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The bowl game pairings for 2012 were officially released on Sunday after weeks of speculation. In the 24th annual Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, which was formerly the Insight Bowl, the TCU Horned Frogs will take on the Michigan St. Spartans.
The game will be played at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe on the night of December 29. Kickoff is scheduled for 8:15 p.m. MT, and the game will be televised by ESPN.
TCU's first season in the Big 12 came with plenty of peaks and valleys. They finished the year with a 7-5 overall record, although a 4-5 mark against conference foes was a bit disappointing. Led by a strong pass rush, the Horned Frogs gave up just 23 points a game this year in the high-scoring Big 12.
The Spartans finished the season with a 6-6 record, and they dropped five of their eight conference games. Like TCU, Michigan State relies on their stout defense to lead them to wins. MSU gave up an average of just 16.3 points to their opponents, which is good for 10th in the nation. Given the strong defenses on both sides, look for the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl to be a low-scoring, grind-it-out affair.
Michigan State and TCU have met just one time in the past, and that came in 1953. The Spartans came away with the 26-19 victory in East Lansing.