2012 Sugar Bowl The 2012 Allstate Sugar Bowl was the 78th edition of the annual postseason college football bowl game known as the Sugar Bowl . It featured the Michigan Wolverines and the Virginia Tech Hokies on Tuesday , January 3 , 2012 , at the Mercedes - Benz Superdome in New Orleans , Louisiana . The game was the final contest of the 2011 football season for both teams and was the third game of the 2011 – 2012 Bowl Championship Series ( BCS ) . The game ended with 23 – 20 Michigan victory in overtime . Michigan represented the Big Ten Conference ( Big Ten ) as the at - large team from the conference , while Virginia Tech represented the Atlantic Coast Conference ( ACC ) as its at - large team . The game was televised in the United States on ESPN and an estimated 9 . 6 million viewers watched the broadcast live . This was the first Sugar Bowl since 2000 , as well as only the sixth since World War II and the tenth overall , not to feature a Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) team . Michigan was offered a berth after it finished the season with a 10 – 2 record — its highest win total since the 2006 season — that ended with a 40 – 34 win against arch - rival Ohio State . Virginia Tech was offered a berth after it finished its season 11 – 2 , which culminated in a 38 – 10 loss in the 2011 ACC Championship Game to Clemson . Media attention focused on the quality of the bowl selection , as both teams were criticized for not having strong schedules . Attention also focused on how Virginia Tech ' s defense would contain Michigan QB Denard Robinson . The game kicked off at 8 : 32 pm Eastern Standard Time , and Virginia Tech scored first , converting the its first possession into on a field goal . Virginia Tech added another field goal in the second quarter , but Michigan scored a touchdown in the final minute to take a 7 – 6 lead , and then recovered a Virginia Tech fumble on the ensuing kickoff . Michigan kicked a field goal as time expired in the first half to take a 10 – 6 lead . Michigan converted its first possession of the second half into a touchdown to take a 17 – 6 lead , but Virginia Tech added a field goal to narrow the lead to 17 – 9 . In the fourth quarter , Virginia Tech scored a touchdown to narrow Michigan ' s lead to two points , and then converted a two - point conversion to tie the game . Michigan responded with a field goal , but Virginia Tech tied the game with a field goal with two seconds remaining . In overtime , Virginia Tech appeared to score the go - ahead touchdown , but the call on the field was overturned upon video review . On the next play , Virginia Tech missed a crucial field goal . Michigan converted its field goal opportunity to win the game 23 – 20 in overtime . In recognition of his performance , Michigan ' s Junior Hemingway was named the game ' s most valuable player . Team selection . In the 2011 college football season , the SEC champion had an auto - bid to the Sugar Bowl . However , the SEC champion , the LSU Tigers , were ranked No . 1 in the BCS standings and were selected to play in the BCS Championship Game . The second place SEC team , the Alabama Crimson Tide , was also selected to the BCS title game , so the Sugar Bowl Committee was forced to turn to other conferences to select two teams . After bypassing teams such as Stanford , Kansas State and Boise State , the committee selected the Michigan Wolverines and the Virginia Tech Hokies . Michigan . Michigan replaced its head coach prior to the season , with Rich Rodriguez being fired and Brady Hoke replacing him . Michigan began its 2011 college football season against Western Michigan and won 34 – 10 in a game that lasted a little under three quarters , as numerous thunderstorms first delayed and then ultimately postponed the game . In spite of the game ending early , Michigan was awarded the win . Michigan hosted Notre Dame in its next game , which was the first night game in Michigan Stadium history . After Notre Dame built its lead to 17 points — 24 – 7 after the third quarter — Michigan came back to take the lead 28 – 24 with only 1 : 02 to go in the game . Notre Dame scored with 30 seconds remaining to take a 31 – 28 lead , but Michigan drove 80 yards in 28 seconds to score the game winning touchdown and win the game 35 – 31 . Michigan ended its non - conference schedule with comfortable wins against both Eastern Michigan ( 31 – 3 ) and San Diego State ( 28 - 7 ) . Michigan began its conference schedule against Minnesota in the battle for the Little Brown Jug . Michigan recorded its first shutout since 2007 with a 58 – 0 victory . Michigan then traveled to Evanston , Illinois for its first road game of the season to face Northwestern . Michigan scored 28 unanswered points in the second half , coming back from a ten point deficit at halftime to win 42 – 24 . Michigan followed its trip to Evanston with a trip to East Lansing , Michigan to face its in - state rival Michigan State . Michigan suffered its first defeat of the season , losing 28 – 14 , its fourth straight loss to Michigan State . Following a bye week , Michigan returned home to face Purdue in its homecoming game . Michigan handily defeated Purdue , 36 – 14 . Michigan then traveled to Iowa City , Iowa to face Iowa . Michigan suffered its second and final defeat of the season , losing 24 – 16 . Michigan then traveled to Champaign , Illinois for its final road game to face Illinois . Michigan won 31 – 14 , with the defense performing in a matter that made Greg Mattison , Michigan ' s defensive coordinator , emotional as he told reporters : " That was a Michigan defense . . . . Nobody knows what went on inside of these guys and for them to stick together and to play like they played tonight , and like they have tried in every game , it says a lot about them . " Michigan returned home to face Nebraska and once again dominated its opponent , winning 45 – 17 . In the final game of its regular season , Michigan faced Ohio State in the game known simply as " The Game . " Michigan snapped its seven game losing streak against Ohio State , winning 40 – 34 . The 2011 Wolverines , the first team to win eight home games in Michigan Stadium in a season , led the Big Ten Conference in rushing defense ( 115 . 6 yards per game ) and opponent third - down percentage ( 30 . 1 % , 31 of 103 ) . The Wolverines featured consensus All - American and Rimington Trophy Winner David Molk and two 1 , 000 - yard rushers , ( Fitzgerald Toussaint and Denard Robinson ) . Robinson led the Big Ten Conference in total offense / game and wide receiver Junior Hemingway led the conference in yards per reception . Controversy . Almost immediately following the team selection , controversy arose regarding the two teams selected . Michigan State QB Kirk Cousins , whose team failed to qualify for a BCS game because it did not finish in the top 14 of the BCS standings , criticized the potential selection of Michigan after his team ' s debilitating loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game , " I don ' t see how you get punished for playing and someone else gets to sit on the couch and get what they want " . Others criticized the selection of Virginia Tech , stating that both Kansas State and Boise State were more deserving of the bid and that the bowl committee had chosen a familiar team as opposed to a new one . Game summary . The game kicked off at 8 : 32 pm Eastern Standard Time ( EST ) in the Mercedes - Benz Superdome in New Orleans , Louisiana . Official attendance was listed at 64 , 512 . First quarter . Following the coin toss , Virginia Tech elected to defer to the second half . Michigan elected to receive , which ensured that Virginia Tech would start the second half on offense . Justin Myer kicked off for the Hokies and Michael Cox returned the kick to Michigan ' s 34 - yard line . Michigan began the game missing starting C David Molk , who suffered a foot injury during the pre - game warmup . Michigan went three and out on its first drive that featured two fumble d snaps by Denard Robinson , Michigan was forced to punt . Tech received the ball at its own 37 - yard line . Logan Thomas completed his first pass to Danny Coale and then completed another pass , this time to Jarret Boykins for 14 yards and a first down . Following a David Wilson run for loss of four yards , Thomas completed an 18 - yard pass to D . J . Coles . Wilson then had two consecutive carries for eight yards and one - yard respectively . Following a Thomas three - yard run , Wilson ran for 11 yards to the Michigan four - yard line . On the next play Wilson rushed for a loss of 22 yards . Tech was forced to settle for a 37 - yard field goal after it committed a delay of game penalty on second down , and after attempts on second and third down did not succeed . On the post - field goal kickoff , Martavious Odoms returned the ball 16 yards to the Michigan 16 - yard line ; however , Michigan committed a holding penalty on the play and was forced to start on its own eight - yard line . Michigan ' s second drive was more successful than the first , with Denard Robinson completing an 11 - yard pass to Kelvin Grady on third down , and Fitzgerald Toussaint rushing for 14 yards on the next play . The drive ended , however , following the Toussaint run as Robinson threw a pass that Kyle Fuller intercepted at Tech ' s 28 - yard line . Tech then embarked on another long drive , with Thomas rushing for 11 yards on second down and finding Boykin for ten yards after a 15 - yard illegal block penalty . After a false start penalty made it third - and - ten , Thomas completed a 27 - yard pass to Coale . Following a three - yard loss on a Thomas run and an incomplete pass , Tech again converted on third - and - long , this time with on a 13 - yard Thomas to Coles pass . Following two short rushes , the time ran out in the first quarter . Second quarter . Virginia Tech continued its drive at the Michigan 31 - yard line . Logan Thomas rushed for five yards , which set up a Justin Myer 43 - yard field goal and gave Tech a 6 – 0 lead . On the ensuing kickoff , Myer kicked the ball out of bounds , which , by rule , gave Michigan the ball at its own 40 - yard line . Michigan obtained some success on its drive , with Denard Robinson rushing for three yards , completing a three - yard pass to Jeremy Gallon , and then completing an eight - yard pass to Kevin Koger for a first down . The drive , however , stalled as Robinson was sacked and then threw two incompletions . Michigan was forced to punt and Tech received the ball at its own 26 - yard line . Following two short running plays , Thomas threw a 16 - yard pass to Coale for a first down . On the ensuing play , Danny Wilson ran 32 yards for a first down to Michigan ' s 24 - yard line . Josh Ogelsby followed Wilson ' s run with an 11 - yard run of his own . Ogelsby then rushed for five yards and one - yard respectively . Thomas followed these plays with a three - yard rush , setting up a fourth - and - one at the Michigan 4 - yard line . Instead of kicking the field goal that would have given Tech a 9 – 0 lead , Frank Beamer decided to go for the first down . Thomas was stopped for no gain and Tech turned the ball over on downs . Following the turnover , Michigan started on its own four - yard line . Fitzgerald Toussaint ran for six yards , and Robinson followed with a 16 - yard run . Michigan ' s offense stalled on its next three plays forcing a punt . On the punt , however , Tech committed a roughing the kicker penalty that gave Michigan 15 yards and an automatic first down . Toussaint ran the ball for a two - yard gain , and Michigan called a timeout . Following the timeout , Robinson rushed for five yards and then completed a 14 - yard pass to Toussaint for a first down at the Tech 38 - yard line . Robinson was sacked on the next play for a loss of seven yards and then threw an incompletion to make it third - and - seventeen . On the next play , however , Robinson threw a 45 - yard touchdown pass to Junior Hemingway that saw Hemingway reach around a Tech defender to make the original catch , and then sprint into the endzone . Brendan Gibbons added the extra point to give Michigan a 7 – 6 lead . On the ensuing kickoff , Tech ' s Tony Gregory returned the ball 27 yards , however , Michigan ' s J . B . Fitzgerald forced a fumble that Michigan ' s Delonte Hollowell recovered at Tech ' s 26 - yard line . Gallon rushed for seven yards on the first play before Robinson threw two incomplete passes . Michigan brought out Gibbons to attempt a field goal , however , Michigan attempted a fake field goal that saw Michigan ' s long snapper Jareth Glanda make a catch for 11 yards after the ball hit a Virginia Tech defender in the head . With eight seconds remaining in the half , Robinson threw a seven - yard screen pass to Vincent Smith , which moved the ball to the Tech one - yard line . With two seconds remaining on the clock , Michigan elected to again send out its field goal unit . Michigan intentionally took a delay of game penalty to move the ball back in order for Gibbons to have a better angle to kick the field goal . Gibbons converted the 24 - yard field goal as time expired , giving Michigan a 10 – 6 lead at halftime . Halftime . The halftime show consisted of 11 high school bands along with dance troupes performing a jazz theme halftime show in connection with New Orleans ' history with jazz . The bands performed Harry Connick Jr . ' s " Save the Last Dance for Me " , Michael Bublé ' s " Haven ' t Met You Yet " , and Frank Sinatra ' s " Fly Me to the Moon " . Third quarter . Since Virginia Tech deferred its option to the second half , it received the half ' s opening kickoff . Jayron Hosley returned the kick to Tech ' s 30 - yard line . Tech opened its drive with a five - yard Thomas to Coale pass and followed that play with a Wilson two yard rush . After a Michigan timeout , Thomas rushed for one - yard and was stopped short of a first down in the process . Tech was forced to punt for this first time in the game . Coale — who was also Tech ' s punter in addition to receiver — punted the ball 36 yards to the Michigan 26 - yard line . Michigan ' s drive also saw little success . Following a Toussaint one - yard run , Robinson threw an incomplete pass intended for Roy Roundtree and Antone Exum sacked Robinson for a loss of 11 yards . Wile punted the ball 40 yards to the Tech 49 - yard line . Tech ' s first play on the following drive was its only play , as Frank Clark made a leaping block on a Thomas pass and then retained possession for an interception . Following a Tech timeout , Vincent Smith rushed for two yards . On the next play , Hosley committed a defensive pass interference penalty , giving Michigan a 15 - yard advancement and an automatic first down at the Tech 18 - yard line . Toussaint rushed for no gain , but on the next play , Robinson threw an 18 - yard touchdown pass to Hemingway , his second touchdown reception of the night . Gibbons converted the extra point , giving Michigan a 17 – 6 lead . Tech returned the ensuing kickoff to its own 42 - yard line . Wilson carried the ball for the first three plays , gaining eleven , four , and six yards respectively . Thomas then threw a 3 - yard pass to Wilson , and on the next play , Clark committed an offside penalty , making it second - and - two on the Michigan 31 - yard line . Oglesby rushed two yards for a first down , and then Wilson ran the next two plays for five and two yards respectively . Thomas then completed a two - yard pass to Joey Phillips , but Phillips was stopped short of a first down , forcing Tech to kick a 36 - yard field goal . Myer converted the kick , cutting Michigan ' s lead to eight points . Odoms returned the kickoff for Michigan to the Michigan 23 - yard line , but the Wolverines had little success on its drive . After a Toussaint run for five yards , Toussaint gained zero yards on his next run and Robinson ' s pass to Hemingway was incomplete . Michigan was forced to punt and Tech received the ball at its own 39 - yard line . Jake Ryan sacked Thomas for a loss of three yards on Tech ' s first play , and Thomas completed a pass for a gain of one - yard to Boykin on the next play ; however , Thomas converted a third - and - twelve into a first down with a 13 - yard run . After Wilson and Oglesby both had one - yard runs , the third quarter ended . Fourth quarter . Tech resumed its drive on the Michigan 48 - yard line . On its first play , Oglesby ran the ball for 18 yards and a Tech first down . Tech ' s next three plays saw Thomas throw two incomplete passes interspersed with a Ryan Van Bergen sack for a one - yard loss . Beamer elected to go for it on fourth down and Thomas converted , gaining 13 yards on 4th - and - 11 . Wilson ran the ball for a two - yard gain on first down , and then carried the ball for another 12 yards on second down . After an incomplete pass , Thomas rushed for a one - yard loss making it 3 - and - 11 . Blake Countess committed a pass interference penalty which advanced the ball seven yards and gave Tech a first down . After a Wilson one - yard run , Thomas rushed for a one - yard gain and a Tech touchdown . Since Michigan led by two , Tech elected to attempt a two - point conversion and converted on a Thomas to Marcus Davis pass , which tied the game . Odoms returned the kickoff to the Michigan 22 - yard line . Michigan ' s offense stalled , as after a Robinson one - yard run , his next two passes to Hemingway and Drew Dileo were incomplete . Michigan was forced to punt , and Tech received the ball on its own 43 - yard line . Thomas completed a five - yard pass to Eric Martin on Tech ' s first play , but Michigan ' s defense held Wilson to a run for no gain on second down . Thomas ran for four yards on third down , which forced Tech to punt on fourth - and - one . Tech elected to attempt a fake punt , but Coale ' s attempt to run for the first down was stopped . He then attempted to punt the ball away before he was tackled , but the kick was blocked and Michigan recovered on the Tech 45 - yard line . After a Toussaint run for no gain , Robinson completed a pass to Roundtree for a 10 - yard gain . After another incomplete pass , Robinson rushed for an 11 - yard gain . Michigan ' s offense then stalled , as Tech stopped Toussaint for no gain , held Robinson to a two - yard run , and then forced an incomplete pass intended for Kevin Koger . Gibbons kicked a 39 - yard field goal , giving Michigan a 20 – 17 lead . Tech returned the kickoff to its own 17 - yard line , but a holding penalty forced Tech to start on its own nine - yard line . Wilson begane the drive with an eight - yard run . Thomas advanced the ball 41 yards in two plays , with an 11 - yard pass to Davis and a 30 - yard pass to Coale . After a Wilson one - yard run , Thomas completed a 12 - yard pass to Coale , giving Tech a first down at the Michigan 31 - yard line . Following an incomplete pass intended for Davis , Thomas completed a 15 - yard pass to Chris Drager . Wilson rushed for no gain , but Thomas completed an eight - yard pass to Coale , giving Tech a third - and - two on the Michigan eight - yard line . Tech committed a false start penalty , making it third - and - seven from the 13 - yard line . Thomas completed an eight - yard pass to Boykin , but settled for the tying 25 - yard field goal from Myer after a timeout from each team . The game went to overtime with the score tied at 20 . Overtime . With the game tied , both teams returned to the field for an overtime coin toss . Michigan won the toss and elected to play defense first . Tech began its overtime drive with the ball on the Michigan 25 - yard line . Wilson carried the ball two straight times , gaining two yards and three yards respectively . On third down , Thomas threw a pass into the endzone to Coale . The play was originally ruled a touchdown , but was controversially overturned after a lengthy video review . Myer then lined up for a 37 - yard field goal , but pushed it to the right , giving Michigan the ball and the opportunity to win the game with a field goal . Michigan played conservatively on its drive , beginning on Tech ' s 25 - yard line . Michigan handed the ball to Toussaint three straight times , which saw runs of three , two , and zero yards respectively . After a Tech timeout in an attempt to ice the kicker , Gibbons kicked a 37 - yard field goal to give Michigan the victory and its first BCS win since the 2000 Orange Bowl . Final statistics . Junior Hemingway caught both Michigan touchdown s , earning 2012 Sugar Bowl Most Outstanding Player honors . Virginia Tech statistically dominated Michigan on offense , out - gaining the Wolverines 377 – 184 . This was also reflected in the number of first downs gained . Virginia Tech earned 22 first downs : twelve rushing , nine passing , and one via penalty . Michigan , meanwhile , earned 12 first downs : three rushing , seven passing , and two via penalty . Over two - thirds of Michigan ' s offense came through the air , as Michigan racked up 128 net passing yards . Virginia Tech gained a little over half of its yards through the air , as it racked up 214 net passing yards . Both teams ' strategies did little to ensure success on third down , as Michigan only converted four of its thirteen attempts , while Virginia Tech converted only six of its fifteen attempts . Michigan converted its only fourth down attempt , while Virginia Tech converted one out of its three attempts . Virginia Tech dominated the time of possession as well , controlling the ball 36 : 50 to Michigan ' s 23 : 10 . The game was ultimately decided via special teams and turnovers . Michigan only committed one turnover compared with Virginia Tech ' s two , with each team throwing an interception , and Michigan recovering a fumble . Michigan also committed two fumbles , but recovered both of them . Michigan converted both of Virginia Tech ' s turnovers into points , scoring three points on a field goal after recovering a fumble off of a Virginia Tech kick return , and scoring its second touchdown after Frank Clark intercepted a Logan Thomas pass . Justin Myer ' s missed field goal in overtime led to Michigan winning the game on its next drive with a field goal of its own . Michigan statistical recap . Despite winning the game , the Wolverines were relatively ineffective on offense . Denard Robinson only completed 9 of 21 passes for a total of 117 yards . He did , however , throw for two touchdowns , both of which were thrown to Junior Hemingway . His one interception ended a Michigan drive at Tech ' s 28 - yard line in the first quarter , and was later converted into a Virginia Tech field goal in the second quarter . Drew Dileo ' s one pass came on a fake field goal attempt , which led to a field goal two plays later as time expired in the half . Michigan utilized eight different receivers in its offense , but only two of them , Kevin Koger and Hemingway , had more than one reception . Hemingway had two receptions for 63 yards and two touchdowns , while Koger ' s receptions totaled only nine yards . The eighth receiver , long snapper Jareth Glanda , caught his pass as a result of a deflection on the fake field goal attempt . Glanda ' s 11 - yard reception totaled the third highest receiving yards on the team , tied with Kelvin Grady . Hemingway ' s 45 - yard touchdown reception in the second quarter was Michigan ' s longest play from scrimmage in the game . The Wolverines were even more ineffective running the ball , gaining a total of 56 rushing yards . Fitzgerald Toussaint carried the ball 13 times for 30 yards , with his longest run coming on a 14 - yard play in the first quarter . Denard Robinson also carried the ball 13 times , but he only gained 13 yards , with his longest play of 16 yards coming in the second quarter . Martavious Odoms and Vincent Smith each had one carry , for five and two yards respectively , with Odoms ' carry coming on an end - around . Jake Ryan had four tackles for a loss and a sack , for a total loss of 36 yards , while Jordan Kovacs led the Wolverines with eleven total tackles , six solo and five assisted . Desmond Morgan and Ryan also had six solo tackles , with Morgan recording one and a half tackles for a loss . Mike Martin and Ryan Van Bergen each recorded half a sack . Blake Countess and Courtney Avery each recorded half a tackle for a loss . Frank Clark had one interception , which led to Michigan ' s second touchdown of the game , and assisted on one tackle for a loss . Brendan Gibbons converted all three of his field goal attempts , with distances of 24 , 39 , and 37 yards . Will Hagerup was ineffective as Michigan ' s punter , only averaging 25 yards per punt on two punts , which led to Matt Wile replacing Hagerup . Wile averaged 43 . 7 yards per punt , punting a total of three times . Michigan ' s special teams did draw a roughing the kicker penalty that eventually led to Michigan ' s first touchdown of the game . Virginia Tech statistical recap . Virginia Tech was effective with its passing attack . Logan Thomas completed 19 of his 28 pass attempts for a total of 214 yards , completing one fourth down conversion and only throwing one interception . His interception , however , led to Michigan ' s second touchdown of the game . Virginia Tech utilized eight different receivers , with Danny Coale leading the team in receptions ( 8 ) and yards ( 117 ) . David Wilson led Virginia Tech ' s rushing attack , gaining a total of 82 rushing yards on 24 carries , and running for 32 yards in one play . Logan Thomas also was effective running the ball , gaining 53 yards on 16 attempts , for an average of 3 . 3 yards per carry . Justin Myer converted four of his five field goal attempts , from 37 , 43 , 36 , and 25 yards respectively . He missed his final attempt from 37 yards in overtime , which allowed Michigan to kick the game winning field goal on its ensuing possession . Postgame effects . The game improved Michigan ' s record to 11 – 2 , its first 11 win season since 2006 , while Virginia Tech ' s record dropped to 11 – 3 . With the victory , Michigan won the only BCS bowl in which it had not yet been victorious , improved its bowl record to 20 – 21 , and improved its record against the ACC to 19 – 3 . Michigan also moved to 2 – 0 in overtime in bowl games , with its previous victory being in the Orange Bowl against Alabama . The Superdome was reconfigured to host the Detroit Lions vs . New Orleans Saints National Football Conference ( NFC ) wild card game the following Saturday . The Superdome would then play host to the BCS National Championship game the following Monday . 2012 NFL Draft . As the final game of the season , the game gave Michigan and Virginia Tech players a chance to improve their draft stock before the 2012 NFL Draft . Michigan had three players drafted , with Mike Martin being the first . He was drafted in the third round , 82nd overall by the Tennessee Titans . He was followed by David Molk ( 226th ) and Hemingway ( 238th ) . Michigan players not drafted signed free agent contracts with other teams after the draft ended . Ryan Van Bergen subsequently signed with the Carolina Panthers , minutes after the draft ended on April 28 . Later that day , Troy Woolfolk and Michael Shaw announced via Twitter through their agents that they had signed with the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins , respectively . Virginia Tech had three players drafted . David Wilson was the first Virginia Tech player selected . He was drafted in the first round , 32nd overall by the New York Giants . He was followed by Danny Coale and Jayron Hosley .