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2013 Gator Bowl

2013 TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl
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)
Favorite Miss. St. by 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
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.

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.


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