The 2012 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl was a postseason American college football bowl game held on December 29, 2012, at AT&T Park in San Francisco, California, United States. The 11th edition of the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl began at 1:00 p.m. PST, and was televised on ESPN2. It featured the Arizona State Sun Devils of the Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12) and the Navy Midshipmen, who were conference independent. It was the final game of the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season for both teams. The game, won by the Sun Devils 62–28, drew 34,172 spectators.

In accordance with a 2009 deal with bowl organizers, the Midshipmen accepted their invitation to play in the game on November 3 after winning six of their first nine games of the season. After the Sun Devils achieved bowl eligibility by defeating in-state rival Arizona Wildcats for a 7–5 regular-season record, the team accepted its bowl invitation on December 2.

The pregame buildup focused on the contest between Navy's triple option offense and the Sun Devils' defense. After a change in quarterbacks, the Midshipmen's rushing offense had become one of the best in the nation; however, the team's passing offense ranked near the bottom of the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Arizona State's balanced offense hinged on its quarterback efficiency, with the potential to set a number of school records for the season. Defensively the team ranked as one of the best in the nation in sacks and tackles for loss, but its rushing defense ranked 74th in yards allowed per game. Most analysts predicted a victory for the Sun Devils. Navy sold over 10,000 tickets to the game, and Arizona State sold over 5,000.

The Sun Devils scored the first 21 points of the game in the first quarter, while keeping the Midshipmen scoreless. After Navy scored its first points in the second quarter, Arizona State scored two more touchdowns to bring the score to 34–7 at halftime. The Sun Devils added four more touchdowns in the third quarter, but the only additional points from the Midshipmen came from a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Navy scored the only two touchdowns of the fourth quarter, ending the game with a score of 62–28. The bowl brought both teams' won–lost records to 8–5.

Team selection In September 2009 organizers of the Emerald Bowl (renamed the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, reflecting its new sponsor) announced that they had renewed their contract with the Pac-12 Conference for four years, with the sixth bowl-eligible team in the conference playing against a team from the Western Athletic Conference in the 2010 and 2013 editions of the game and the Navy Midshipmen in the 2012 game (assuming that Navy was bowl-eligible). Before the 2012 season college-football analyst Phil Steele projected that Navy would play the California Golden Bears, but changed his projected Pac-12 team in late October to the Sun Devils. On November 3, CBSSports.com writer Jerry Palm projected that Navy would play the Arizona Wildcats in the game, but after the USC Trojans lost to the UCLA Bruins on November 17, both Palm and ESPN.com analyst Kevin Gemmell projected that the Trojans would play in the Fight Hunger Bowl. Navy received $750,000 for its participation, and Arizona State received $950,000. The game's executive director, Gary Cavalli, received $375,176 in compensation. The game was the 18th bowl appearance for the Midshipmen and the 26th for the Sun Devils; it was the first ever meeting between the teams.

Navy

The Navy Midshipmen, representing the United States Naval Academy, began their 2012 season with a 50–10 loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the Emerald Isle Classic in Dublin, Ireland. They accumulated a 1–3 record for their first four games, but began a five-game winning streak with a victory over the Air Force Falcons in overtime on October 6. On November 3, after defeating the Florida Atlantic Owls to raise their season record to 6–3, the Midshipmen accepted the first invitation of the 2012–13 NCAA bowl season to play in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk cited the team's positive experiences at the 2004 Emerald Bowl as a primary reason for returning to play in the game. The Midshipmen won that game, against the New Mexico Lobos, by a score of 34–19; it was highlighted by a drive from the Midshipmen in the third and fourth quarters which set an NCAA record for the longest drive in a college-football game.

During the rest of the season the Midshipmen lost to the Troy Trojans and defeated the Texas State Bobcats before playing the final game of the regular season, the 113th Army–Navy Game. After the Sun Devils accepted their invitation, Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo stressed that his team still considered the game against the Army Black Knights for the Commander-in-Chief's Trophy more pressing than preparations for the bowl:

The Midshipmen won 17–13, their 11th consecutive victory in that series. The 2012 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl was the first postseason game for the Midshipmen since their loss in the 2010 Poinsettia Bowl to the San Diego State Aztecs; Navy had lost four of its last five postseason games.

Arizona State

The Sun Devils, representing Arizona State University (ASU), began their first season under head coach Todd Graham by winning four of their first five games; their lone defeat was a 20–24 loss to the Missouri Tigers. They lost to their next four Pac-12 Conference opponents, giving them a 5–5 record in the first 10 games of the season. With two games left the team needed at least one more win for bowl eligibility, and defeated the Washington State Cougars on November 17. On November 23 it defeated the 24th-ranked Arizona Wildcats in its final regular-season game to win the Territorial Cup, finishing the season at 7–5 (its best record since the 2007 season). After the game, bowl organizers announced that one of the two Arizona teams would receive the second invitation to play in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, with the other team probably going to the 2012 New Mexico Bowl. Both schools lobbied heavily for an invitation to the Kraft bowl, with ASU officials saying that the date of the New Mexico Bowl conflicted with the school's final examination schedule. The Sun Devils accepted their invitation on December 2. It was the second straight bowl game for ASU; the Sun Devils lost the 2011 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas against the Boise State Broncos the previous year.

Pre-game buildup Both teams were allotted 15 extra practices to prepare for the bowl game, and expected to use the game to increase their recruiting presence in the San Francisco Bay Area. After their final regular-season game against Arizona, the Sun Devils had 37 days to prepare for the bowl. Arizona State coach Todd Graham, who attracted criticism in early December when he ranked his team 20th in the nation in the coaches' poll, used part of his extended practice schedule to prepare younger players for the upcoming season. After it defeated Army, the Midshipmen had 21 days to prepare for the bowl game; however, due to the demanding final-examination schedule at the United States Naval Academy and the unusual length of Navy's football season, head coach Ken Niumatalolo gave his team extra recovery time after the Army–Navy game. The team had one-hour practices at 6 a.m. to avoid conflicting with the school's examination schedule. Before the team's game against Army, Vice Admiral Michael H. Miller reinstated linebacker Brye French and slotback Bo Snelson (who had been removed as a team captain before the Emerald Isle Classic). During pregame walk-throughs the team prepared its new play calling system, which consisted of a number of oversized cards divided into four sections with a variety of colors and symbols. Members of both teams participated in community-service activities in the days before the game; the Midshipmen and Sun Devils served meals at St. Anthony's Dining Room and Glide Memorial Church, respectively, on Christmas Day.

Offensive matchups

Navy offense

Although the Midshipmen scored 10 or fewer points in three of their first four games, they averaged almost 32 points per game in their seven games before facing Army. The team's offense focused on its flexbone-style triple option offensive scheme, ranked sixth in the nation in rushing yards per game. Senior slotback Gee Gee Greene led the team in rushing yards with 765. Greene (who had played in every Midshipmen game since 2009) had earned 1,996 career rushing yards before the Army game, second among Navy slotbacks behind Shun White. Sophomore fullback Noah Copeland ran for 694 yards during the season.

Typical of triple-option teams, the Midshipmen rarely threw the ball (attempting 143 passes in their first eleven games). Keenan Reynolds, the third freshman to start at quarterback in the team's history, started every game after the team's win against the Air Force Falcons (rushing for 628 yards on 140 carries during the season). In the win over Army, Reynolds completed 10 of 17 passes for 130 yards and received the game's Most Valuable Player award. With 758 career receiving yards, Gee Gee Greene needed 73 more in the bowl to pass Reggie Campbell's record for most receiving yards by a Navy slotback.

Arizona State offense

Using a balanced spread offense system, the Sun Devils came into the game with the third-best scoring offense in the Pac-12 Conference. Sophomore quarterback Taylor Kelly led the team with 2,772 passing yards and 25 touchdowns. He also threw nine interceptions, seven of these during the Sun Devils' four-game losing streak. The team's receiving corps included six players with at least 300vyards for the season. Senior running back Cameron Marshall led the team in rushing yards with 524, but his role in the team's offense had decreased since the previous season. Junior running back Marion Grice ran for 520 yards during the season, receiving 406. Grice's status for the game was in doubt when he took leave from the team after his brother's death, but it was later announced that he expected to play in the game.

Several Sun Devils had opportunities to set school records. Kelly entered the game with a season 65.9-percent pass-completion rate, and was likely to break the school record held by Brock Osweiler set during the 2011 season. He was also likely to break Rudy Carpenter's single-season passing efficiency record set during the 2007 season. Tight end Chris Coyle was likely to tie (or break) school records for receptions and touchdowns by a tight end in a season, both held by Zach Miller. Punter Josh Hubner also had an opportunity to break the single-season record for average yards per punt.

Defensive matchups

Navy defense

The Midshipmen came into the game ranking 55th in yards allowed per game and 31st in scoring defense, allowing opponents to score an average of 22 points per game. The team ranked 94th and 102nd in the nation in sacks and tackles for losses, respectively. Immediately after returning from the Army–Navy Game, 11th-year Midshipmen defensive coordinator Buddy Green began preparing his team's 3–4 defensive scheme for the Sun Devils' offense. Although the Midshipmen had faced similar spread offenses earlier in the season, Green noted the Sun Devils' balance between running and passing plays: "They do some things that are similar to a lot of the teams we play, but I don't think there has been one opponent that incorporates all the elements that [Arizona State] has in its package."