Follow the coverage from all sides.
National coverage: ESPN's WolverineNation coverage from beat writer Michael Rothstein. Michigan Wolverines Land Sugar Bowl.
It almost didn't happen, however. After finishing the regular season 10-2, the Wolverines needed help from other teams around the country on Saturday and from the pollsters on Sunday morning in order to be in this position -- and they received it.
On Virginia Tech, the Washington Post writes "one of the most surprising Bowl Championship Series at-large picks ever".
Virginia Tech’s BCS at-large hopes appeared to evaporate after its 38-10 loss to Clemson in the ACC championship game Saturday. While the Hokies have been ranked all season, they have not defeated a team currently in the Associated Press top 25 poll.
The game is in New Orleans, and Michigan's ever-efficient alumni association has an official bowl tour package complete with chartered flights.
New Orleans is a great place to eat a sandwich. Chowhound has a best sandwiches thread that's got a lot of great suggestions; I'd pick a banh mi (in its role as a Vietnamese po'boy). In Ann Arbor the blog "Meg Goes Nom Nom" has a glowing review of the banh mi from Zingerman's:
And a few months after this occurred, I discovered that the featured sandwich at local favorite Zingerman’s Delicatessen was the Banh Mi. It was time! And not only get to try the sandwich, I got to meet the talented creator of this legit sandwich while I was there. Awesome!
The Zing sandwich was done by San Street, a food cart which alas I have not checked out myself yet.
The Viet World Kitchen blog has a master banh mi recipe which pretty much sums up what you'd need to put together your own.
There is essentially one sandwich in Vietnamese cooking and it is quite a tour de force. It started out very simply, with baguette smeared with liver pate and that was it. That's how my mom knew it in the 1940s when she was growing up in Northern Vietnam. What we know today as banh mi is a light, crispy small baguette that is split and hollowed before it is invariably filled with homemade mayonnaise or butter (which I don't like), sliced chili pepper, cilantro leaves, cucumber, a tangy-sweet daikon and carrot pickle (do chua), and a drizzle of soy sauce. The variation comes in when you choose what protein component(s) will be center stage.
More recipe action gets you a do chua recipe from the blog Sticky Gooey Creamy Chewy, which sounds easy enough to do.
Do chua is so incredibly easy to make. Since it is a “fresh” pickle, there is no boiling or cooking involved. All you do is julienne the carrots and daikon, and soak them in a brine made with white vinegar, rice wine vinegar, a little water, sugar and a pinch of salt. That’s it! Plus, the pickles only need to marinate in their brine for about an hour before they’re ready to devour.
Now, you are ready for some football.
