Watch: Mike Leach, Players Talk 34-7 Loss to Texas Tech in Liberty Bowl
Mississippi State's 34-7 loss to Texas Tech in the Liberty Bowl was hardly the way that anyone drew it up.
While Texas Tech wasn't a team to be counted out and is the same squad that lost to the No. 6-ranked Baylor Bears by just three points, it's also a team that lost four of its final five regular-season games down the stretch and is in the midst of a coaching transition.
But they surely outshined a depleted Mississippi State team that played far from its best football in Memphis against the Red Raiders.
Leach said he was proud of the strides this team, one of the youngest and one his favorites he's ever coached, has made this season. It was a disadvantageous situation for Mississippi State going into the game with several players missing, but Leach said he doesn't like canceling games even with COVID issues because it's an opportunity to improve.
Still, the team got beat in every single phase of the game and it was clear who was more dominant that night.
"I thought they beat us on all sides of the ball: coaching — starting with me — offense, defense and special teams," Leach said. "They deserve credit for preparing the way they did and playing the way they did."
Watch below to hear everything Leach, safety Fred Peters and quarterback Will Rogers had to say about the loss (video credit: Robbie Faulk, 247Sports):