[1] Led by head coach Paul E. Davis, Mississippi State came into the game with a 6–2–2 record, having lost to both Memphis and Alabama, while defeating bowl-bound teams from Auburn and LSU and tying Ole Miss.
On the eighth play of the drive, quarterback Sonny Fisher scored on a wide left-end roll out from the 3-yard-line to give the Bulldogs a 13–0 lead after the extra point attempt failed.
North Carolina State scored on a quarterback sneak by Jim Rossi in the second period, but with the two-point conversion failing, the Wolfpack trailed 13–6 at halftime.
Ode Burrell of Mississippi State, who was drafted by the Green Bay Packers but also played for the Oilers in the American Football League, rushed for 69 yards and was voted the game's most valuable player.
Bud Dudley, organizer of the Liberty Bowl, was ready for a change and he was receptive to an offer from a group of Atlantic City businessmen who were trying to help revive the fading Jersey Shore resort that included a $25,000 guarantee.