Liberty Bowl Betting History

The Liberty Bowl is the eighth-oldest college football bowl, first played in 1959 in Philadelphia, the home of the Liberty Bell.

In its early days the Liberty Bowl was played in cold conditions, in front of small crowds. For those reasons, in 1964 the Liberty Bowl became the first major college bowl to be played indoors, at the Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Utah beat West Virginia 32-6. The following year the Liberty Bowl moved to Memphis, Tennessee and the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, where it’s been played ever since, often on New Year’s Eve. 

These days the Liberty Bowl matches the SEC against the Big 12. Recent Liberty Bowls are trending high-scoring; from 2011 to 2016, six Liberty Bowls averaged a shade under 60 points, going 5-1 on the OVER. 

Penn State won the first two Liberty Bowls, beating a Bear Bryant Alabama squad 7-0 and Oregon 41-12. Bryant eventually coached the Crimson Tide in three more Liberty Bowls, including his last game, a 21-15 victory over Illinois in 1982.

In 1962 Oregon State quarterback Terry Baker, the Heisman Trophy Sportsbook that year, scored the only touchdown of the game on a 99-yard run, giving his Beavers a 6-0 Liberty Bowl victory over Villanova. In 1971 Tennessee made its first appearance in its home-state bowl, beating Arkansas 14-13. The Volunteers returned to the Liberty Bowl three years later and defeated Maryland 7-3, and they beat Minnesota in the 1986 game 21-14. But Tennessee has not been back to the Liberty Bowl since.

In 1983 Notre Dame made its only Liberty Bowl appearance, beating a Doug Flutie-led Boston College outfit 19-18. Flutie won the Heisman the following season.

Air Force did a four-year stint at the Liberty Bowl from 1989 to 1992, losing to Ole Miss, beating Ohio State and Mississippi State, then losing to Ole Miss again. And in 2007 Mississippi State defeated Central Florida 10-3 in front of a Liberty Bowl-record crowd of nearly 64,000.

Over the years Miami, Auburn, Virginia Tech, USC, Texas A&M, Nebraska, LSU, Georgia, Michigan State and Stanford, among many college football powers, have all played in the Liberty Bowl.

This season’s Liberty Bowl will see the Missouri Tigers take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys. For the latest odds, a free pick and handicapping information, visit our Liberty Bowl Bowl Game Center.