| Game Name: | ReliaQuest Bowl |
| Subheader: | 37th ReliaQuest Bowl |
| Date Game Played: | January 2 |
| Year Game Played: | 2023 |
| Football Season: | 2022 |
| Stadium: | Raymond James Stadium |
| City: | Tampa, Florida |
| Visitor School: | Mississippi State University |
| Visitor Name Short: | Mississippi State |
| Visitor Nickname: | Bulldogs |
| Visitor Record: | 8–4 |
| Visitor Conference: | SEC |
| Visitor Rank Ap: | 24 |
| Visitor Rank Coaches: | 23 |
| Visitor Rank Cfp: | 22 |
| Visitor Coach: | Zach Arnett |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 3 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 16 |
| Home School: | University of Illinois |
| Home Name Short: | Illinois |
| Home Nickname: | Fighting Illini |
| Home Record: | 8–4 |
| Home Conference: | Big Ten |
| Home Coach: | Bret Bielema |
| Home 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 2Q: | 7 |
| Home 3Q: | 3 |
| Home 4Q: | 0 |
| Mvp: | Justin Robinson (WR, Mississippi State)[1] |
| Odds: | Miss. State by 3.5 |
| Referee: | Adam Savoie (ACC)[2] |
| Attendance: | 35,797 |
| Payout: | 6,666,667[3] |
| Us Network: | ESPN2 |
| Us Announcers: | Dave Flemming (play-by-play), Rod Gilmore (analyst), and Tiffany Blackmon (sideline) (ESPN2) |
| Different Previous: | 2022 |
| Different Next: | 2024 (Jan.) |
The 2023 ReliaQuest Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 2023, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The 37th annual ReliaQuest Bowl (previously known as the Outback Bowl from 1996 through 2022), the game featured the Mississippi State Bulldogs from the Southeastern Conference and the Illinois Fighting Illini from the Big Ten Conference. The game began at 12:03 p.m. EST and was aired on ESPN2.[4] It was one of the 2022–23 bowl games concluding the 2022 FBS football season. Cybersecurity company ReliaQuest was the game's title sponsor.
Consistent with conference tie-ins, the game featured teams from the Big Ten Conference and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The bowl also has a tie-in with the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) when the ACC's opponent in the Orange Bowl is a Big Ten team, in which case an ACC team is selected for the ReliaQuest Bowl.
This was the third meeting between the two teams; in their two prior matchups, Illinois won in 1923 and Mississippi State won in 1980.[5]
See main article: 2022 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team.
Mississippi State compiled an 8–4 record during the regular season, finishing with a 24–22 win over rival Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl. In five games against ranked opponents, the Bulldogs defeated Texas A&M and Ole Miss while losing to Kentucky, Alabama, and Georgia. The team was coached during the regular season by Mike Leach. Following Leach's death on December 12, Zach Arnett was elevated to head coach, including for the team's bowl game.
See main article: 2022 Illinois Fighting Illini football team. Illinois finished the regular season with an 8–4 record, losing three of their final four games. Their only contest against a ranked FBS opponent was a loss to Michigan.
The final play of the game, a desperation lateral pass play by Illinois, resulted in Mississippi State intercepting a lateral for the game-clinching touchdown. This play was compared to a similar play between the New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders during the NFL's regular season that year and was noted to benefit bettors who had picked Mississippi State to cover the spread.[6]
| Statistic | Mississippi State | Illinois | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First downs | 21 | 19 | |
| First downs rushing | 4 | 7 | |
| First downs passing | 17 | 9 | |
| First downs penalty | 0 | 3 | |
| Third down efficiency | 6–14 | 3–11 | |
| Fourth down efficiency | 1–1 | 0–0 | |
| Total plays–net yards | 67–390 | 62–215 | |
| Rushing attempts–net yards | 22–116 | 28–22 | |
| Yards per rush | 5.3 | 0.8 | |
| Yards passing | 274 | 193 | |
| Pass completions–attempts | 30–45 | 23–34 | |
| Interceptions thrown | 2 | 0 | |
| Punt returns–total yards | 2–10 | 2–10 | |
| Kickoff returns–total yards | 0–0 | 4–70 | |
| Punts–average yardage | 5–42.0 | 6–47.7 | |
| Fumbles–lost | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
| Penalties–yards | 6–55 | 3–25 | |
| Time of possession | 28:11 | 31:49 |
| Bulldogs passing | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29–44 | 261 | 1–2 | |||
| 1–1 | 13 | 0–0 | |||
| Bulldogs rushing | |||||
| Simeon Price | 7 | 68 | 0 | ||
| 10 | 50 | 0 | |||
| Will Rogers | 3 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Team | 2 | -9 | 0 | ||
| Bulldogs receiving | |||||
| Justin Robinson | 7 | 81 | 1 | ||
| 5 | 53 | 0 | |||
| Jaden Walley | 5 | 43 | 0 | ||
| Rufus Harvey | 3 | 33 | 0 | ||
| Austin Williams | 2 | 22 | 0 | ||
| Jo'quavious Marks | 3 | 14 | 0 | ||
| Will Rogers | 1 | 13 | 0 | ||
| Caleb Ducking | 2 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Simeon Price | 1 | 5 | 0 | ||
| J.J. Jernighan | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Fighting Illini passing | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23–34 | 253 | 0–0 | |||
| Fighting Illini rushing | |||||
| Reggie Love III | 12 | 53 | 0 | ||
| Josh McCray | 7 | 17 | 0 | ||
| Tommy DeVito | 10 | -35 | 1 | ||
| Fighting Illini receiving | |||||
| 9 | 114 | 0 | |||
| 8 | 74 | 0 | |||
| Tip Reiman | 2 | 18 | 0 | ||
| Griffin Moore | 1 | 17 | 0 | ||
| Michael Marchese | 2 | 10 | 0 | ||
| Reggie Love III | 1 | 7 | 0 | ||
| Tommy DeVito | 0 | -47 | 0 | ||