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.
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.