Memphis to play in 65th AutoZone Liberty Bowl

In what has proven to be a newsworthy week around the Memphis Football program, sources confirmed to Bluff City Media late Saturday night that the Tigers will appear in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl for the second time in program history. Memphis will serve as the American Athletic Conference’s representative after the Southeastern Conference failed to have enough bowl-eligible teams to meet the game’s contractual obligations for an SEC-versus-Big 12 matchup. This announcement comes on the heels of news that the City of Memphis has a pending resolution to move its ownership of Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium to the University of Memphis as early as December 30th. A victory in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, which will be played on December 29th, would serve as a fitting inauguration party for the Memphis Football program.

The Tigers’ first appearance in their hometown bowl game since 2017, Memphis will have a second shot at a Power 5 opponent after falling to the Top-10 Missouri Tigers in St. Louis earlier this season. Regardless of the Big 12’s representative in the game, many would assert the late bowl season matchup to be the biggest of Ryan Silverfield’s head coaching career and the most important bowl game since the Tigers appeared in the Cotton Bowl in 2019. The Iowa State Cyclones, who the Tigers also played in 2017, look to be the Tigers’ most probable pairing when the game is officially announced later today. Other projected Big 12 representatives include West Virginia and Central Florida.

Finishing the regular season with a dominating 45-21 victory over Temple, the 2023 Tigers became just the 10th team in program history to win 9 games in a season, and a win in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl could move Ryan Silverfield’s team into even rarer territory. Not only would a victory give the Tigers their most significant bowl win ever, but it would be just the fifth team in the program’s 109-year history to win 10 or more games in a season. Accompany this with stadium renovations seemingly moving forward as planned, several key Tigers announcing their intention to return next season, and an estimated bowl payout of over $4 million, the Memphis Tigers have one final opportunity to conclude the season with an exclamation point.