Michigan wins the Sugar Bowl in exciting fashion.
The Big 10 bowl season concluded last night after Michigan narrowly escaped Virginia Tech in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The final bowl tally for the conference is 4-6. The record could have been a disappointing 2-8 had it not been for Michigan State’s heroic come-from-behind triple OT win against Georgia and some extremely poor coaching by Virginia Tech’s Frank Beamer in last night’s game.
The Big 10 struggled overall with Wisconsin, Nebraska, Iowa, Penn State, Northwestern, and Ohio State all falling victim to their opponents. Wisconsin’s ill-fated spike, Nebraska’s lack of discipline, Iowa’s over-matched lines, Penn State’s off-the field issues, Ohio State’s special teams and offensive woes, and Northwestern’s lack of enthusiasm all proved to be key factors in their losing efforts.
The positive to take out of the bowl season is practically ever team the Big 10 faced was a hire ranked team. Essentially they were the underdogs and were expected to lose. Additionally, with Penn State being passed up by several bowls, it changed the actual make-up of the bowl games.
With the calendar turning to 2012, the Big 10 needed the season to end. Who knows what the 2012 season will bring, but if the teams and conference stay the course, come New Year’s Day 2013 expect to face the same results.
