2012 Music City Bowl

The 2012 Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game held on December 31, 2012, at LP Field in Nashville, Tennessee. The fifteenth edition of the Music City Bowl began at 11:05 a.m. CST and aired on ESPN. It featured the NC State Wolfpack from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) against the Vanderbilt Commodores from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams. The Wolfpack accepted their invitation to the game after attaining a 7–5 regular-season record, while the hometown Commodores accepted theirs after attaining an 8–4 record.

2012 Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl
15th Music City Bowl
NC State Wolfpack Vanderbilt Commodores (7–5) (8–4) ACC SEC 24 38 Head coach:  Dana Bible (interim) Head coach:  James Franklin
1 2 3 4 Total NC State 0 14 0 10 24 Vanderbilt 7 21 3 7 38
Date	December 31, 2012
Season	2012
Stadium	LP Field
Location	Nashville, Tennessee
MVP	Zac Stacy (RB- Vanderbilt)
Favorite	Vanderbilt by 6
Referee	Ron Snodgrass (MAC)
Attendance	55,801
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Carter Blackburn (Play-by-Play) Rod Gilmore (Analyst) Jemele Hill (Sidelines)

Teams

NC State

See also: 2012 NC State Wolfpack football team

The Wolfpack finished in third place in the Atlantic Division with a 4–4 record, resulting in the firing of head coach Tom O'Brien after the season; assistant coach Dana Bible coached the Wolfpack in the bowl game.

This was the Wolfpack's first Music City Bowl.

Vanderbilt

See also: 2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

The Commodores' season, on the other hand, was one of their more successful in recent history; finishing in fourth place in the SEC's Eastern Division with a 5–3 record, the Commodores accepted the bid to their hometown Music City Bowl.

This was the Commodores' second Music City Bowl; previously, they had played in the 2008 game, defeating the Boston College Eagles by a score of 16–14. It was also the first time the Commodores have ever been to a bowl game in consecutive seasons; the previous season saw them reach the 2011 Liberty Bowl, losing to the Cincinnati Bearcats by a score of 31–24.

Game summary

Scoring summary

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP N.C. State Vanderbilt 1 9:55 10 60 5:04 Vandy Chris Boyd 5-yard touchdown reception from Jordan Rodgers, Carey Spear kick good 0 7 2 10:08 4 27 1:46 Vandy Zac Stacy 6-yard touchdown run, Ryan Fowler kick good 0 14 2 6:18 11 84 3:50 NCSU Tony Creecy 1-yard touchdown run, Niklas Sade kick good 7 14 2 3:47 5 47 2:31 Vandy Wesley Tate 7-yard touchdown run, Carey Spear kick good 7 21 2 3:35 - - - NCSU Tobais Palmer 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, Niklas Sade kick good 14 21 2 0:41 2 18 0:13 Vandy Jordan Matthews 18-yard touchdown reception from Jordan Rodgers, Ryan Fowler kick good 14 28 3 9:39 8 23 3:01 Vandy 30-yard field goal by Carey Spear 14 31 4 14:56 12 66 3:42 NCSU 24-yard field goal by Niklas Sade 17 31 4 5:11 8 44 4:18 Vandy Jordan Rodgers 15-yard touchdown run, Carey Spear kick good 17 38 4 2:06 10 71 3:05 NCSU Rashard Smith 19-yard touchdown reception from Mike Glennon, Niklas Sade kick good 24 38 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 24 38