Sugar Bowl 2012: Bold Predictions for Michigan vs. Virginia Tech

The Michigan Wolverines are going to win a hard-fought, low-scoring Sugar Bowl over Virginia Tech. 

This BCS game is going to be ruled by defense. It will be close throughout, but ultimately Michigan will wind up on top. 

Read on to see how and why this is all going to play out. 

Score Does Not Reach 40

The over/under for this, according to Bovada, is 51. That is too high. This game is going to be dominated by defense.

The Hokies are eighth in points allowed this season, and Michigan is one spot higher at No. 7.  

Michigan likes to move the ball on the ground. They are 90th in passing yards and 12th in rushing yards per game. This plays right into Virginia Tech's hands as they do an excellent job of stopping the run. 

The Hokies allowed just 3.32 yards per carry for the season. Meanwhile, the Hokies played just two games against a ranked team. Both of those games were against Clemson and Virginia Tech, who scored a combined 13 points in those games. 

These factors ensure this is going to be a low-scoring game. 

Michigan Wins

Michigan is going to win this game because they have more explosion on offense. This low-scoring game is going to come down to a few big plays, and Michigan is in a better chance to make those plays.

The Hokies are more of a grind-it-out offense. They average just 5.88 yards per play. Michigan averages 6.41 yards per play. 

Virginia Tech is not going to be able to piece together long drives against this stiff defense, and that will be their ultimate demise. 

Michigan wins 20-12.

Denard Robinson Wins Player of the Game

We just talked about Michigan's explosiveness being the key to their win, and there will be no player on this field that is more explosive than Robinson.

Robinson will be the answer Michigan needs to crack the Hokies stiff run defense. The QB is the one position that run defenses have a hard time accounting for. Robinson will find a few cracks in the defense on broken plays and turn those into big gainers. 

This will lead to Robinson being the player of the game.