Virginia Tech vs Michigan 2012 Allstate Sugar Bowl Predictions: The 2012 AllState Sugar Bowl at New Orleans Superdome, didn’t exactly land the greatest matchup it could have, bypassing No. 7 Boise State and inviting the No. 11 Virginia Tech Hokies, who the previous day had lost badly to Clemson in the ACC championship game. The bowl looked north to the BIG TEN to fill out its other half, offering the bid to the Michigan Wolverines. The game will be televised on ESPN beginning at 8:30 pm ET.
Michigan is favored by 2 1/2-points at BetOnline.com and most other off shore shops with a combined score total (over/under) of 51. Hokies’ backers are getting +125 odds as College Football Odds underdogs while the money line price for a SU win by Michigan is -145.
Michigan finished the regular season 10-2 and 6-2 in Big Ten play. The Wolverines are on a three-game win streak, which includes the 40-34 regular-season finale victory over rival Ohio State. U-M is 18-3 all-time against ACC schools and 1-1 in bowl competition. Virginia Tech completed the regular season 11-2 overall and 7-1 in ACC competition. The Hokies will be making their sixth appearance in a BCS game.
The game features the second best scoring offense in the Big Ten in Michigan and the second best scoring defense in the ACC in Virginia Tech. It will be fun watching who comes out on top in that category. Michigan’s offense is led by Junior QB Denard Robinson who guided the offense to a national No. 12 in yardage. Combined with running back Fitzgerald Toussaint, the offense was responsible for over 2,100 yards in rushing. Robinson scored a career-best 34 touchdowns while ranking fifth in the Big Ten in all-purpose yards and fifth in the league in both rushing and passing.
The Hokies have recorded an ACC-best 38 sacks, which ranks seventh in the country, and also leads the conference by allowing opponents just a 32.4 conversion percentage on third downs. Tech owns a plus-6 turnover margin, having garnered 15 interceptions and seven fumble recoveries this year. Michigan has managed an 83.6 percent scoring clip in the red zone, but Virginia Tech paces the ACC with an impressive red zone defense percentage of 67.6, allowing only 25 scores on 37 attempts.
Sugar Bowl Predictions: Robinson will be difficult for this Tech defense to handle. Michigan runs all over the Hokies. My pick – Virginia Tech -2 1/2.
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