[5] After a matchup of West Virginia of the Big 12 and Tennessee of the SEC was announced on December 20, the Tennessee program had to withdraw on December 21 due to positive COVID-19 testing.
[6] Army, who had accepted an invitation to the Independence Bowl before it was canceled due to a lack of available teams, was named as their replacement.
[7] West Virginia of the Big 12 entered the Liberty Bowl with a 5–4 record, 4–4 in conference play.
They had two prior appearances in the Liberty Bowl, losing in the 1964 and the 2014 editions.
Army, which competed as an independent, entered the Liberty Bowl with a 9–2 record.