tennessee State, was named to The American’s all-conference first team after he had a team-high 87 tackles with 12 tackles for loss, two interceptions, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery … CB Cameron Smith leads the squad with three interceptions, while DE Jaylon Allen has a team-high seven tackles for loss … K Tanner Gillis has stepped into the placekicking role and has made 9-of-11 field goal attempts … P Reid Bauer has averaged 43.2 yards on 43 punts … RB Sutton Smith has averaged 24.7 yards on 18 kickoff returns.
IOWA STATE
7-5, 6-3 Big 12
Head Coach
Jeff Hafley (Siena ’01)
21-26, fourth season
Iowa State will make its sixth bowl appearance in the last seven seasons and its 18th bowl appearance overall … The Cyclones are 5-12 all-time in bowl games, including a 21-20 win against Memphis in the 2017 AutoZone Liberty Bowl … Iowa State is 1-2 in the Liberty Bowl, having lost to Georgia Tech 31-30 in 1972 and 31-17 to Tulsa in 2017 … The Cyclones went 2-3 to start the season, but were 5-2 down the stretch to gain bowl eligibility … Iowa State tied for fourth place in the Big 12 as the Cyclones won six league games for the third time in program history — all under eighth-year head coach Matt Campbell … Three of the five losses were decided by one score, while four were decided by 10 points or fewer … Iowa State ranks ninth nationally in red zone offense, scoring 93.5% of the time, and is 16th in red zone defense (75.7%) … The top player for Iowa State this season has been CB T.J. Tampa, who was chosen as an Associated Press third-team All-America selection and was a semifinalist for the Bednarik Award as the nation’s top defensive player … Tampa had 44 tackles with two interceptions and seven pass breakups and allowed only one touchdown on 414 coverage snaps … Tampa joined S Jeremiah Cooper and S Beau Freyler as all-conference selections from a Cyclone secondary that ranks 10th nationally in pass efficiency defense (113.4) … QB Rocco Becht has completed 209 of 329 passes for 2,674 yards and 20 touchdowns against eight interceptions … RB Abu Sama is the leading rusher with 610 yards and six touchdowns on only 72 carries (8.5 yards per attempt) … WR Jaylin Noel is the top receiver with 60 catches for 741 yards and six TDs … WR Jayden Higgins is the big-play receiver with 44 catches for a team-high 769 yards with five touchdowns … Freyler has 96 tackles with three interceptions … Cooper leads the squad with five interceptions … K Chase Contreraz, a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, has made 19 of 24 field goal attempts, with a long of 56 yards, while P Tyler Perkins has averaged 44.3 yards per punt, including 17 punts of at least 50 yards … Noel is the top return specialist with 202 yards on five kickoff returns (40.4-yard average) and 119 yards on 14 punt returns (8.5 ypr).