2012 Belk Bowl
48
34
Head coach:
Steve Stripling
(interim)
Head coach:
David Cutcliffe
1
2
3
4
Total
Cincinnati
3
14
10
21
48
Duke
16
0
8
10
34
Date
December 27, 2012
Season
Stadium
Location
MVP
Brendon Kay (QB, Cincinnati)
Cincinnati by 11[1]
Matt Austin (SEC)
Attendance
48,128
United States TV coverage
Mike Patrick (Play-by-play)
Ed Cunningham (Analyst)
Jeannine Edwards (Sideline)
The 2012 Belk Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game held on December 27, 2012, at Bank of America StadiuminCharlotte, North Carolina in the United States. The eleventh edition of the Belk Bowl began at 6:30 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN. It featured the Big East Conference co-champion Cincinnati Bearcats against the Duke Blue Devils from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), and was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams. The Bearcats accepted their invitation after achieving a 9–3 record in the regular season, while the Blue Devils accepted theirs after achieving a 6–6 record. This was the first Belk Bowl for both teams.
This was the first meeting between these two teams.
The Bearcats finished in a four-way tie for the Big East title with a 5–2 conference record (holding the tiebreaker over the Syracuse Orange but behind the Rutgers Scarlet Knights and Louisville Cardinals). After defeating the Connecticut Huskies in their season finale, the Bearcats accepted an invitation to the 2012 Belk Bowl.[2] On Friday, December 7, 2012, Head Coach Butch Jones resigned from the University of Cincinnati to accept the head coaching position at the University of Tennessee. Assistant head coach Steve Stripling coached the Bearcats in the bowl game.
The Blue Devils are coming off their best season in almost twenty years; despite finishing fifth in the ACC Coastal Division standings with a 3–5 record, the ACC's lack of bowl-eligible teams enabled the Blue Devils to accept their invitation to the 2012 Belk Bowl.
This will be the Blue Devils' first bowl game since the 1995 Hall of Fame Bowl, in which they lost to the Wisconsin Badgers by a score of 34–20.
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Team
Scoring information
Score
Yards
Cincinnati
Duke
1
11:48
8
79
3:12
Duke
Brandon Connette 5-yard touchdown run, Ross Martin kick blocked
0
6
1
6:12
11
44
3:38
Duke
33-yard field goal by Ross Martin
0
9
1
4:45
3
1
1:27
Duke
Team punt blocked by Tony Foster recovered for a touchdown
0
16
1
1:43
7
50
3:02
Cincy
45-yard field goal by Tony Miliano
3
16
2
4:02
5
54
2:08
Cincy
Anthony McClung 25-yard touchdown reception from Brendon Kay, Tony Miliano kick good
10
16
2
0:42
6
98
1:46
Cincy
Ralph Abernathy 41-yard touchdown reception from Brendon Kay, Tony Miliano kick good
17
16
3
10:02
8
70
4:58
Cincy
27-yard field goal by Tony Miliano
20
16
3
7:41
2
60
0:41
Cincy
George Winn 46-yard touchdown run, Tony Miliano kick good
27
16
3
3:00
11
86
4:41
Duke
Conner Vernon 10-yard touchdown reception from Sean Renfree, 2-point Sean Renfree pass to Isaac Blakeney good
27
24
4
12:45
9
68
3:09
Duke
David Reeves 2-yard touchdown reception from Brandon Connette, Ross Martin kick good
27
31
4
11:19
4
77
1:26
Cincy
Chris Moore 25-yard touchdown reception from Brendon Kay, Tony Miliano kick good
34
31
4
7:24
10
46
3:55
Duke
52-yard field goal by Ross Martin
34
34
4
0:44
4
94
0:48
Cincy
Travis Kelce 83-yard touchdown reception from Brendon Kay, Tony Miliano kick good
41
34
4
0:14
-
-
-
Cincy
Interception returned 55 yards for touchdown by Nick Temple, Tony Miliano kick good
48
34
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.
Cincinnati
Duke
Statistics
CIN
DUKE
First Downs
18
36
Total offense, plays - yards
53–554
89–560
Rushes-yards (net)
28-222
39-200
Passing yards (net)
332
360
Passes, Comp-Att-Int
17-25-0
38-50-2
Time of Possession
26:18
33:42
† denotes College Football Playoff semifinal game
