REVIEW: 2012 ORANGE BOWL 78th edition
Final Score: West Virginia 70 Clemson 33 Prediction Clemson
37 West Virginia 34
Scoring by Quarter:
West Virginia 14 35 14 7 70
Clemson 17
3 6 7 33
May I be the first to apologize to all our WVU Mountaineer
readers, as I was totally wrong in thinking Clemson could win this game. Now on
to the good stuff:
1)
Geno Smith vs. Tajh Boyd
Talk about playing yourself onto the 2012 Preseason Heisman list. Geno
Smith had a near perfect performance in the Orange Bowl with the help of a
couple supporting cast members (I’ll get to them later). Geno accounted for 426
of the 593 offensive total yards for the Mountaineers offense (which looked
like a fine-oiled machine) passing for 401 yards and rushing for an additional
26 yards. Geno also had not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, not 5, not 6, (that’s a
LeBron James’ joke if you don’t understand) but 7 total TD’s on the evening (6
passing, 1 rushing), Geno (who will be a Senior next fall) should definitely be
on somebody’s Preseason Heisman list. In a game, that turnovers doomed Clemson
(99 yard fumble return was huge MO swing), Tajh Boyd had 2 INT’s and a fumble
(all of which WVU turned into points on their next possessions), proved to be
too much to overcome in this game. Boyd, 250 passing yards and 2 TD’s showed
some good signs early on, but the turnovers and lack of sustaining drives (2
for 13 on 3rd downs) killed the Tigers’ chances in this one (And the
fact that their defense showed no ability to stop WVU).
2)
WVU WR’s vs. Clemson Secondary
Speaking of not being able to stop, Tavon Austin’s (WVU’s Mr. do
everything) motor was non-stop in this game. Making play after play, Tavon
racked up 163 total yards on offense and contributed another 118 return yards. Tavon
tied an Orange Bowl record with 4 TD’s (he only had 4 TD’s ALL SEASON). Playing
without leading-rusher Dustin Garrison (742 rushing yards and 6 TD’s) due to a
injury earlier in the week, WVU used multiple guys in the backfield (Shawn
Alston filled in nicely 77 rushing yards and 2 scores) and on the outside to
gash Clemson’s defense all game long, which tackled poorly and never seemed to
be in the right position (WVU was running one play and they still couldn’t stop
‘em). Skies the limit for WVU’s offensive specialist, none of whom are Seniors.
3)
Clemson WR’s vs. WVU Secondary
Clemson did have a 100-yard rusher (Andre Ellington whos 68-yard dash to
the end zone got the scoring going) and a 100-yard receiver (DeAndre Hopkins
107 yards, 1 TD) in this game, however it was the play in the trenches that
swung this game. Looking like the Tigers were about to go back up on top of the
Mountaineers, Ellington lost control of the ball near the goal line, and out
came Darwin Cook racing to the other end of the field for a 99-yard Fumble
Return for a touchdown. A 14-point swing that gave WVU all the MO and they
never looked back from there. I mean, its got to be fun, as a defensive player
to watch your offense put up 70 points (technically 63, but we don’t keep score
like that, haha) and forcing four turnovers on the night (WVU’s defense had 19
TO’s on the season).
4)
Dana Holgorsen vs. Dabo Swinney
Coach Holgorsen never could of imagined this night. After coming over
from Oklahoma State, Holgorsen was hired to run the offense and be the coach
in-waiting under previous Head Coach Bill Stewart. After some off-the-field
issues surfaced (I’ll make a long story short) Coach Stewart resigned and Coach
Holgorsen became the new Head Coach. What a way to start out your Head Coaching
career, winning 10 games, a share of the Big East Championship, and now a BCS
Bowl game. Coach Swinney falls to 1-3 in his career in bowl games, and will unfortunately
have his name in the record books, as being the Head Coach of the team that
gave up the most points in a bowl game, 70).
Aftermath:
West Virginia- Like I said earlier, “skies the limit” for
the Mountaineers program, which moves to the Big XII Conference next fall.
Coach Holgorsen will have the entire off-season with QB Geno Smith and a cast
of talented playmakers to work in more of his style of offense. Improving the
defense will be an issue, as well as, facing a new batch of conference opponents.
How Coach Holgorsen and the Mountaineers face these test will determine how
well they will fair in their first season in the Big XII Conference.
Clemson- “The Nightmare in South Beach”. That’s what the
headline will read in the morning paper, for Tiger fans’ and the players and
coaches will have to have a short memory and chalk this one up as “not our
night”. Dabo Swinney did a great job with the program this season (10 wins,
most in a season since 1990) and first-ever BCS bowl berth winning the ACC
Championship. Coach Swinney, has the 5th best recruiting class
coming in next fall, and he will want to continue building on this seasons
success with starting QB Tajh Boyd and playmaker WR/KR Sammy Watkins.
