Useless (but fun) trivia from Michigan football team's Sugar Bowl packet
Useless trivia might be useless, but that doesn't make it pointless.
It's fun!
The Michigan football program issued its packet for the team's Sugar Bowl matchup against Virginia Tech (8:30 p.m. Jan. 3) on Wednesday, and there were a number of interesting tidbits.
Among them (with a few from Virginia Tech's packet for balance):
• This will be Michigan and Virginia Tech's first meeting.
Michigan coach Brady Hoke.
Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com
• Brady Hoke is the eighth head coach to direct a team to a BCS bowl in his first season with a team.
• Michigan is making its 35th January bowl appearance, including for the 13th time in 15 bowl trips.
• Michigan lost its only previous Sugar Bowl appearance, falling 9-7 to Auburn in 1984.
• Virginia Tech lost both of its Sugar Bowl games in the BCS era, falling 46-29 to Florida State in the 1999 championship game and 16-13 to Auburn in 2004. The Hokies have one Sugar Bowl win under Beamer, but it predated the BCS era. They beat Texas 28-10 in 1995.
• Michigan has not faced an ACC team in a bowl game since 1994, when it beat North Carolina State 42-7 in the Hall of Fame Bowl. It is 1-1 all-time in bowl games against the ACC, losing its only other matchup to North Carolina in the 1979 Gator Bowl.
• Michigan is 18-3 all-time the ACC.
• Michigan's last game against the ACC was a win against Virginia in 1995. Virginia Tech has played only once against a Big Ten team, routing Indiana in the 1993 Independence Bowl.
• Michigan is the only bowl team in the country to face 10 bowl-bound opponents during the regular season.
• Michigan's eight wins against bowl teams matches LSU and Oklahoma State for the most in the country.
Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer.
AP file photo
• This is Virginia Tech's sixth BCS bid, after going 1-4 in its five appearances.
• Virginia Tech's Frank Beamer is the winningest active coach (251 wins), due to Penn State's firing of Joe Paterno this year. Mack Brown at Texas is second with 226.
• Overall, Virginia Tech is 8-10 in bowl games under Beamer. It hasn't missed a bowl game since 1992.
Kyle Meinke covers Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2588, by email at kylemeinke@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @kmeinke.
Comments
Terry Star21
Sat, Dec 17, 2011 : 10:34 p.m.
I like these topics, all very interesting. The absolute only stat that matters is; Coach Brady Hoke joining the list of first year coaches WINNING A BCS BOWL ! MgoBlueForTiM........Coach Brady Hoke, standing strong and at the top.
michrick1
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 8:30 p.m.
Milqueman, It means amoung all teams in NCAA football that have made a BCS Bowl that Hoke is the 8th coach to accomplish this in his first season as head coach of that team
Milqueman
Fri, Dec 16, 2011 : 6:13 p.m.
Ahh, Yes. i just re-read it, makes more sense now, thanks.
Milqueman
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 7:58 p.m.
Ok, riddle me this, it says: "Brady Hoke is the eighth head coach to direct a team to a BCS bowl in his first season with a team." How is that possible, sense the BCS came to being in 1998. That's only 13 years and I know Michingan hasn't had 8 HC's in the last 13 years. Unless they mean bowl games that are now considered BCS bowls, but that is still a misleading statement.
riverraisin
Sat, Dec 17, 2011 : 9:42 p.m.
8th head coach in all of college football.
15crown00
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 3:56 p.m.
But i'll bet it didn't back in as it did this year.
Terry Star21
Sun, Dec 18, 2011 : 12:57 a.m.
Isn't this a great country ? Michigan earns a BCS Bowl that pays out 17 million, and avoids the lowly 3 million Outback (for backers in) Thugs Bowl.
Blue Marker
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 5:35 p.m.
You're right; Michigan should have passed on the invitation and insisted that MSU (who isn't eligible due to not being in the top 14 of the BCS poll) get the spot instead. That would have been the honorable thing to do. Where is the sarcasm font on this keyboard? Now go have a Blommin' Onion and enjoy all the unsold tickets in the MSU section.
ted
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 1 a.m.
I have such great pride in The Michigan Wolverines! We set the bar at GOOD !!
svenh
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 6:24 a.m.
In '04 and '07, I would have rather played any other team than USC.. The Texas game was just a classic example of getting ruined by a mobile quarterback. Of course we all want the ultimate prize but you have to respect the quality of the teams faced in those games. USC should have won the national championship in both those years. As for Texas? Man, I just can't stand Texas. That one was painful.
GoBigBlue
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 3:44 a.m.
Go root for the bucks then. Your boy Urban is there now.
ted
Thu, Dec 15, 2011 : 12:56 a.m.
"Losing the other 3 times in the Rose Bowl" That's OK ! We won The Big Ten Championship. That's all that matters !
eagleman
Wed, Dec 14, 2011 : 11:21 p.m.
This is Michigan's fifth appearance in a BCS bowl. They lost to SC in the 04' and 07' Rose Bowls, to Texas in the 05' Rose, and defeated Bama in the '00 Orange.