2012 Chick - fil - A Bowl The 2012 Chick - fil - A Bowl was a post - season American college football bowl game held on December 31 , 2012 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta , Georgia in the United States . The 45th edition of the Chick - fil - A Bowl began at 7 : 30 p . m . EST and aired on ESPN . It featured the Clemson Tigers from the Atlantic Coast Conference ( ACC ) against the LSU Tigers from the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) and was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams . Both Tigers accepted an invitation to the game after achieving a 10 – 2 regular season record . This was not the first time the two Tigers have met in the Chick - fil - A Bowl ; the 1996 game also pitted them against each other , with LSU topping Clemson by a score of 10 – 7 . Their first meeting was the 1958 Sugar Bowl , a national championship , that LSU won in a 7 - 0 shutout . Clemson won the game in a 25 - 24 upset . Despite outgaining LSU by 445 - 219 in total yards , Clemson trailed for much of the game . Clemson was able to win after placekicker Chandler Catanzaro made a 37 - yard field goal as time expired . Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd , who completed 36 of 50 passes for 346 yards , was named the game ' s most valuable player . Teams . The 2012 Chick - fil - A Bowl marked the third meeting between Clemson and LSU , with LSU holding a 2 - 0 advantage coming into the game . The previous meeting was a 10 - 7 victory for LSU in the 1996 Chick - fil - A bowl . Clemson . Coming off an ACC Championship , the Tigers kept their success going , actually finishing with a better record ( both overall and in conference play ) than their previous season , with their 7 – 1 conference record leading to an Atlantic Division Co - Championship . However , they would lose the tiebreaker to the other co - champion , the Florida State Seminoles , keeping the Tigers out of the 2012 ACC Championship Game . Clemson entered the game averaging 42 . 3 points per game and 518 . 3 yards of total offense per game . Leading Clemson ' s offense was quarterback Tajh Boyd , who came into the game with 3 , 550 passing yards and 34 touchdowns passes . The offense was also led by running back Andre Ellington and wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins . Clemson was less impressive on the defense , however , allowing more than 27 points in half of its games . This was Clemson ' s eighth Chick - fil - A Bowl ; they had previously appeared in the 2007 game against Auburn , where they lost the game 20 - 23 . Clemson held a 2 - 5 record in the bowl game coming into the game . LSU . Coming off an SEC Championship and a heartbreaking shutout loss in the 2012 BCS National Championship Game , the Tigers were early favorites to return to the national title game . However , despite a stellar 6 – 2 record in conference play , the Tigers finished one game behind the same Alabama Crimson Tide which had defeated them for the national title the previous January , being denied even a secondary BCS bowl game because of the two - team limit as well as the Florida Gators occupying that second spot . LSU entered the game with a defense that allowed only 16 . 9 points per game and 297 . 8 total yards per game . Leading LSU ' s defense was led by linebacker Kevin Minter , who led LSU ' s defense with 111 tackles . This was LSU ' s sixth Chick - fil - A Bowl ; they had previously appeared in the 2008 game against Georgia Tech , where they won the game 38 - 3 . LSU held a 5 - 0 record in the bowl game coming into the game . Game summary . First quarter . Clemson fumbled on the second play of the game after LSU ' s Barkevious Mingo forced Clemson ' s Sammy Watkins to fumble . Watkins suffered a right ankle injury on the fumble and sat out the rest of the game . Taking advantage of the fumble , LSU jumped to a 7 - 0 lead on a 17 - yard touchdown run from Jeremy Hill . Clemson was able to respond on its next drive , tying the game 7 - 7 on a 11 - yard touchdown run from Tajh Boyd . The rest of the first quarter remained scoreless as the two teams exchanged punts . Second quarter . LSU opened the second quarter with a 3 - yard touchdown pass from quarterback Zach Mettenberger to Spencer Ware to go up 14 - 7 . Clemson was able to respond with a 11 - yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tajh Boyd to DeAndre Hopkins . The point after attempt was blocked , however , making the score 14 - 13 . The score remained 14 - 13 in LSU ' s favor going into halftime . Third quarter . Clemson was held scoreless in the third quarter as LSU was able to further extend their lead . LSU opened the third quarter with a 57 - yard touchdown run from Jeremy Hill to make the score 21 - 13 . After forcing Clemson ' s Andre Ellington to fumble , LSU was able to extend their lead 24 - 13 on a 20 - yard field goal from Drew Alleman . Fourth quarter . Clemson ' s defense dominated the fourth quarter , as Clemson held LSU to only 1 yard of offense . Clemson was able to cut into LSU ' s lead early in the fourth quarter on a 26 - yard field goal from Chandler Catanzaro to make the score 24 - 16 . After forcing LSU to punt , Clemson was able to once again cut into LSU ' s lead on a 12 - yard touchdown pass from Tajh Boyd to DeAndre Hopkins . The subsequent two - point conversion was unsuccessful , however , making the score 24 - 22 with 2 : 47 left in regulation . On LSU ' s next possession , LSU was unable to run out the clock or force Clemson to use any timeouts , thanks to a couple of incomplete passes from Zach Mettenberger . LSU punted the ball away , giving Clemson the ball back with only 1 : 39 left in regulation at Clemson ' s own 20 - yard line . Clemson ' s drive started poorly , as Tajh Boyd failed to complete his first two passes of the drive . On the third play of the drive , Tajh Boyd was sacked by Sam Montgomery . Facing a 4th and 16 at their own 14 - yard line , Clemson was able to keep the drive alive on a 26 - yard pass from Boyd to DeAndre Hopkins . Tajh Boyd was then able to lead Clemson to LSU ' s 20 - yard line to set up a 37 - yard field goal attempt for Chandler Catanzaro . Catanzaro was able kick the field goal as time expired , giving Clemson a 25 - 24 victory over LSU . Game notes . With the victory , Clemson recorded its first 11 win season since its 1981 season . In addition , Clemson ' s DeAndre Hopkins set an ACC record for most consecutive game with a touchdown catch , at 10 . The 2012 Chick - fil - A bowl also marked LSU ' s first loss to an ACC team since 1955 . Statistical summary . For his game - winning performance , Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd was named the game ' s Most Valuable Player . He completed 36 of his 50 passes for 346 yards and 2 touchdowns . Both of Boyd ' s touchdown passes went to DeAndre Hopkins , who had 191 receiving yards in the game . Boyd also led his team in rushing attempts at 29 . Clemson outgained LSU 445 - 219 in total yards and Clemson ' s defense was able to limit LSU to 9 first downs . LSU quarterback Zach Mettenberger was sacked 6 times and was held to only 120 passing yards . LSU ' s leading rusher was Jeremy Hill , who rushed for 124 yards and 2 touchdowns on 12 carries . LSU ' s no . 2 rusher was Spencer Ware , who rushed for 9 yards on 3 carries . Clemson ' s leading rusher was Andre Ellington , who accumulated 50 - yard on 11 carries . Clemson ' s no . 2 rusher was Roderick McDowell , who rushed for 26 yards on 7 carries .