Syracuse , who had finished as co-champion of the Big East Conference ( alongside Virginia Tech and Miami , who went to the Carquest and Orange Bowl , respectively ) , was invited to play in the Liberty Bowl , their first Liberty Bowl since 1961 . This was their fifth bowl game in the decade , and 8th in the past 10 seasons . As for Houston , they had finished as co-champion of Conference USA ( along with Southern Miss ) in the inaugural year of the conference . This was their first bowl game since 1988
Big East Conference
Big East Conference (1979–2013)
1996 Liberty Bowl