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 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.