College football bowl games sometimes create uncomfortable dance partners, whether it's a coach facing his former team, schools playing for a second time in a single season, or one-time rivals finally meeting again after tradition was shoved aside for conference realignment.
But perhaps no bowl matchup has been as uncomfortable as Mississippi State playing Texas Tech in Tuesday's AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee (6:45 p.m. ET, ESPN and ESPN App).
It will be the first time Bulldogs coach Mike Leach faces the Red Raiders after Texas Tech officials fired him in December 2009 for his alleged mistreatment of a player suffering a concussion.