2023 Liberty Bowl

2023 AutoZone Liberty Bowl
65th Liberty Bowl
Memphis Tigers Iowa State Cyclones
(9–3) (7–5)
The American Big 12
36 26
Head coach: 
Ryan Silverfield		 Head coach: 
Matt Campbell
1234 Total
Memphis 193140 36
Iowa State 01376 26
DateDecember 29, 2023
Season2023
StadiumSimmons Bank Liberty Stadium
LocationMemphis, Tennessee
MVPSeth Henigan (QB, Memphis)
FavoriteIowa State by 8.5[1]
RefereeMatt Loeffler (SEC)[2]
Attendance48,789
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
ESPN Radio
AnnouncersJohn Schriffen (play-by-play), Rocky Boiman (analyst), and Dawn Davenport (sideline) (ESPN)
Jorge Sedano (play-by-play) and Orlando Franklin (analyst) (ESPN Radio)
Liberty Bowl
 < 2022  2024 > 

The 2023 Liberty Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 29, 2023, at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. The 65th annual Liberty Bowl featured Iowa State from the Big 12 Conference and Memphis from the American Athletic Conference (The American). The game began at approximately 2:30 p.m. CST and was aired on ESPN.[3][4] The Liberty Bowl was one of the 2023–24 bowl games concluding the 2023 FBS football season. The game was sponsored by automotive retailer AutoZone and was officially known as the AutoZone Liberty Bowl.

Teams

The bowl featured the Iowa State Cyclones of the Big 12 Conference and Memphis Tigers of the American Athletic Conference (The American). While the Liberty Bowl has a tie-in with the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the SEC did not have enough bowl-eligible members to supply a team.

This was the second meeting between Iowa State and Memphis; the teams previously met in the 2017 Liberty Bowl, won by Iowa State, 21–20.[5]

While Iowa State was the designated home team for the game, it was a de facto home game for Memphis, as Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium, the site of the Liberty Bowl, is also the Tigers' home field.

Iowa State Cyclones

Main article: 2023 Iowa State Cyclones football team

The Cyclones entered the game with a 7–5 record (6–3 in the Big 12), tied for fourth place in their conference.

This was Iowa State's fourth Liberty Bowl; the Cyclones were 1–2 in prior editions of the game, their sole win coming in the aforementioned 2017 game, along with losses in the 1972 edition and 2012 edition.

Memphis Tigers

Main article: 2023 Memphis Tigers football team

The Tigers entered the game with a 9–3 record (6–2 in the American), having finished in fourth place in their conference.

This was Memphis' second Liberty Bowl, after the aforementioned 2017 game.

Game summary

2023 AutoZone Liberty Bowl
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Memphis 19 3 14036
Iowa State 0 13 7626

at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium • Memphis, Tennessee

  • Date: Friday, December 29, 2023
  • Game time: 2:30 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 38 °F (3 °C) • Wind: 8 mph (13 km/h) W
  • Game attendance: 48,789
  • Referee: Matt Loeffler
  • TV announcers (ESPN): John Schriffen (play-by-play), Rocky Boiman (analyst), and Dawn Davenport (sideline)
  • Box score
Game information
First Quarter
  • (13:41) MEM – Demeer Blankumsee 70 yard pass from Seth Henigan, Tanner Gillis kick no good (Drive: 3 plays, 75 yards, 1:19; Memphis 6–0)
  • (5:53) MEM – Seth Henigan 11 yard run, Tanner Gillis kick (Drive: 9 plays, 46 yards, 5:00; Memphis 13–0)
  • (0:30) MEM – Joseph Scates 51 yard pass from Seth Henigan, two-point pass conversion failed (Drive: 4 plays, 84 yards, 2:15; Memphis 19–0)
Second Quarter
  • (11:25) ISU – Jayden Higgins 29 yard pass from Rocco Becht, Chase Contreraz kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 4:05; Memphis 19–7)
  • (6:19) ISU – Chase Contreraz 22 yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 67 yards, 4:03; Memphis 19–10)
  • (0:35) ISU – Chase Contreraz 39 yard field goal (Drive: 8 plays, 42 yards, 1:09; Memphis 19–13)
  • (0:00) MEM – Tanner Gillis 49 yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, 44 yards, 0:35; Memphis 22–13)
Third Quarter
  • (11:38) MEM – Anthony Landphere 5 yard pass from Seth Henigan, Tanner Gillis kick (Drive: 4 plays, 65 yards, 2:14; Memphis 29–13)
  • (7:59) MEM – Sutton Smith 48 yard pass from Seth Henigan, Tanner Gillis kick (Drive: 3 plays, 50 yards, 1:01; Memphis 36–13)
  • (4:01) ISU – Easton Dean 15 yard pass from Rocco Becht, Chase Contreraz kick Drive: 7 plays, 85 yards, 3:58; Memphis 36–20)
Fourth Quarter
  • (9:55) ISU – Jaylin Noel 23 yard pass from Rocco Becht, two-point pass conversion failed (Drive: 6 plays, 80 yards, 1:57; Memphis 36–26)

Statistics

Statistics MEM ISU
First downs 22 19
Plays–yards 66–530 60–446
Rushes–yards 32–166 20–0
Passing yards 364 446
Passing: comp–att–int 24–34–0 22–40–0
Time of possession 34:24 25:36
Team Category Player Statistics
Memphis Passing Seth Henigan 24/34, 364 yards, 4 TD
Rushing Blake Watson 15 carries, 107 yards
Receiving Roc Taylor 8 receptions, 102 yards
Iowa State Passing Rocco Becht 22/38, 446 yards, 3 TD
Rushing Abu Sama III 12 carries, 4 yards
Receiving Jayden Higgins 9 receptions, 214 yards, TD

References

  1. ^ Parks, James (December 11, 2023). "College football bowl schedule, game odds, point spreads for 2023-24". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 13, 2023.
  2. ^ Austro, Ben (December 3, 2023). "2023-24 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
  3. ^ Straka, Dean. "2023-24 college football bowl schedule, games, dates, locations, kickoff times, TV channels". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  4. ^ Lewis, Barry. "2023-24 College Football Bowl Schedule, Dates, Times Announced". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  5. ^ "Winsipedia – Iowa State Cyclones vs. Memphis Tigers". Winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 8, 2023.