The 2012 AutoZone Liberty Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game held on December 31, 2012 at the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee in the United States. The 54th edition of the Liberty Bowl began at 2:30 p.m. CST and aired on ESPN. It featured the Iowa State Cyclones from the Big 12 Conference against the Conference USA champion Tulsa Golden Hurricane and was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams. The Golden Hurricane advanced to the game by virtue of winning the 2012 Conference USA Football Championship Game, while the Cyclones were also eligible for the bowl game due to their 6–6 regular-season record. The bowl was a rematch as the two teams had previously met on September 1 at the Cyclones' home of Jack Trice Stadium in Ames, Iowa; Iowa State won that game, 38–23.

The pre-game buildup was primarily focused on the rematch. A slight plurality of experts picked Tulsa over Iowa State, but most predicted the game to be very close. Tulsa was considered a strong running team with a solid defense, while Iowa State was balanced offensively and struggled at times on defense. This was the only rematch of the 2012-13 college bowl season.

Tulsa won the game by a score of 31–17, led by Trey Watts' 25 rush, 149 yard effort along with a three-touchdown effort by Alex Singleton. Iowa State lost their quarterback, Sam Richardson, due to a "flu bug" in the fourth quarter. After Iowa State took a 17–3 lead, Tulsa scored 28 unanswered points to win 31–17.

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