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| Clemson |
Before the game, the Clemson coach, Dabo Swinney said he would be surprised if his team and West Virginia not going to make enough points in the new edition of the Orange Bowl. On Wednesday, his suspicion was true. Unfortunately for him, West Virginia was the one who dominated the scoreboard. Behind seven touchdowns in the local Miami QB, Geno Smith, who grew up in the shadows of the stadium, (# 23) West Virgnia destroyed (# 15) Clemson 70-33 in the Sun Life Stadium in front of 67.563, taking in the process its first title at the Orange Bowl. The young QB completed 31 of 42 for 401 yards and six TDs through the air. His seven total touchdowns equaled the record for a player in a bowl game in college football history. Tavon Austin ended up getting 11 passes for 117 yards with four touchdowns and Shawne Alston rushed for two TDs. In a spectacular first half, the teams combined for 69 points, beating the record for points in a time in the history of the BCS. Although the end of time dominated the Mountaineers 49-20, the beginning of the meeting was rather more even than it appeared on the result. The joint offensive quickly set the pace, getting six points in the first eight offensive series. Both teams shared the initial points after the first quarter by Clemson was ahead 17-14. West Virginia won its first lead right at the beginning of the second quarter when Shawn Austin scored a second time to receive a 27-yard pass from Gino Smith.Los Tigers seemed to answer, but just when one came to the defense of the Mountaineers of West Virginia appeared and totally changed the game. Darwin Cook stole the ball from the hands of Andre Ellington just when it seemed that came through the points, returning it 99 yards for a TD, who opened the gap to 28-17 in favor of West Virginia. After that play, Clemson collapsed. Although it managed to cut the gap to eight points after the second of the night kicked Chandler Catanzaro, West Virginia did not take long to sink. Smith scored first. After an interception, Austin marked the third time in time and with four seconds to go ahead 49-20 entering Alston them to rest. Things did not improve for Clemson to leave the locker room with Smith widening the difference to 63-20 after two passes markers. Stedman Bailey first met and then combined for the fourth time in Austin, in the process sending the fans into the parking lot with orange 9:18 left in the third quarter.
Clemson
