2012 Outback Bowl The 2012 Outback Bowl , the 26th edition of the game , was a post - season American college football bowl game , held on January 2 , 2012 , at the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa , Florida , as part of the 2011 – 12 NCAA Bowl season . The game , which was telecast at 1 : 00 p . m . ET on ABC , featured the Georgia Bulldogs from the Southeastern Conference versus the Michigan State Spartans from the Big Ten Conference . The Michigan State Spartans won 33 – 30 in the third overtime period . Teams . The Spartans and Bulldogs had met two times before . Georgia held a 2 – 0 all - time record against Michigan State coming into the game . Georgia . Georgia entered the game with a 10 – 3 record as the SEC East Division champion . In the 2011 SEC Championship Game , Georgia lost to LSU 10 – 42 . The Bulldog ' s defense entered the game ranked 3rd in the FBS in totals yards allowed , allowing only 268 . 5 yards per game . Michigan State . Michigan State entered the game with a 10 – 3 record as the Big Ten ' s Legends Division champion . In the 2011 Big Ten Football Championship Game , MSU lost to Wisconsin 39 – 42 . The Spartan ' s defense entered the game ranked 5th in the FBS in total yards allowed , allowing only 272 . 7 yards per game . MSU also entered having lost 5 straight bowl games . The Spartan ' s last bowl win was the 2001 Silicon Valley Football Classic , where the Spartans beat the Fresno State Bulldogs 44 – 35 . Game summary . The Bulldogs scored first when Brandon Boykin tackled Keshawn Martin in the end zone for a safety . On the ensuing drive , the Bulldogs drove to MSU ' s 5 - yard line . However , on a 4th - and - 1 play at the 5 - yard line , UGA ' s Ken Malcome was stopped for a 1 - yard loss , turning the ball over to MSU . The rest of the 1st quarter remained scoreless . In the 2nd quarter , UGA scored on an 80 - yard touchdown pass to Tavarres King to go up 9 - 0 . On the ensuing drive , the Bulldog defense forced the Spartans to punt . UGA ' s Brandon Boykin preceded to return the punt 92 yards to go up 16 - 0 at the end of the half . The Spartans finally got on board in the 3rd quarter on an 8 - yard Le ' Veon Bell touchdown run to cut the deficit 16 - 8 after a two - point conversion . MSU closed the gap even further when Darqueze Dennard intercepted Aaron Murray 38 yards for a touchdown . The two - point conversion attempt failed , making it 16 - 14 going into the 4th quarter . Taking advantage of an interception , Georgia extended their lead 19 - 14 in the 4th quarter on a 32 - yard field goal from Blair Walsh . The Spartans retook the lead on a 7 - yard touchdown pass to Keith Nichol to make it 20 - 19 after a failed two - point conversion . Georgia responded with a 13 - yard touchdown pass to Brandon Boykin to go up 27 - 20 after making a two - point conversion . On the ensuing drive , Jonathan Jenkins intercepted Kirk Cousins with only 3 : 56 left in regulation . However , Georgia was unable to run out the game clock and punted the ball away . With 85 - yards to go , no timeouts and only 1 minute and 55 seconds left in regulation , Michigan State was able to tie the game 27 - 27 on a 1 - yard touchdown run from Le ' Veon Bell with only 14 seconds left in the game , forcing overtime . Michigan State was on offense first in the 1st overtime period . The Spartan ' s offensive possession end when Kirk Cousins ' pass was intercepted by Bacarri Rambo . UGA ' s Blair Walsh , however , missed a game winning 42 - yard field , forcing a 2nd overtime period . Michigan State and Georgia both traded field goals to go into the 3rd overtime period tied 30 - 30 . In the 3rd overtime period , MSU ' s Dan Conroy kicked a 28 - yard field goal to go ahead 33 - 30 . Georgia attempted to force a 4th overtime on a 47 - yard field goal attempt from Blair Walsh . However , Walsh ' s kick was blocked , sealing the victory for Michigan State . Georgia cornerback Brandon Boykin was named game MVP for scoring on offense , defense and special teams . Several Outback Bowl records were broken in the 2012 game , including longest punt return for a touchdown ( Boykin ' s 92 - yard punt return ) and receiving touchdown ( Tavarres King ' s 80 - yard touchdown reception ) . Scoring summary . Source .