2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl The 2012 Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl , the 24th edition of the game , was a post - season American college football bowl game held on December 29 , 2012 at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe , Arizona as part of the 2012 – 13 NCAA Bowl season . The game was telecast at 8 : 15 p . m . MT on ESPN . It featured the Michigan State Spartans of the Big Ten Conference against the TCU Horned Frogs of the Big 12 Conference . Down 13 - 0 at the half , the Spartans rallied back to win 17 - 16 , having taken the lead for good with only 1 : 01 remaining in the contest . Teams . This game marked the second meeting of the two teams . Their first meeting was in 1953 , which the Spartans won 26 - 19 . The Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl had fourth selection of Big Ten teams and third selection of Big 12 teams , both after BCS selections . From the Big Ten , conference champion Wisconsin ( Rose ) , Nebraska ( Capital One ) , Michigan ( Outback ) , and Northwestern ( Gator ) were already selected , and Penn State and Ohio State were ineligible due to NCAA sanctions . From the Big 12 , conference champion Kansas State ( Fiesta ) , Oklahoma ( Cotton Bowl Classic ) , and Texas ( Alamo ) were selected before TCU . TCU . TCU finished the 2011 season 11 - 2 and ranked # 13 in the Coaches Poll and # 14 in the AP Poll . In 2012 , they changed conferences from the Mountain West Conference to the Big 12 Conference . They entered the season ranked # 17 in the Coaches Poll , but after losses to Iowa State and Texas Tech they spent the rest of the season unranked . Like the Spartans , they failed to win any home conference games . They still were able to accumulate a 7 - 5 record , enough to send them to their eighth consecutive bowl game . In that bowl streak , the Horned Frogs had only lost once prior to this matchup . The 2011 Horned Frogs were known more for their defense than offense . Junior quarterback Casey Pachall left the team after four games due to an arrest for suspicion of DWI , putting the offense into the hands of freshman Trevone Boykin . Boykin ended the regular season with 15 touchdown passes and 9 interceptions . TCU ' s rushing attack was last in the Big 12 , averaging 3 . 9 yards per carry . Defensively , the Horned Frogs led the Big 12 , ceding an average of only 332 . 0 yards per game , ranking them 18th in the nation . The Horned Frogs defense was led by AP Big 12 defensive player of the year Devonte Fields , a freshman . Michigan State . Michigan State ' s 2012 campaign was also a letdown from the prior year ' s . That year the Spartans went 11 - 3 , continued a two - year undefeated streak at home , advanced to the inaugural Big Ten Championship Game , defeated SEC powerhouse Georgia in the Outback Bowl , and ended the season ranked # 10 in the Coaches Poll . However , the departure of key offensive players — notably Kirk Cousins and Keshawn Martin , who were both selected in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL draft — proved costly for the 2012 Spartans . After surging to a # 10 ranking in the Coaches Poll , the Spartans were favorites to be the Big 10 ' s representative for the Rose Bowl . A defeat at Spartan Stadium to Notre Dame snapped their home win streak , and the Spartans stumbled into conference play with a come - from - behind win over Eastern Michigan , who ended the season 2 - 10 . The Spartans went 3 - 5 in conference play , losing all of their home games . Those five losses were by a combined 13 points . The lone bright spot in that period came when Michigan State snapped a 21 - game home winning streak for Wisconsin by beating the eventual Rose Bowl representatives , giving the Spartans their first win in Camp Randall Stadium since 2001 . MSU only earned bowl eligibility by defeating Minnesota in the final game of the season . Offensively , the Spartans were led by tailback Le ' Veon Bell , who ended the regular season with 1 , 648 yards for 11 touchdowns , averaging 137 . 3 yards per game and earning 834 of his yards after contact . The Spartans were ranked 9th in the Big Ten for total offense , averaging 370 . 3 yards per game . Michigan State ' s offense managed only 21 touchdowns in 42 red zone trips this season and only 25 overall . Spartan quarterback Andrew Maxwell saw almost all the action that year , throwing for 2 , 578 yards and 13 touchdowns with a 53 % completion rating . Backup quarterback Connor Cook only saw action in two games , going 5 for 6 with no touchdowns and one interception , which was returned for a score . On the defensive side , Michigan State led the Big Ten , giving up 273 . 3 yards per game and 16 . 3 points per game . They ranked in the top 10 nationally for total defense , scoring defense , rushing defense , and passing efficiency and yardage defenses . Junior linebacker Max Bullough led the Spartans with 101 tackles , while William Gholston ' s 3 . 5 sacks and Darqueze Dennard ' s three interceptions were also team leaders . Senior cornerback Johnny Adams , who also had three interceptions , was unable to play in the bowl game due to an injury . The Spartans earned 13 interceptions during the regular season , 3rd best in the Big Ten . Game summary . The first half of the game was dominated by TCU . After a combined three opening three - and - outs to start , TCU marched 73 yards ( the first 20 of which came from MSU Penalties ) down the field in nine plays , scoring a touchdown on a 4 yard run by Matthew Tucker . A successful PAT put TCU up 7 - 0 . On TCU ' s next drive , they had a first down to start the second quarter at the MSU 19 - yard line . A five yard penalty and a nine - yard sack forced TCU ' s Jaden Oberkrom to kick a 47 yard field goal . MSU played backup quarterback Connor Cook during their next drive , but only gained 16 yards . TCU took over after the punt on their own 4 yard line . Thanks to a 61 yard pass to junior Josh Boyce followed by a 15 yard penalty against the Spartans , Oberkrom was again able to finish the drive with a field goal . With Maxwell playing quarterback again , the Spartans gained 21 yards before punting . On TCU ' s next possession , Trevone Boykin was intercepted at MSU ' s 7 yard line . After another three - and - out for MSU , TCU kneeled to run out the time in the half . MSU ended all of its drives in the half with punts . Only three of MSU ' s seven drives in the first half resulted in a first down , and all were limited to only one each . Both teams started the second half with drives that earned only one first down . On MSU ' s second possession of the half , Connor Cook resumed quarterback duties . Starting at their own 10 , the Spartans were propelled by Le ' Veon Bell , who rushed for 35 yards and passed for another 29 . a 15 yard pass from Cook to Aaron Burbridge gave MSU its first points of the night with 43 seconds left in the third quarter . The teams then exchanged two punts each ; on MSU ' s second punt , however , TCU ' s Skye Dawson fumbled . Spartan RJ Williamson recovered , giving MSU the ball four yards from the opposing end zone . A four yard rushing touchdown and a successful PAT gave MSU its first lead with 7 : 00 remaining in the game . Both teams went three - and - out on their ensuing possessions . After a 15 yard penalty on the Spartan punt , the Horned Frogs took over at their own 36 with 4 : 26 remaining . Sparked by a 27 yard pass to LaDarius Brown , TCU got close enough for Oberkrom to kick a career - long 53 yard field goal . The Spartans responded with a 47 yard field goal from Conroy with 1 : 01 remaining . The Horned Frogs were unable to get a first down on their next drive , giving the ball — and the win — to MSU with 21 seconds remaining . TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin ended the game with 201 yards passing and 37 yards rushing , while Spartan quarterbacks Maxwell and Cook threw for 28 and 47 yards , respectively . Spartan tailback Le ' Veon Bell threw for 29 yards — more than his first string quarterback — and ran for 145 yards and a touchdown . TCU recorded three sacks , the Spartans 4 . Jason Verret and Kenny Cain led the Horned frogs with 12 tackles each , while William Gholston and Max Bullough had 9 each for the Spartans . Michigan State safety Isaiah Lewis recorded the only interception of the game . Bell and Gholtson earned the honors of offensive and defensive MVPs , respectively . Sponsorship . Prior to 2012 , the bowl game that would become the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl had been named the Insight Bowl since 2002 ( and before that it had been the Insight . com Bowl since 1997 ) . After the 2011 game , the sponsorship contract with Insight Enterprises expired , and the naming rights were put on the market . On July 23 , 2012 , Buffalo Wild Wings was announced as the new sponsor . The multi - year agreement included a new trophy and logo . Promotional tie - ins included a wing - eating contest between the two teams .