2012 Outback Bowl Line
Georgia and Michigan State have not played each other very often in their storied football histories, and neither team has ever seen the other’s home stadium.
The Outback Bowl in Tampa, Fla., will host two major-conference runner-ups when Georgia of the SEC will take on Michigan State of the Big Ten.
Georgia won both prior meetings – both held in the state of Florida. Most recently, Georgia posted a 24-12 win in Orlando in 2008, with the first meeting a 34-27 Bulldog win in Jacksonville in 1989. 3.5 50
Our latest college football odds list Georgia as a 3.5-point favorite, while the total sits at 50 points.
Michigan State
The Spartans won the inaugural Big Ten Legends Division (7-1) and played an exciting Big Ten title game before falling to Wisconsin, 42-39, snapping the Spartans’ four-game win streak. The Spartans were 3-2 away from home this year, wining the last two such games (at Northwestern and at Iowa).
Defensively, the Spartans are one of the better teams in the county, ranking ninth nationally in points allowed (17 points per game) and surrendering 273 yards per game (169 passing, 104 rushing) while recording 41 sacks and forcing 22 turnovers – four of which have converted into touchdowns (Jeremy Langford, fumble; Isaiah Lewis and Johnny Adams, three interceptions).
Max Bullough leads this unit with 86 tackles and two forced fumbles, while Denicos Allen has 10 sacks with 78 tackles. Lewis and Trenton Robinson each have four interceptions to go with 145 total tackles, while Langford has two fumble recoveries.
The Spartans rank 39th nationally in scoring offense (31 ppg) while recording 390 yards per game (247 passing, 143 rushing). Kirk Cousins has completed 65 percent of his passes for 3,016 yards and 24 touchdowns with seven interceptions. The offensive line has allowed 15 sacks.
B.J. Cunningham leads the receiving corps with 72 receptions for 1,240 yards and 12 TDs, while Keshawn Martin has 62 catches for 742 yards and four scores. Meanwhile, Le’Veon Bell and Edwin Baker anchor the running game with 1,555 combined yards and 16 TDs on 4.8 yards per carry.
Nick Hill averages 26 yards per kickoff return and Martin averages 12 yards per punt return with a touchdown.
Georgia
The Bulldogs won the SEC East title (7-1) and were rolling with a 10-game winning streak before falling 42-10 to top-ranked LSU in the SEC Championship Game. In the 10 wins, Georgia allowed 20 or fewer points nine times. In their three losses, the team gave up 35 or more in each game (Boise State, South Carolina, LSU). The Bulldogs were 5-1 away from home, with the lone loss against LSU.
Georgia finished the regular season ranked 17th nationally in scoring defense (20 ppg) and surrendered 268 yards per game (165 passing, 103 rushing) while recording 34 sacks and forcing 29 turnovers – with one returned for a TD (Bacarri Rambo, interception).
Jarvis Jones leads the defense with 69 tackles, 13.5 sacks and two forced fumbles, while Shawn Williams and Michael Gilliard each have 65 stops while combining for four picks, three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles, two sacks and a blocked kick. Rambo has seven interceptions with 52 tackles.
The Georgia offense ranks 34th nationally in scoring (32 ppg) while compiling 414 yards per game (241 passing, 173 rushing). Aaron Murray has completed 59 percent of his passes for 2,861 yards and 33 TDs with 12 interceptions. The offensive line has allowed 29 sacks.
Orson Charles leads the receiving corps with 44 receptions for 572 yards and five TDs, and Tavarres King has 41 grabs for 500 yards and seven scores. Isaiah Crowell anchors the running game with 847 yards and five TDs on 4.7 yards per carry.
