Dec 20, 2020 2 min read

West Virginia and Tennessee will meet in the Liberty Bowl in Memphis on Dec. 31.

It’s West Virginia’s third trip to the Liberty Bowl and Tennessee’s fourth, the Vols’ last appearance coming 34 years ago in 1986 when they defeated Minnesota 21-14.

The Mountaineers’ only Liberty Bowl in Memphis happened in 2014 when they lost 45-37 to Texas A&M. West Virginia’s other Liberty Bowl appearance came in 1964 when the game was played in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

“On behalf of our players and staff, we are excited to accept an invitation to the AutoZone Liberty Bowl, and we look forward to getting to Memphis and not only playing in a bowl with a ton of tradition in game I grew up watching and appreciating, but also playing a tradition-rich team like Tennessee,” West Virginia coach Neal Brown said.

WVU (5-4) last played Dec. 5, when it lost 44-6 at Iowa State. West Virginia’s regular-season-ending game against Oklahoma rescheduled for Dec. 12 was canceled because of COVID-19 concerns within the Mountaineers’ program.

“We will be prepared for the game on the 31st with the expectation of playing well,” Brown said. “The last time we played we did not play well and I didn’t think it was a good representation of who we’ve been during this 2020 season, and we want to respond and finish in the right way.”

West Virginia ended the regular season with the top defense in the Big 12 allowing just 20.4 points per game.

Tennessee (3-7) wrapped up its regular season Saturday with a 34-13 loss to Texas A&M.

West Virginia is making its first-bowl appearance under Brown and its 38th bowl trip all-time.

“We’re using this game as a way to honor our seasons as they end their college careers,” Brown said. “We’ve had light workouts since we resumed football activities and we will have two more light workouts before we get into game prep. We will be right around nine or 10 practices, depending upon how that falls.”

According to Liberty Bowl executive director Steve Ehrhart, approximately 20% capacity will be permitted for the game, which equates to about 13,000 fans in the Liberty Bowl. All fans will be required to wear masks into the stadium and will be seated in socially distanced pods.