[5] The 22nd edition of the Music City Bowl featured Southeastern Conference member Mississippi State and Atlantic Coast Conference member Louisville, and was one of the 2019–20 bowl games concluding the 2019 FBS football season.
The 2019 Music City Bowl was contested by the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Louisville Cardinals.
The teams had met five times previously, with Mississippi State holding a 3–2 edge in the series.
The Bulldogs entered the bowl with a 6–6 record (3–5 in conference); they finished in fifth place of the SEC's West Division.
Head coach Joe Moorhead had initially named true freshman Garrett Shrader the starting quarterback for the game, but he was injured prior to the game, resulting in Tommy Stevens (a graduate transfer from Penn State) getting the start.