Iowa State is headed back to Memphis, Tenn., for a postseason rematch.
The Cyclones will play Memphis in the Liberty Bowl on Dec. 29, it was announced Sunday afternoon.
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The game will kick off at 2:30 p.m. CT and be broadcast by ESPN.
“We couldn’t be more grateful to be a part of this great bowl game,” Iowa State coach Matt Campbell said Sunday afternoon. “It’s a great honor for myself, our program to be able to be back.
“Have the utmost respect for Memphis, their program and the season they’ve had.”
The invite returns the Cyclones to the postseason after a one-year hiatus on the heels of a program-record five-year run of bowl-game appearances.
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It also marks a rematch of the 2017 Liberty Bowl, when the Cyclones edged the Tigers, 21-20, for Campbell’s first bowl win with Iowa State.
This time it is perhaps the most unlikely of the six bowl games that Campbell has guided Iowa State to in his eight-season tenure.
The Cyclones went 4-8 a year ago and were plunged into turmoil this offseason when the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation announced it was investigating sports gambling by student-athletes at both Iowa State and Iowa. It ultimately cost Iowa State five starters, including quarterback Hunter Dekkers and running back Jirehl Brock, ahead of the season.
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That, no doubt, contributed to an underwhelming 1-2 start to the season with back-to-back losses to Iowa and Ohio in which the Cyclones tallied a combined 125 yards rushing and 20 points.
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Following the loss to the Bobcats, however, Iowa State made its passing game more central to its offensive attack and continued to lean on a strong defense to salvage the season with increasingly impressive play.
The Cyclone dispatched eventual Big 12 runner-up Oklahoma State to stop the skid before a 50-20 loss to Oklahoma. After being routed by the Sooners, however, Iowa State went on a three-game winning streak, and the Cyclones secured bowl eligibility with a 45-13 beatdown of BYU in Provo, Utah.
“This is a big opportunity and a great chance to extend the season and play another game,” Iowa State athletics director Jamie Pollard said. “We look forward to have another great week.
“This year is validation of what coach Campbell does on a daily basis. There was no magic. It was just doing what we do, and you’re seeing these kids and these coaches getting rewarded for their hard work.”
The longshot chance Iowa State had to make the Big 12 title game ended with a loss to College Football Playoff participant and Big 12 champion Texas in the penultimate game of the regular season, but the Cyclones punctuated their resurgence with a 42-35 road win over No. 19 Kansas State in the finale.
Iowa State has been led by quarterback Rocco Becht, who went from presumed backup to Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year after throwing for 2,674 yards, 20 touchdowns and just eight interceptions.
The Cyclones will be without running backs Eli Sanders and Cartevious Norton, the team’s top two leading rushers through 11 games before freshman Abu Sama exploded for 276 yards and three touchdowns against Kansas State. Both Sanders and Norton have announced intentions to transfer.
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Iowa State’s defense, led by first team All-Big 12 defensive backs T.J. Tampa and Jeremiah Cooper, ranks third in scoring and second in total defense during league play.
Memphis went 9-3 this season. The Tigers lost their only game against a Power 5 opponent, falling to Missouri, 34-27, in St. Louis back in September. Memphis players its regular-season home games at the Liberty Bowl.
“It’s unique any time you play a team with the ability and the success of Memphis,” Campbell said, “and not only do you play them in a bowl game but you play them in their home stadium.
“It’s certainly a unique challenge in a bowl game.”
The Cyclones’ last bowl victory came in the 2021 Fiesta Bowl, which capped off the most successful season in school history in which Iowa State appeared in its first-ever conference championship game and New Year’s Six bowl.
Iowa State is 2-3 in bowl games under Campbell, who owns half of the school’s four all-time postseason victories. In addition to the Fiesta Bowl, the Cyclones won the 2017 Liberty Bowl with Campbell at the helm.
It is unclear if Iowa State will have any high-profile players opt out of participating in the bowl game as it did when Breece Hall, an eventual second-round NFL Draft selection a few months later, and linebacker Mike Rose, who was dealing with a shoulder injury, sat out the 2021 Cheez-It Bowl.
The transfer portal also looms as a potential threat to full participation for all bowl-eligible teams as players are able to enter starting Monday.
Fans interested in purchasing tickets can find information at libertybowl.org.
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Travis Hines covers Iowa State University sports for the Des Moines Register and Ames Tribune. Contact him at [email protected] or (515) 284-8000. Follow him on X at @TravisHines21.
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