A staggering 49 states picked Clemson, a 10 point favorite, to defeat West Virginia in the Discover Orange Bowl Wednesday night at Sun Life Stadium. The only state that felt different was of course West Virginia. With Mountaineer Nation in full-effect in Miami, West Virginia was able to use the underdog title to their advantage. While many thought it would be a shootout between the No. 17 ranked offense in West Virginia and No. 29 offense in Clemson, but no one could have envisioned what happened Wednesday night. Geno Smith threw for six touchdown passes and added a rushing touchdown to lead the Mountaineers to a 70-33 victory over the Tigers.
That’s right, 70 points.
The 70 points scored by the Mountaineers set an all-time Orange Bowl and BCS Bowl record for points scored in a game, breaking the less than week old record of 67 set by Baylor in the Alamo Bowl. Smith’s six touchdowns set a bowl record passing Matt Leinart’s five touchdown passes in the 2005 national championship game against Oklahoma. Smith also broke Tom Brady’s record of 369 yards set in 2000 for most passing yards in an Orange Bowl with his 401 yards, which in turn set the single-season Big East record for passing yards in a season with 4,379.
“I didn’t think about it at all. It’s an honor to be mentioned in the same breath as those guys though,” Smith said. “They have both done great things and are at a place that I want to be someday.”
Smith’s performance earned him MVP honors, but if you ask him, it was Tavon Austin that won the award for him.
“Tavon won me my MVP trophy (laughs). I would dump the ball off two yards to him and he would do the rest,” Smith said. “I should give him my trophy.”
Austin, a Second-Team All-American, put his talents on display for the nation to see scoring four touchdowns on 11 receptions and 117 yards. Austin also rushed four times for 46 yards on the evening. Austin particularly took offense to being an underdog coming into the game.
“I was sitting in the hotel room with Devon Brown and when we were watching TV, they said that 83% of the country predicted us to lose,” Austin said. It made me mad so I just shut off the TV, went to bed and came down with the right attitude. It gave me motivation when they said Sammy (Watkins) was the best player on the field. We had a serious meeting and got focused.”
While Smith and Austin led the offense to their record-breaking performance, it was a defensive play that set the tone for the Mountaineers.
West Virginia was leading 21-17 in the shootout when Clemson looked to take the lead with the ball at the three yard line. Running back Andre Ellington took the carry and as he neared the goaline, everyone in the stadium was wondering if he broke the plane or not. Everyone, that is except Darwin Cook. Cook reached in and stripped Ellington of the ball and returned the fumble 99 yards for a touchdown, the longest defensive touchdown in Orange Bowl history.
“We have been telling them to keep playing,” said West Virginia Coach Dana Holgorsen. “When you are in a game where points are being scored, like they were early, it is important to keep playing. That’s what we did, and a defensive play turned the game. It was an 11-point swing, and it gave our players a lot of momentum that they never gave it up.
The Mountaineers were able to add 21 more points, coming on a 7-yard touchdown run by Smith, a 3-yard pass to Austin and one-yard run by Shawne Alston to make the score 49-20 at halftime. The combined 69 points set an all-time Orange Bowl record for two teams in the first half and the 49 points by West Virginia set the single team record.
West Virginia continued to keep their foot on the gas as they scored on their first two possessions of the third quarter. A 6-yard pass to Stedman Bailey and a 37-yard pass to Austin over the middle to push the Mountaineer total up to 63 points. The last touchdown for the Mountaineers came with 6:14 left to play as Smith found Willie Milhouse for the 7-yard strike.
West Virginia finished the game with 589 total yards. Alston, who replaced freshman Dustin Garrison, led the rushing attack with 78 yards and two touchdowns. The team rushed for 188 yards total.
The victory gives the Mountaineers a perfect 3-0 record in BCS Bowl games and their third 10 win season since 2006.
“Our guys felt like they weren’t getting much credit, and they wanted to make a statement in this game,” said Holgorsen. “Clemson is a good team, but we got the momentum, and it made us tough to catch. The victory caps a great season and helps us lay the groundwork for the future.”
Photo Credits: All-Pro Photography/Dale Sparks
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