2011 Liberty Bowl The 2011 AutoZone Liberty Bowl , the 53rd edition of the game , was a post - season American college football bowl game , held on December 31 , 2011 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis , Tennessee as part of the 2011 – 12 NCAA Bowl season . The game , which was telecast at 2 : 30 p . m . CT on ABC , featured the Cincinnati Bearcats , Big East co - champions , versus the Vanderbilt Commodores of the SEC . It was the first edition of the game to be aired by ABC since 1980 . The Cincinnati Bearcats won the game , by a final score of 31 - 24 , in front of a crowd of 57 , 103 . Teams . After finishing the 2011 season with six wins and six losses , the Vanderbilt Commodores ended in fourth place in the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) East Division . They were chosen as the SEC representative to the Liberty Bowl . The Commodores ' roster included junior - year quarterback Jordan Rodgers , the younger brother of Green Bay Packers ' Super Bowl - winning quarterback Aaron Rodgers . The Cincinnati Bearcats ended the regular season with nine wins and three losses and were co - champions of the Big East Conference . Cincinnati was chosen as part of the alternate Big East tie - in with the Liberty Bowl in place of the Conference USA champions . The Bearcats ' squad included Ralph Abernathy IV , grandson of civil rights leader Ralph Abernathy . In the 2011 season , both teams had beaten Connecticut . Vanderbilt won 24 - 21 at home in the second game of their season . Cincinnati won 35 - 27 at home in their final regular - season game . Both teams also lost to Tennessee . Vanderbilt dropped their second - to - last game on the road to the Volunteers by a score of 21 - 27 . Cincinnati ' s loss was also in Knoxville by a score of 23 - 45 in the second game of their season . Game . After a touchdown by Zac Stacy and a successful conversion kick by Ryan Fowler , the Commodores were ahead at the end of the first quarter by 7 - 0 . The Bearcats dominated the scoreboard in the second quarter with touchdowns by George Winn and Anthony McClung ( with successful conversions by Tony Milano ) and Cincinnati went in to halftime with a 14 - 7 lead . The halftime entertainment was presented by KC and the Sunshine Band . The group performed three of their hit songs - " Boogie Shoes " , " Get Down Tonight " , and " That ' s The Way I Like It " . They were accompanied by a number of marching bands and dance groups from around the country . After halftime , Vanderbilt tied the score with a Jerron Seymour touchdown and Ryan Fowler conversion and the third quarter ended 14 - 14 . Shortly after the start of the fourth quarter , Cincinnati again took a 17 - 14 lead with a Tony Milano field goal . Vanderbilt responded with a touchdown by Chris Boyd and conversion by Fowler to retake the lead 21 - 17 . Ralph Abernathy IV and Isaiah Pead then scored a pair of touchdowns ( and two conversions for Milano ) for Cincinnati , who went ahead 31 - 21 . Vanderbilt finished the game with a Ryan Fowler field goal . The final score was Cincinnati 31 - 24 Vanderbilt . MVP . After running for 149 yards and a touchdown , Isaiah Pead was named the game ' s Most Valuable Player . Pead led the Bearcats in carries ( 28 ) and rushing yards ( 149 ) and was the team ' s third leading receiver with 3 receptions for 15 yards . Statistics . Both teams were evenly matched in total offensive yards ( Cincinnati 301 , Vanderbilt 295 ) and yards per play ( Bearcats 4 . 1 , Commodores 4 . 2 ) , but Cincinnati had a decisive edge ( 20 - 14 ) in total first downs . Vanderbilt played more of a passing game with 12 completions in 34 attempts for 168 yards ( 4 . 9 yards per attempt ) . Cincinnati also completed 12 passes but in 29 attempts for 2 . 8 yards per attempt . The Bearcats played more of a running game with 44 carries for 221 yards ( 5 yards per carry ) while the Commodores had 36 carries for 127 yards ( 3 . 5 yards per carry ) . Both teams threw two interceptions , but the Commodores also lost a fumble . Cincinnati received five penalties for 55 yards and Vanderbilt had six penalties for 39 total yards . The Bearcats had a slight edge in time of possession with 30 : 46 to the Commodores 29 : 14 .