West Virginia may have backed into the Big East’s BCS Bowl berth, but Clemson wasn’t supposed to be the opponent.
Instead, the 15th-ranked Tigers (10-3) defeated Virginia Tech for the second time this season. But this time it was in the ACC Championship and Dabo Swinney’s team earned the spot in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 4.
The No. 23 Mountaineers (9-3) caught every break they needed to reach the Orange Bowl, including a last-second field by Tyler Bitancurt to knock off South Florida on Thursday night.
Now the Big East’s reputation rides on WVU’s shoulders again, which seems sort of ironic considering the Mountaineers are doing everything they can to get out of the conference by July 1.
After losing to Louisville 38-35 on Nov. 5, West Virginia didn’t look like a championship team and the thought of reaching a BCS bowl looked remote. Somehow the Mountaineers rallied to beat Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and South Florida in close games.
Then WVU got some help from the Bearcats and shared the championship.
While the Mountaineers and the Big East may have many detractors, the Orange Bowl gets an exciting offense and a rabid fanbase that will love to travel to South Beach in early January.
If Dana Holgorsen is the genius behind WVU’s offense, then Geno Smith is the straw that stirs the unit. Holgorsen has admitted that Smith still has more to learn, but Smith has put together one of the best offensive seasons in Mountaineer history.
He enters the Orange Bowl completing 65 percent of passes for 3,978 yards and 25 touchdowns. He has four or five receivers that can all take over a game, but Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin are his two favorite targets.
WVU’s running game has been a major weakness, along with an offensive line that has tired over the season.
Clemson is led by quarterback Tajh Boyd, a former West Virginia commit, who struggled down the stretch but bounced back in the ACC title game. Boyd has thrown for 3,578 yards and 31 touchdowns.
His main target is freshman Sammy Watkins, who leads the team with 78 receptions for 1,159 yards and 11 touchdowns. He is also a serious threat returning kick offs.
West Virginia is playing in its first Orange Bowl and is looking for its third BCS win in seven years. It beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl after the 2005 season and topped Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl after the 2007 season.
Prediction: Clemson 28, West Virginia 24
Coming tomorrow: Sugar Bowl preview
