Memphis +10.5 (-115) over Iowa State
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- This is a home game for Memphis, which should help them to compete with Iowa State in this contest.
- Iowa State’s defense is its best unit, which should mean a low-scoring game instead of a blowout win.
The Liberty Bowl is a college bowl game that started before the 1960s did, which means plenty of history behind this year’s edition of the game. This contest is a cornerstone of the late portion of the college football bowl schedule each year and often features two of the better teams in the country. Here, we look back at the history of this bowl game along with the upcoming version of the game.
2023 Liberty Bowl Analysis
This year’s Liberty Bowl features Memphis and Iowa State in a matchup between the American Athletic Conference and Big 12. Memphis comes into this game with a better record than Iowa State, having gone 9-3 compared to Iowa State’s 7-5. But strength of schedule was a factor in those records, as Memphis has a much less dangerous schedule in the AAC.
That strength of schedule issue could be offset by the fact that Memphis is playing a virtual home game in the Liberty Bowl. This game is being contested in Memphis, which should mean that the Tigers have the crowd advantage in this matchup. Whether or not that makes a difference and helps them to win this game remains to be seen.
Liberty Bowl History
The history of the Liberty Bowl dates all the way back to 1959, with the game being played on a regular basis ever since. This bowl game features tie-ins with the SEC, Big 12, and American Athletic Conference at this point in time, which often creates some intriguing matchups. The history of those matchups and the rest of the games played in the Liberty Bowl can be found below.
| Date | Winning Team | Losing Team |
| 12/19/59 | 12 Penn State | 10 Alabama |
| 12/20/60 | 16 Penn State | Oregon |
| 12/16/61 | 14 Syracuse | Miami (Florida) |
| 12/15/62 | Oregon State | Villanova |
| 12/21/63 | Mississippi State | NC State |
| 12/19/64 | Utah | West Virginia |
| 12/18/65 | Ole Miss | Auburn |
| 12/10/66 | 9 Miami (Florida) | Virginia Tech |
| 12/16/67 | NC State | Georgia |
| 12/14/68 | Ole Miss | Virginia Tech |
| 12/13/69 | Colorado | Alabama |
| 12/12/70 | Tulane | Colorado |
| 12/20/71 | 9 Tennessee | 18 Arkansas |
| 12/18/72 | Georgia Tech | Iowa State |
| 12/17/73 | 16 NC State | 19 Kansas |
| 12/16/74 | Tennessee | 10 Maryland |
| 12/22/75 | USC | 2 Texas A&M |
| 12/20/76 | 16 Alabama | 7 UCLA |
| 12/19/77 | 12 Nebraska | 14 North Carolina |
| 12/23/78 | 18 Missouri | LSU |
| 12/22/79 | Penn State | 15 Tulane |
| 12/27/80 | 16 Purdue | Missouri |
| 12/30/81 | 15 Ohio State | Navy |
| 12/29/82 | Alabama | Illinois |
| 12/29/83 | Notre Dame | 13 Boston College |
| 12/27/84 | 16 Auburn | Arkansas |
| 12/27/85 | Baylor | 12 LSU |
| 12/29/86 | Tennessee | Minnesota |
| 12/29/87 | 15 Georgia | Arkansas |
| 12/28/88 | Indiana | South Carolina |
| 12/29/89 | Ole Miss | Air Force |
| 12/27/90 | Air Force | 24 Ohio State |
| 12/29/91 | Air Force | Mississippi State |
| 12/31/92 | 20 Ole Miss | Air Force |
| 12/28/93 | 25 Louisville | Michigan State |
| 12/31/94 | Illinois | East Carolina |
| 12/30/95 | East Carolina | Stanford |
| 12/27/96 | 23 Syracuse | Houston |
| 12/31/97 | Southern Miss | Pittsburgh |
| 12/31/98 | 10 Tulane | BYU |
| 12/31/99 | 16 Southern Miss | Colorado State |
| 12/29/00 | 23 Colorado State | 22 Louisville |
| 12/31/01 | 23 Louisville | 19 BYU |
| 12/31/02 | TCU | 23 Colorado State |
| 12/31/03 | 25 Utah | Southern Miss |
| 12/31/04 | 7 Louisville | 10 Boise State |
| 12/31/05 | Tulsa | Fresno State |
| 12/29/06 | South Carolina | Houston |
| 12/29/07 | Mississippi State | UCF |
| 1/2/09 | Kentucky | East Carolina |
| 1/2/10 | Arkansas | East Carolina |
| 12/31/10 | UCF | Georgia |
| 12/31/11 | Cincinnati | Vanderbilt |
| 12/31/12 | Tulsa | Iowa State |
| 12/31/13 | Mississippi State | Rice |
| 12/29/14 | Texas A&M | West Virginia |
| 1/2/16 | Arkansas | Kansas State |
| 12/30/16 | Georgia | TCU |
| 12/30/17 | Iowa State | 18 Memphis |
| 12/31/18 | Oklahoma State | 24 Missouri |
| 12/31/19 | 21 Navy | Kansas State |
| 12/31/20 | West Virginia | Army |
| 12/28/21 | Texas Tech | Mississippi State |
| 12/28/22 | Arkansas | Kansas |
Bowl Game MVPs
As is the case with any marquee bowl game, the list of MVPs in this game over the years features plenty of big names. Pros like Dak Prescott and Latavius Murray in the modern era are among the names that have come away with MVP honors in previous Liberty Bowls. The full list of MVPs from 1959 to the most recent edition of this game can be found below.
| Game | MVP | Team |
| 1959 | Jay Huffman | Penn State |
| 1960 | Dick Hoak | Penn State |
| 1961 | Dick Easterly | Syracuse |
| 1962 | Terry Baker | Oregon State |
| 1963 | Ode Burrell | Mississippi State |
| 1964 | Ernest Allen | Utah |
| 1965 | Tom Bryan | Auburn |
| 1966 | Jimmy Cox | Miami (Florida) |
| 1967 | Jim Donnan | NC State |
| 1968 | Steve Hindman | Ole Miss |
| 1969 | Bobby Anderson | Colorado |
| 1970 | Dave Abercrombie | Tulane |
| 1971 | Joe Ferguson | Arkansas |
| 1972 | Jim Stevens | Georgia Tech |
| 1973 | Stan Fritts | NC State |
| 1974 | Randy White | Maryland |
| 1975 | Ricky Bell | USC |
| 1976 | Barry Krauss | Alabama |
| 1977 | Matt Kupec | North Carolina |
| 1978 | James Wilder Sr. | Missouri |
| 1979 | Roch Hontas | Tulane |
| 1980 | Mark Herrmann | Purdue |
| 1981 | Eddie Myers | Navy |
| 1982 | Jeremiah Castille | Alabama |
| 1983 | Doug Flutie | Boston College |
| 1984 | Bo Jackson | Auburn |
| 1985 | Cody Carlson | Baylor |
| 1986 | Jeff Francis | Tennessee |
| 1987 | Greg Thomas | Arkansas |
| 1988 | Dave Schnell | Indiana |
| 1989 | Randy Baldwin | Ole Miss |
| 1990 | Rob Perez | Air Force |
| 1991 | Rob Perez | Air Force |
| 1992 | Cassius Ware | Ole Miss |
| 1993 | Jeff Brohm | Louisville |
| 1994 | Johnny Johnson | Illinois |
| 1995 | Kwame Ellis | Stanford |
| 1996 | Malcolm Thomas | Syracuse |
| 1997 | Sherrod Gideon | Southern Miss. |
| 1998 | Shaun King | Tulane |
| 1999 | Adalius Thomas | Southern Miss. |
| 2000 | Cecil Sapp | Colorado State |
| 2001 | Dave Ragone | Louisville |
| 2002 | LaTarence Dunbar | TCU |
| 2003 | Morgan Scalley | Utah |
| 2004 | Stefan LeFors | Louisville |
| 2005 | Paul Smith | Tulsa |
| 2006 | Blake Mitchell | South Carolina |
| 2007 | Derek Pegues | Mississippi State |
| 2009 | Ventrell Jenkins | Kentucky |
| 2010 (Jan) | Ryan Mallett | Arkansas |
| 2010 (Dec) | Latavius Murray | UCF |
| 2011 | Isaiah Pead | Cincinnati |
| 2012 | Trey Watts | Tulsa |
| 2013 | Dak Prescott | Mississippi State |
| 2014 | Kyle Allen | Texas A&M |
| 2016 (Jan) | Alex Collins | Arkansas |
| 2016 (Dec) | Trenton Thompson | Georgia |
| 2017 | Allen Lazard | Iowa State |
| 2018 | Taylor Cornelius | Oklahoma State |
| 2019 | Malcolm Perry | Navy |
| 2020 | T. J. Simmons | West Virginia |
| 2021 | Donovan Smith | Texas Tech |
| 2022 | KJ Jefferson | Arkansas |
