2013 Gator Bowl

2013 TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl
68th Gator Bowl
Mississippi State Bulldogs Northwestern Wildcats (8–4) (9–3) SEC Big Ten 20 34 Head coach:  Dan Mullen Head coach:  Pat Fitzgerald AP Coaches BCS 21 17 20
1 2 3 4 Total Mississippi State 0 10 3 7 20 Northwestern 10 3 14 7 34
Date	January 1, 2013
Season	2012
Stadium	EverBank Field
Location	Jacksonville, Florida
MVP	Jared Carpenter (S, Northwestern) & Nickoe Whitley (DB, Mississippi State)[1]
Favorite	Miss. St. by 2[2]
Referee	Greg Burks (Big 12)
Attendance	48,612
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN2
Announcers	Bob Wischusen (Play-by-Play) Danny Kanell (Analyst) Allison Williams
Nielsen ratings	1.6[3]
Gator Bowl  < 2012  2014 >

The 2013 TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game held on January 1, 2013, at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida in the United States. The 68th edition of the Gator Bowl began at noon EST and aired on ESPN2. It featured the Mississippi State Bulldogs from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) against the Northwestern Wildcats from the Big Ten Conference and was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams. The Bulldogs accepted their bowl bid after an 8–4 regular season, while the Wildcats accepted theirs after a 9–3 finish. It was the first time that the two teams had met. Northwestern won the game by a score of 34 – 20.

With a 3–0 start in conference play (and a 7–0 start overall), the season had a bright outlook for the Bulldogs. However, the schedule's increasing difficulty put the Bulldogs in decline, only finishing at 4–4 and fourth place in the SEC Western Division.

This was the Bulldogs' second Gator Bowl; they had previously played in the 2011 game, soundly defeating the Michigan Wolverines by a score of 52–14.^[4]

The Wildcats were undefeated out of conference and posted a 5–3 Big Ten record, good for third place in the Legends Division. Only a one-point loss to the Nebraska Cornhuskers and an overtime loss to the Michigan Wolverines kept the Wildcats from the division title and a trip to the conference championship game.

This game was the Wildcats' first Gator Bowl; it was also their unprecedented fifth consecutive bowl game. The Wildcats got their first bowl victory since the 1948 team won the 1949 Rose Bowl over the California Golden Bears by a score of 20–14.^[5]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Mississippi State Northwestern 4 14:13 - - - NORTH Interception returned 29 yards for touchdown by Quentin Williams, Jeff Budzien kick good 0 7 1 4:49 15 69 6:00 NORTH 34-yard field goal by Jeff Budzien 0 10 2 14:48 10 43 3:26 NORTH 37-yard field goal by Jeff Budzien 0 13 2 4:48 6 53 3:18 MSU 27-yard field goal by Devon Bell 3 13 2 1:06 6 62 1:25 MSU Arceto Clark 18-yard touchdown reception from Tyler Russell, Devon Bell kick good 10 13 3 10:37 8 24 3:02 MSU 47-yard field goal by Devon Bell 13 13 3 9:25 6 76 1:12 NORTH Tyris Jones 3-yard touchdown run, Jeff Budzien kick good 13 20 3 0:26 8 74 3:59 NORTH Trevor Siemian 4-yard touchdown run, Jeff Budzien kick good 13 27 4 11:42 8 75 3:44 MSU Malcolm Johnson 14-yard touchdown reception from Tyler Russell, Devon Bell kick good 20 27 4 8:10 3 5 1:44 NORTH Venric Mark 3-yard touchdown run, Jeff Budzien kick good 20 34 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 20 34

Mississippi State opened as a 2-point favorite, but by kickoff Northwestern was the favorite -2.5