I'll come here right now and say it. We went to the Liberty Bowl in 2012 and had a great time, even though it was a bit cold and rainy for the game. It is nice when a town actually cares about its bowl. And the tie-in with the hospital is fantastic. We had a great time (until the second quarter). Beale Street was very enjoyable. The only problem was establishments that didn't expect so many of our fans. Places were running out of food and beer! I don't know how you could let that happen.
Our beef is mostly, like yours, that we have to play an opponent on their home field with their hometown fans. However, we are hoping to make it a 50/50 crowd which should be fun. I've never been to one of those before. Our fans got their hopes up for the Camping World Bowl in Orlando, but we are not quite there yet. Maybe next year (if you don't steal a win from us in Ames). BTW, our last bowl game in Memphis was with Tulsa with whom we were playing a home/away series. We played them 3 times within 13 months. So, maybe there could be a third matchup with the Zips for us.
Still, it would be nice to go to Florida this year.