Orange You Glad There's More Bowl Games

What a week of bowl games we've had so far this week! The Orange Bowl is the next in line. The Clemson Tigers look for their first win in Orange Bowl since 1981, when they won the game and their first and only national championship. The West Virginia Mountaineers look to improve to 3-0 in BCS bowl games.

Everything seemed to be going right for Clemson. The Tigers were 8-0 and eyeing a chance at the BCS title game. They had already hammered Virginia Tech 23-3 in Blacksburg, a feat that has rarely happened during the Frank Beamer era. But then all of a sudden everything started going wrong. They lost three out of four games, and the only one they won they had to come from behind in. However, they still managed to back into the ACC Championship Game, a rematch with a Virginia Tech team hungry for revenge. Almost everyone picked the Hokies to win, but Clemson shocked us once again. They looked like the team of the first-half season in a convincing 38-10 rout. It was still a great overall season for Clemson. It was the Tigers first ACC title since 1991 and first ten win season since 1990.

West Virginia has had an up-and-down season. The Mountaineers were 3-0 before getting crushed by LSU. They won two more games, but then lost two out of three in Big East play. West Virginia finished conference play with three straight wins and got some help from Cincinnati to earn the conference's automatic bid to earn a BCS bowl. Fans have complained and experts have critiqued that the Mountaineers don't deserve to be playing in a BCS bowl because of how supposedly soft the Big East is. I don't buy it. Yes, they lost to LSU, but they beat Maryland. Sure they lost some conference games, but so did every other team not in the BCS title game. The Big East is 2-1 in bowl games so far. The ACC and Pac 12 are 2-5 in bowl games so far. Why haven't I heard that Clemson doesn't belong in this game? West Virginia is in this game and will have a point to prove. They have won these games before and have showed the supposed experts then too.

Okay, I will stop ranting now. Let's look at the on-field matchup of the two teams. This one should be another offensive juggernaut of a game. Both teams have averaged at least 33 points per game. The quarterback matchup is a great one between Clemson's Tajh Boyd and West Virginia's Geno Smith. Smith has the edge in passing yards, while Boyd threw for six more touchdowns. Boyd's favorite targets include two AP All-Americans in tight end Dwayne Allen and freshman wide receiver Sammy Watkins. Smith's go-to man has been Stedman Bailey, who caught 67 passes for a school-record 1197 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns. He also has Tavon Austin, who is often used in the slot and is one of the most dangerous return men in the nation. Austin's 191.2 all-purpose yards a game is second best in the country.

I think this game is going to be another stellar bowl game. Before the bowl season began, I picked Clemson to win, but I would be the first to say that West Virginia has an excellent chance of competing in and possibly winning this game. The offenses should have no trouble racking up the yards and points. This game might come down to which one of these defenses can get the key stop late in the game.