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2012 Sugar Bowl Matchup

Jack Jones — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 17:13:24 +0000

The Allstate Sugar Bowl is likely to be a great matchup. A couple of the more decorated programs in history, and a couple of the toughest defensive units in the nation this season, will square off in New Orleans when Michigan of the Big Ten takes on ACC runner-up Virginia Tech.

This contest will mark the first-ever meeting between the schools.

Our Sugar Bowl odds show Michigan as a 2.5-point spread favorite, while the total has been set at 50.5 points.

Michigan

Michigan closed their regular season with three consecutive wins, the most recent a 40-34 rivalry win versus Ohio State to win 10 games under first-year coach Brady Hoke, ending up second in the Big Ten Legends Division (6-2). Michigan was 2-2 as a visitor, getting beat by Michigan State and Iowa.

The Wolverines rank seventh in the nation in scoring defense (17 points per game) and surrender 318 yards per game (189 passing, 129 via the run) while recording 28 sacks and generating 27 turnovers three of which were taken back for scores (Brandon Herron and Courtney Avery, fumbles; Herron, interception).

Kenny Demens leads the defensive unit with 86 stops (22 more than any other player), while Ryan Van Bergen has five sacks and three fumble recoveries. Thomas Gordon has four fumble recoveries, and Avery and J.T. Floyd each have two picks.

Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech reached the conference title game once again (7-1, won Coastal Division), but had their seven-game win streak broken with a 38-10 loss to Clemson. Virginia Tech is 6-1 away from home, winning the first six such games. Both of Tech’s defeats this season came versus Clemson.

The Hokies rate eighth in the country in points allowed (17 ppg) and allows 314 yards per contest (206 through the air, 108 via the run) while recording 38 sacks and enticing 22 turnovers.

Antone Exum paces this unit with 85 stops and two forced fumbles, while James Gayle has a team-high seven sacks. Jayron Hosley has three picks and two forced fumbles.

The Hokies rate 55th in the country in scoring (28 ppg) while compiling 416 yards per game (227 passing, 189 on the ground).

David Wilson paces the ground attack with 1,627 yards and nine scores on 6.1 yards per attempt, while Logan Thomas completes 59 percent of his passes for 2,799 yards and 19 touchdowns with nine picks. The offensive line has given up 15 sacks. Jarrett Boykin leads the pass catchers with 57 grabs for 731 yards and five TDs, while Danny Coals has 52 grabs for 787 yards and three scores.

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2010 Sugar Bowl Odds: Cincinnati vs Florida

Jack Jones — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:05:25 +0000

The final bowl game betting battle of New Year’s Day will feature a pair of teams that have had fantastic 2009 seasons. The Cincinnati Bearcats (12-0, 6-6 ATS) will look to wrap up the first undefeated season in school history with a victory against the Florida Gators (12-1, 6-6 ATS). This will be nothing more than a consolation for the Gators, who came up just short of the BCS National Championship game when they lost to the Crimson Tide in the SEC Championship Game. Cincinnati may have deserved better this year after going 12-0, but someone had to be left out of the National Championship game. The Bearcats will try to sew up the perfect season without their HC Brian Kelly, who has left the school for Notre Dame. The college bowl point spreads show Florida as 10.5-point favorites.

Cincinnati Offense vs. Florida Defense: This may be one of the more intriguing matchups of the entire bowl season. Cincinnati’s offense has been absolutely fantastic this year no matter whether QB Tony Pike or Tony Collaros has been calling the shots. The Bearcats rank #6 in the land in total offense (464.2 yards per game), passing yards (320.2 yards per game), and points scored (39.8 per game). The unit has scored at least 24 points in all of its games this season, and at least 28 in all but one game. The offense has scored at least 45 points in three of its L/44.

Florida’s defense is going to be up to the challenge, though. The Gators may have been rolled up on by Alabama, but all in all, this is one of the best units in the country. The 32 points allowed to the Crimson Tide was more than the defending champs had allowed in their previous four games combined. No one else had scored more than 20 points on this unit all season. There are legitimately at least three first round draft picks on this unit. Pike will get a stern test from the #3 pass defense in the land, which is allowing just 151.5 yards per game.

Florida Offense vs. Cincinnati Defense: In the SEC Championship Game, the Gators’ offense was as flat as it has looked in years. However, save for the dud against Bama and the 13-3 slugfest against LSU in the Bayou, Florida has put at least 23 points on all of its opponents this year. This is the most dynamic rushing attack in the country, as the three-headed monster of QB Tim Tebow, RB Chris Rainey, and RB Jeff Demps pace the #10 ground attack in the country at 225.2 yards per game. Tebow will be playing in his final game in blue and orange, and you can bet that he’ll want to put on a show for the Gators faithful.

The Bearcats have struggled in a major way since the start of November. They hadn’t allowed more than 20 points to any foe this year before giving up 45 to UConn. Since then, Cincy has conceded 21 to West Virginia, 36 to Illinois, and 44 to Pittsburgh. Even though the Bearcats still rank in the top half of the country in every major defensive category, they’ll be facing a test like they haven’t seen all year in the Superdome on New Year’s Day.

For premium picks on the Sugar Bowl and every other bowl this season, be sure to visit our college bowl picks page to see which handicappers have the winning edge.

2006 Sugar Bowl Odds

Jack Jones — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:05:09 +0000

The 2006 Sugar Bowl Odds show LSU as a favorite to beat the Fighting Irish from Notre Dame. The Irish haven’t won a bowl in their last eight tries and it doesn’t appear likely that they will end that streak this year. The Tigers come into this game ranked no. 4 in the nation while Notre Dame comes in at no. 11. The game moves back to New Orleans after a one year stay in Atlanta due to the destruction from Hurricane Katrina. In that game West Virginia beat Georgia 38-35 in a thriller.

The game will have a home feel for the Tigers as the campus is just a short drive away. Notre Dame better be prepared for a loud crowd cheering on the yellow and purple. The Irish also will try to wash away the bad taste in their mouths after getting stomped by USC in their final game, 44-24. They are going to have to get their offense on track against a talented LSU defense and try to keep up the pace with their 400 ypg and 32.4 ppg averages.

LSU is coming on as of late, winning six straight including their season-finale against a talented Arkansas team. The strength of the team lies with it’s defense, where it is 2nd in the nation, giving up only 240 ypg and 4th in the nation with 12.5 points allowed. The Tigers aren’t slouching on offense either though with their 33 ppg as they can beat you both through the air and on the ground. LSU is just 4-5 all-time against the Irish, but a bowl win in 1997 was part of Notre Dame’s losing streak in the post-season.

It’ll be interesting to see how Weis prepares his squad after so much time off. Normally you would expect good things, but Notre Dame has failed miserably in the bowls. If you want to know what our experts think sign up for our NCAA football bowl picks today and cash in.

2006 Sugar Bowl Odds:

Notre Dame +9 -102 at Pinnacle
LSU -9 -108 at Pinnacle

OVER 55.5 at Pinnacle
UNDER 56 at BetCris

Alexander’s 2009 Sugar Bowl Game Lines

Jack Jones — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:17:51 +0000

Jeff Alexander cashed yet another winner for his clients last night on the 2009 Sugar Bowl when he took Utah with his bowl picks. There hasn’t been a hotter handicapper this college post-season and those of you taking who he tells you to with the bowl game odds have made a lot of money. Don’t worry though, there are still a few games left that you can use his knowledge and experience to your advantage. Sign up for a premium subscription today and see if you can cash in big to close out your year.

3* Sugar Bowl BEST BET on Utah +10
The Utes have plenty on the line here as they look to end the season with a perfect record and prove once again that they belong in BCS discussions year after year. Utah is 22-9 ATS as an underdog of 3.5 to 10 points since 1992 and 23-9 ATS when playing with 2 weeks or more of rest since 1992. Bama doesn’t have much of a passing game but it may have to depend on its more because of the suspension of their best offensive lineman and that will keep the Tide from being at their best with their ground attack. We’ll take the points.

Fargo’s 2009 Sugar Bowl Picks

Jack Jones — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:15:56 +0000

Another winner from Matt Fargo last night as he took Utah over Alabama with his bowl picks. Let’s find out just why he liked the Utes to pull off the upset over the Tide:

We all saw what happened last season when a non-BCS team crashed the party as Hawaii was trounced in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia. Gamblers have short-term memories and that is what they will remember but will likely forget two years ago when Boise St. went to Fiesta Bowl and defeated Oklahoma. It is possible for these small schools to compete and Utah will be up for the challenge here. The big thing here is that Utah isn’t just happy to be here but it wants to win. They’ve gotten this far and they aren’t here just to be the kind of team happy with a close loss or satisfied with making it to a big bowl game. They want that Sugar Bowl trophy, too. The Tide have been a very good story this season. They came in expecting to be good but not many people expected a season like this. Alabama does have a great offensive line and it has been able to knock a lot of teams around because of it but it will be missing a key ingredient on Friday. Left tackle Andre Smith, the Outland Trophy winner as the nation’s best interior lineman, was suspended after a school investigation discovered improper contact with a sports agent. We all know that the position is the most important for the quarterback as it protects the blind side but this loss could affect Alabama more emotional than physically. “Practice was not real great yesterday,” nose guard Terrence Cody said. “I think it was kind of different because he wasn’t out there. The tempo was different; we didn’t have much tempo yesterday.” Alabama has played the 58th ranked schedule which is horrible for an SEC team while Utah has played the 70th ranked schedule. Comparing the SEC and MWC with this shows little difference. Alabama is just 1-7 ATS in its last eight games following a loss. Utah is 24-5 ATS in its last 29 games as an underdog and it gets even better. The Utes have been underdogs of more than a touchdown only nine times since 1998 and they are a perfect 9-0 ATS in those games with four of those being outright wins and four others being losses by a field goal or less.

Burns 2009 Sugar Bowl Game Odds

Jack Jones — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:14:08 +0000

Ben Burns continues to impress with his bowl picks this season. Last night was his biggest play to date with Utah plus the points and not only did they cover the 10-point spread with the bowl game odds, but they beat Alabama outright!

I’m taking the points with UTAH. Last year, I successfully backed the favored SEC team (Georgia) against the undefeated non-BCS team, Hawaii. The Bulldogs dominated the game, showing that Hawaii’s undefeated record wasn’t as great as many had previously believed. A lot of people remember that game and are expecting a repeat with the big bad team from the SEC (Alabama) beating up on the lowly Mountain West school. I don’t expect that to be the case this year though as I believe that Utah, which currently has the longest winning streak in the country, is a much stronger team than Hawaii was last year. Sugar Bowl executive Paul Hoolahan concurs, stating: “They’ve played competitively against top-name schools. To go 12-0 with the schedule they have, with the way they play, the way they get after it, I think it’s a safe bet with those teams. Particularly Utah. We’re comfortable they will compete at a very high level.”

Utah QB Brian Johnson took it a step further, saying: “If you look at it, it’s clear that we’re a much better team than Hawaii was last year and I think us (and Hawaii) being two non-BCS teams, that’s where the comparison starts and that’s where it ends. You look at their strength of schedule last year and you look at the teams they played to get there and look at what we did – I think it’s completely different. … We deserve to be here and hopefully after (the game) there won’t be any more questions about that.”

While their schedule admittedly wasn’t as tough as Alabama’s schedule, as both Johnson and Hoolahan acknowledged, the Utes have performed well against top name schools and/or teams that went to a bowl this season. They beat quality teams like BYU, TCU and Oregon State while also winning on the road at both Air Force and Michigan. Overall, they outscored opponents by an average score of 38.2 to 14.5 on the road. Opponents managed an average of a mere 227.7 yards of offense in Utah’s road games.

This is a big bowl game and the Utes are thrilled to be here. As Johnson’s comments reveal, they’re also thrilled However, the same can’t necessarily be said of the Crimson Tide, as they were 15 minutes away from a spot in the BCS title game. However, they couldn’t make a 20-17 fourth quarter lead hold up against Florida and therefore had to “settle” for a spot in the Sugar Bowl. Nick Saban didn’t try to hide the fact that his team was disappointed, saying: “Our players are certainly disappointed…” While the Tide are saying all the right things about “bouncing back,” that can often be a lot easier said than done. Note that Alabama is just 3-7 SU the last 10 times it was coming off a loss vs. a conference opponent in its previous game.

The Utes have been terrific in the underdog role for years. In fact, they’re a highly profitable 40-19-1 ATS the last 60 times that they were getting points, winning more than half (32) of those games outright. Look for the Utes to improve on those numbers here, delivering a huge effort and showing that, unlike Hawaii last year, they fully deserve to be here. *Bowl GOY