| 2013 TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 68th Gator Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | EverBank Field | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Jacksonville, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Jared Carpenter (S, Northwestern) & Nickoe Whitley (DB, Mississippi State)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Northwestern 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] | ||||||||||||||||||
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The2013TaxSlayer.comGator Bowl was a post-season Americancollege footballbowl game held on January 1, 2013, atEverBank Field inJacksonville, Florida in the United States. The 68th edition of the Gator Bowl began at noonEST and aired onESPN2. It featured theMississippi State Bulldogs from theSoutheastern Conference (SEC) against theNorthwestern Wildcats from theBig Ten Conference and was the final game of the2012 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 the2011 game, soundly defeating theMichigan 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 theNebraska Cornhuskers and an overtime loss to theMichigan 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 sincethe 1948 team won the1949 Rose Bowl over theCalifornia Golden Bears by a score of 20–14.[5]
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Mississippi State opened as a 2-point favorite, but by kickoff Northwestern was the favorite -2.5