Notes To Know vs. Texas Tech

MEMPHIS, Tenn., - Mississippi State will be making its 25^th bowl appearance in Tuesday's Liberty Bowl against Texas Tech.

The Bulldogs will meet the Red Raiders for the first time in postseason play in a contest slated for a 5:45 p.m. kickoff on ESPN.

NOTES TO KNOW

MSU is making its 12^th consecutive bowl appearance. The Bulldogs are one of only eight programs in the country that have gone to 12 straight bowls. Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M are the only other Southeastern Conference schools to accomplish that feat.
State is 14-10 all-time in bowl games and 7-4 during its current bowl streak.
This is Mississippi State's fifth trip to the Liberty Bowl. The Bulldogs are 3-1 all-time in the Liberty Bowl with their last visit resulting in a 44-7 victory over Rice in 2013.
MSU also has wins over UCF (10-3) in 2007 and NC State (16-13) in 1963 back when the bowl was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Bulldogs lone loss at the Liberty Bowl came against Air Force (38-15) in 1991.
Mississippi State owns a 16-7 all-time record at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium and played there earlier this season against Memphis on Sept. 18.
State attained bowl eligibility by earning three wins over opponents ranked in the Associated Press Top 25.
Mississippi State has not met Texas Tech on the gridiron in over 51 years and the two have never played one another in the postseason. The Bulldogs hold a 4-2-1 record in the all-time series and have won the last two meetings.
MSU won the previous game against the Red Raiders 20-16 in Jackson on Oct. 17, 1970. Texas Tech's last victory in the series was a 21-7 triumph in Lubbock in 1964.
Mike Leach was the head coach at Texas Tech from 2000-09 and remains the winningest coach in school history. Leach took the Red Raiders to a bowl game every year that he was in Lubbock. This will mark the first time in his career that he has faced off against one of the teams he was a head coach at.
In his 20 years as a head coach, Leach has guided his teams to a bowl 18 times.
Leach is 9-8 all-time in bowl games and 1-0 at MSU. He led the Bulldogs to a 28-26 victory over Tulsa in the Armed Forces Bowl last season with Lideatrick Griffin winning the game's Most Valuable Player award.
Griffin leads the FBS averaging 35 yards per kickoff return this season.
Texas Tech interim head coach Sonny Cumbie played quarterback under Leach in Lubbock from 2002 and was a teammate MSU cornerbacks coach Darcel McBath. McBath played cornerback for the Red Raiders from 2004-08.
MSU special teams coordinator/ inside linebackers coach Matt Brock served as a defensive quality control coach at Texas Tech from 2013-15. Brock also worked as an interim inside linebackers coach for the Red Raiders for the final nine games of 2014.
MSU senior associate athletics director Dave Emerick worked under Leach at Texas Tech from 2004-09 and served as his chief of staff for the final two seasons in Lubbock.
Makai Polk needs just 47 yards to break Mardye McDole's school single-season receiving record, which was set in 1978. Polk already shattered Fred Ross' single-season receptions record and currently leads the Southeastern Conference with 98 catches.
Will Rogers has thrown for over 300 yards in 10 straight games. Rogers currently leads all Power 5 passers with 4,449 yards and tops the country in completion percentage (75.1) and completions per game (39.4). He tops the SEC in passing yards per game (370.8) and total offense (364.9).
Rogers has also thrown a touchdown in 17 of his last 18 games and tossed 43 TDs over that span. He is the only quarterback in the conference with 400-plus yards and multiple touchdowns in the same game and he's accomplished that feat four times this fall.
Rogers has completed passes to 14 different receivers this season and thrown a scoring strike to nine of them. He is currently on a 12-game streak of completing 30 or more passes.
Underclassmen have accounted for 35 of the Bulldogs' 47 touchdowns in 2021.
Mississippi State ranks third in the SEC and 10^th nationally in rush defense. The Bulldogs are only surrendering 101.2 yards per game on the ground.
State has held six opponents below the century mark in rushing this year. Louisiana Tech managed 101 yards in the season opener. Arkansas (202) is the only opponent to exceed 200-yards rushing against the Bulldogs.
State leads the conference and ranks fifth nationally with 173 passes of 10 or more yards this year.
MSU is one of three schools in the nation with multiple players with 75 or more catches this season – Polk (98) and Jo'quavious Marks (79).
Marks has caught a pass in all 23 games of his career. Polk, Jaden Walley and Austin Williams have all hauled in balls in 21 consecutive games.
Marks' 79 catches this season leads all FBS running backs. His 139 career grabs are the most by a Mississippi State running back and rank as the fifth-most in school history overall.
The Bulldogs lead the country with 2,586 yards after the catch.
Emmanuel Forbes is the FBS active leader with three pick-6's and tops the SEC with eight career interceptions.
Texas Tech posted a 6-6 record during the regular season and fell in four of its final five contests. The Red Raiders are vying for their first winning season since 2015.
The Red Raiders are making their 39^th bowl appearance but their first at the Liberty Bowl. Tech is 14-23-1 all-time in bowl games and playing in its first bowl since 2017. They hold an 8-14-1 record against unranked bowl opponents.
Texas Tech is facing an SEC opponent for the first time since 2018. The Red Raiders are 6-17-2 all-time against teams that currently make up the SEC excluding former Big 12 members Missouri and Texas A&M. Tech is 3-8 against the SEC since joining the Big 12 in 1996.
Texas Tech is facing an SEC opponent in a bowl for the ninth time and first since losing to LSU 56-27 in the 2015 Texas Bowl. The Red Raiders' last bowl win against an SEC school came against Tennessee in the 1973 Gator Bowl.
The Liberty Bowl will be only the second time Texas Tech has played in the state of Tennessee. The Red Raiders opened the 1997 season at the University of Tennessee.

Players Mentioned

Emmanuel Forbes

Lideatrick Griffin

Jo'Quavious Marks

Makai Polk

Will Rogers

Jaden Walley

Austin Williams

Mississippi State University Athletics