| Game Name: | Music City Bowl |
| Subheader: | 15th Music City Bowl |
| Title Sponsor: | Franklin American Mortgage |
| Date Game Played: | December 31 |
| Year Game Played: | 2012 |
| Football Season: | 2012 |
| Stadium: | LP Field |
| City: | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Visitor School: | North Carolina State University |
| Visitor Name Short: | NC State |
| Visitor Nickname: | Wolfpack |
| Visitor Record: | 7–5 |
| Visitor Coach: | Dana Bible (interim) |
| Visitor Conference: | ACC |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 14 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 10 |
| Home School: | Vanderbilt University |
| Home Name Short: | Vanderbilt |
| Home Nickname: | Commodores |
| Home Record: | 8–4 |
| Home Coach: | James Franklin |
| Home Conference: | SEC |
| Home 1Q: | 7 |
| Home 2Q: | 21 |
| Home 3Q: | 3 |
| Home 4Q: | 7 |
| Odds: | Vanderbilt by 6[1] |
| Mvp: | Zac Stacy (RB- Vanderbilt) |
| Referee: | Ron Snodgrass (MAC) |
| Attendance: | 55,801 [2] |
| Us Network: | ESPN |
| Us Announcers: | Carter Blackburn (Play-by-Play) Rod Gilmore (Analyst) Jemele Hill (Sidelines) |
| Different Previous: | 2011 |
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 Wolfpack accepted their invitation to the game after attaining a 7–5 regular-season record, while the hometown Commodores accepted theirs after attaining an 8–4 record.[3]
See also: 2012 NC State Wolfpack football team. The Wolfpack finished in third place in the Atlantic Division with a 4–4 record, resulting in the firing of head coach Tom O'Brien after the season; assistant coach Dana Bible coached the Wolfpack in the bowl game.
This was the Wolfpack's first Music City Bowl.
See also: 2012 Vanderbilt Commodores football team. 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. It was also the first time the Commodores have ever been to a bowl game in consecutive seasons; the previous season saw them reach the 2011 Liberty Bowl, losing to the Cincinnati Bearcats by a score of 31–24.