Mississippi State from the Southeastern Conference will play Louisville from the Atlantic Coast Conference in the 22nd edition of the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl on Monday, Dec. 30 at 3 pm inside Nissan Stadium in downtown Nashville, bowl representatives recently announced.
The game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
“This year’s Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl is sure to be another classic showdown as we welcome Mississippi State, Louisville and all of their fans to Nashville,” said Scott Tansil, executive vice president, Franklin American Mortgage Company. “The Bowl continues to grow bigger and better each year, making a tremendous impact on our city and the surrounding areas.
“We’re sure the great fan bases of each of these storied programs will enjoy their time here and we know these teams will give us an exciting game.”
Louisville had a turnaround season under first-year Head Coach Scott Satterfield. The Cardinals posted a 7-5 record and went 5-3 in conference play earning the program’s first bowl invite since 2017.
Dual-threat quarterback Micale Cunningham burst onto the scene after starter Jawon ‘Puma’ Pass went down for the season. The Cardinals return to the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl for the first time since 2015, when then-quarterback Lamar Jackson led Louisville to a 27-21 win over Texas A&M thanks to a bowl-record 226 rushing yards. This is Louisville’s 23rd bowl game in program history.
Mississippi State’s thrilling win in the Egg Bowl over in-state rival Ole Miss on Thanksgiving sent the Bulldogs to their 11th-straight bowl game. The Bulldogs finished the regular season at 6-6 overall and 3-5 in the SEC. This is Mississippi State’s second trip to the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl. The Bulldogs defeated Wake Forrest 23-17 in 2011, which is one of six bowl wins since 2010. This year marks the second-straight bowl appearance under head coach Joe Morehead.
This is first SEC matchup against a team from the ACC since 2015 in Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl. Last year, Auburn defeated Purdue 63-14 in front of a crowd of 59,024 fans.
Established in 1998, the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl has transformed the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day into one of the city’s busiest times of the year for tourism and has become Nashville’s holiday tradition. Since its inception, the Bowl has produced nearly $335 million in direct economic impact to Nashville.
