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. Louisville's two wins came via forfeit, as the Bulldogs were forced to forfeit all their wins in
1975 and
1976 for fielding a player who was later ruled ineligible. The teams had last met in the
2017 TaxSlayer Bowl, won by the Bulldogs, 31–27.
Mississippi State Bulldogs 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. This was Mississippi State's second Music City Bowl; their
2011 team won that season's
Music City Bowl over
Wake Forest, 23–17. This was the 10th consecutive bowl appearance for the Bulldogs, dating back to their
2010 season. This was Mississippi State's 23rd
overall bowl game in program history. 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.
Louisville Cardinals Louisville entered the bowl with a 7–5 record (5–3 in conference), including an upset win against No. 19
Wake Forest by three points on October 12. The Cardinals finished in second place in the ACC's Atlantic Division. This was Louisville's second Music City Bowl; their
2015 team won that season's
Music City Bowl over
Texas A&M, 27–21. This was the first bowl game for the Cardinals since 2017, and the 23rd
overall bowl game for the program. ==Game summary==