| Game Name: | Liberty Bowl |
| Subheader: | 63rd Liberty Bowl |
| Title Sponsor: | AutoZone |
| Date Game Played: | December 28 |
| Year Game Played: | 2021 |
| Football Season: | 2021 |
| Stadium: | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium |
| City: | Memphis, Tennessee |
| Visitor School: | Mississippi State University |
| Visitor Name Short: | Mississippi State |
| Visitor Nickname: | Bulldogs |
| Visitor Record: | 7–5 |
| Visitor Conference: | SEC |
| Visitor Coach: | Mike Leach |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 0 |
| Home School: | Texas Tech University |
| Home Name Short: | Texas Tech |
| Home Nickname: | Red Raiders |
| Home Record: | 6–6 |
| Home Conference: | Big 12 |
| Home Coach: | Sonny Cumbie (interim) |
| Home 1Q: | 10 |
| Home 2Q: | 3 |
| Home 3Q: | 14 |
| Home 4Q: | 7 |
| Mvp: | Donovan Smith (QB, Texas Tech)[1] |
| Odds: | Mississippi State by 10 |
| Referee: | Riley Johnson (ACC)[2] |
| Attendance: | 48,615 |
| Us Network: | ESPN ESPN Radio |
| Us 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) |
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.
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]
See 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.
See 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.