[1] The competing teams in the 20th edition of the Liberty Bowl were the LSU Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Missouri Tigers of the Big Eight Conference.
[2] The 1978 LSU squad finished the regular season with a record of 8–3 and losses against Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi State.
LSU defeated Missouri, 42–7, at Baton Rouge on October 1, 2016, in the first regular season meeting between the schools in what was also Ed Orgeron's first game as LSU head coach.
Four years later, Eli Drinkwitz earned his first victory as Missouri coach with a 45-41 decision over LSU at Columbia.
The game was originally scheduled for Baton Rouge, but moved three days prior to kickoff due to the approach of Hurricane Delta to the Louisiana coast.