Mike Leach praises Texas Tech, reflects on Mississippi State's 2021 season after Liberty Bowl loss
Mike Leach didn’t shy from praising Texas Tech after the Liberty Bowl. He said he liked seeing the Red Raiders perform well, despite it coming at the expense of his offense’s struggles that resulted in a 34-7 blowout in Memphis. Leach also accepted that he and his staff were out-coached on Tuesday night.
Leach, though, seems proud of the 7-6 mark in Year 2. In his postgame presser, he noted that the Bulldogs were picked to finish last in the SEC West. Leach’s squad finished with a conference record than LSU and Auburn. LSU, 6-6 overall, has yet to play its bowl game, but MSU finishes with a better record than Auburn (6-7).
Here are some of the highlights reporters shared from Leach’s postgame press conference:
Leach: “Part of me thought it was nice to see Texas Tech do well. It was also hard since we were getting our ass kicked”
— Jon Sokoloff (@JonSokoloff) December 29, 2021
Mike Leach: "I think Texas Tech was the biggest problem we had offensively."
— Theo DeRosa (@Theo_DeRosa) December 29, 2021
Leach: “We’re a highly motivated group and we tried to make too much happen”
— Jon Sokoloff (@JonSokoloff) December 29, 2021
Mike Leach got emotional during this press conference talking about his team. He said it’s one of his favorite ever, with how much they improved. 2021 Mississippi State was one of the youngest teams he’s coached
— Andy Kostka (@afkostka) December 29, 2021
Mike Leach on Tech: "I thought they beat us on all sides of the ball: coaching — starting with me — offense, defense and special teams. They deserve credit for preparing the way they did and playing the way they did."
— Theo DeRosa (@Theo_DeRosa) December 29, 2021
Mike Leach told me after the presser that the Covid absences started when the team got to Memphis and “kind of trickled on” through the next couple days. He forgot the exact number of players. Think it was 10
— Andy Kostka (@afkostka) December 29, 2021
Mike Leach: “This year we improved and got better. The people that had the highest expectations were us”
— Jon Sokoloff (@JonSokoloff) December 29, 2021
Leach said he lost track of who was out today but doesn't like canceling games because of COVID. "I think you try to play if you can no matter what because it's an opportunity to improve."
— Theo DeRosa (@Theo_DeRosa) December 29, 2021
#MississippiState HC Mike Leach: “We were picked to finish last in the SEC and we wrecked that for y’all”
— Jon Sokoloff (@JonSokoloff) December 29, 2021
