| Game Name: | Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas |
| Date Game Played: | December 28 |
| Year Game Played: | 2012 |
| Football Season: | 2012 |
| Stadium: | Reliant Stadium |
| City: | Houston, Texas |
| Visitor School: | University of Minnesota |
| Visitor Name Short: | Minnesota |
| Visitor Nickname: | Golden Gophers |
| Visitor Record: | 6–6 |
| Visitor Coach: | Jerry Kill |
| Visitor Conference: | Big Ten |
| Visitor 1Q: | 10 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 7 |
| Home School: | Texas Tech University |
| Home Name Short: | Texas Tech |
| Home Nickname: | Red Raiders |
| Home Record: | 7–5 |
| Home Coach: | Chris Thomsen |
| Home Conference: | Big 12 |
| Home 1Q: | 14 |
| Home 2Q: | 10 |
| Home 3Q: | 0 |
| Home 4Q: | 10 |
| Odds: | Texas Tech by 13½[1] |
| Referee: | Tom McCabe (MAC) |
| Attendance: | 50,386 |
| Us Network: | ESPN |
| Us Announcers: | Mark Jones, Brock Huard |
| Game Link: | Texas Bowl |
The 2012 Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, the seventh edition of the game, was a post-season American college football bowl game held on December 28, 2012 at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas as part of the 2012-13 NCAA football bowl season. The game, which was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams, was broadcast at 8 PM CT on ESPN, and featured the Minnesota Golden Gophers from the Big Ten Conference against the Texas Tech Red Raiders from the Big 12 Conference. The Golden Gophers accepted their invitation after finishing the regular season at six-wins, six-losses, while the Red Raiders accepted their invitation following a campaign during which they totaled seven-wins, five-losses.[2] This was not the first time the Golden Gophers and Red Raiders met in a bowl game; the two teams had previously met in the 2006 Insight Bowl, with the Red Raiders winning 44–41 in overtime.
See also: 2012 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team. The Golden Gophers finished at the bottom of the Big Ten's Legends Division, only posting a 2–6 mark in conference play. However, because of their 6–6 record, the Golden Gophers were bowl eligible for the first time since 2009, accepting a bid to the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas their bid to the game, their first Meineke Car Care Bowl appearance.
See also: 2012 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team. The Red Raiders finished in a tie for fifth place in the Big 12 at 4–5 in conference play, holding tiebreakers ahead of the TCU Horned Frogs and West Virginia Mountaineers but behind the Baylor Bears. Soon after Minnesota accepted their invitation, the Red Raiders did the same. Although this was also the Red Raiders' first appearance in the Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, the Red Raiders played in three previous bowl games in Houston: the 1976 Bluebonnet Bowl, the 2000 Galleryfurniture.com Bowl, and the 2003 Houston Bowl.
The Red Raiders' passing attack was the second-best in the country, averaging 362 yards per game.[3]
| Statistics | MINN | TTU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 23 | 23 |
| Plays–yards | 73–368 | 71–429 |
| Rushes–yards | 54–222 | 24–145 |
| Passing yards | 146 | 284 |
| Passing: Comp–Att–Int | 8–19–1 | 32–47–2 |
| Time of possession | 36:18 | 23:04 |