1963 Liberty Bowl The 1963 Liberty Bowl was a college football bowl game played at Philadelphia Stadium in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania between the and the before a crowd of 8 , 309 fans in brutally cold weather . Coach Paul E . Davis led Mississippi State to victory , but the significant dropoff in attendance from prior games led organizers to relocate the next year ' s game , the 1964 Liberty Bowl , as the first college bowl game ever played indoors , at the Atlantic City Convention Hall ( now known as Boardwalk Hall ) in Atlantic City , New Jersey . The game . The two teams from the South played in bitter cold weather , with a temperature of at the kickoff , dropping to by the end of the game . 8 , 309 fans were in attendance , 8 , 000 fewer than the lowest previous attendance at a Liberty Bowl and a marked drop off from the 100 , 000 who attended the Army – Navy Game two weeks earlier in the 102 , 000 - capacity stadium . The game was played at 1 : 00 PM Eastern Standard Time and was broadcast by NBC . Led by head coach Paul E . Davis , Mississippi State came into the game with a 6 - 2 - 2 record , losing to both Memphis State University and the University of Alabama , but defeating bowl - bound teams from Auburn University and Louisiana State University and tying Ole Miss , earning the Bulldogs a pick as the favorite to win the game by the " Associated Press " . The NC State Wolfpack entered the game with a record of 8 - 2 , under head coach Earle Edwards . Mississippi State ' s Bill McGuire blocked a punt by North Carolina State ' s Dave Houtz , which was recovered by the Bulldogs ' Tommy Inman at the 11 - yard line and returned for a touchdown to give Mississippi State a 7 - 0 lead six minutes into the first quarter . NC State was forced to punt on their next possession from their own 15 - yard line , with Mississippi State taking over on the NC State 47 - yard - line . On the eighth play of the drive , quarterback Sonny Fisher scored on a wide left - end roll out from the 3 - yard - line to give the Bulldogs a 13 – 0 lead after the extra point attempt failed . Mississippi State took possession on the NC State 49 - yard - line after another short punt and Justin Canale kicked a 43 - yard field goal at the start of the second quarter that just cleared the crossbar , giving the Bulldogs a 16 – 0 lead , and the last points the team would score in the game . North Carolina State scored on a quarterback sneak by Jim Rossi in the second period , but with the two - point conversion failing , the Wolfpack trailed 13 – 6 at halftime . In the fourth quarter , the final score of the game came on a four - yard pass from Rossi to Ray Barlow ; The score was 16 – 12 after the two - point conversion failed again . NC State attempted an onside kick which went to the Bulldogs after the Wolfpack was called for touching the ball before it had traveled ten yards , and Mississippi State was able to hold on to the margin of victory . The Bulldogs ' Hoyle Granger , who later played professionally for the Houston Oilers , led all players with 94 yards rushing . Ode Burrell of Mississippi State , who was drafted by the Green Bay Packers but also played for the Oilers in the American Football League , rushed for 69 yards and was voted the game ' s most valuable player . The Wolfpack ' s Rossi was 5 for 12 on passing and gained 67 yards on the ground , earning recognition as the game ' s outstanding back . The move to Atlantic City . The venue had been shifted to Atlantic City after the bowl was played for its initial five years outdoors in Philadelphia Stadium , often in temperatures below freezing . The inaugural Liberty Bowl in 1959 saw Penn State beat Alabama by a score of 7 - 0 in front of 38 , 000 fans . But it was downhill from there , and fewer than 10 , 000 were in attendance to watch the 1963 game between Mississippi State University and North Carolina State , with the organizers taking a loss of $ 40 , 000 . The frigid temperatures at year - end in the Northeast led to the game being called the " Deep Freeze Bowl " . Bud Dudley , organizer of the Liberty Bowl , was ready for a change and he was receptive to an offer from a group of Atlantic City businessmen who were trying to help revive the fading Jersey Shore resort that included a $ 25 , 000 guarantee . The 1964 Liberty Bowl between West Virginia University and the University of Utah was the first major bowl game ever played indoors , with a comfortable temperature of . The 1964 Liberty Bowl would be the last played in the Northeastern United States ; the game was moved to Memphis , Tennessee in 1965 and has continued to play in Memphis since then .