West Virginia and Clemson: College Football Pick
Sunday, January 01, 2012 10:41 AM ET
By: Bob Harvey | www.sbrforum.com
In what could be the most entertaining bowl of the season, West Virginia and Clemson square off in the Discovery Orange Bowl. The game is set for Wednesday, January 4 with kickoff at 8:30 PM ET at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.
The Tigers opened in the college football odds as -3.5 point favorites but the number has dropped to -3 with a few shops offering -2.5. The total opened at 57 and was quickly bet up to 61 for this matchup of high powered offensive teams.
This will be the first BCS bowl appearance for Clemson (10-3 ATS, 8-5 ATS) which had visions of a national title after starting out the year 8-0. However the Tigers came back to earth, landing with a thud following three losses in four games. They rebounded with a 38-10 rout of Virginia in the ACC title game to secure the school’s first BCS bowl bid and first conference title since 1991.
This will be the first meeting between the two schools since 1989.
Tajh Mahal
Both teams are averaging more than 33 points and 440 yards per game in the stats and can boast of having two of the top quarterback’s in the nation.
Clemson’s Tajh Boyd is a dual threat who has passed for 3,578 yards with 31 touchdowns and has rushed for an additional 194 yards and five touchdowns. He’s also got a power of elite receivers at his disposal. Leading the way are tight end Dwayne Allen and freshman receiver Sammy Watkins who both received All-American honors and were named to the ACC first-team.
Allen was named the winner of the John Mackey Award as the nation's top tight end. He owns three school records; 48 receptions, 577 yards and eight touchdowns. Watkins who is just a freshman had 77 receptions this season for 1,153 yards and 11 TD’s. Running back Andre Ellington had 1062 yards rushing and 22 receptions for 109 yards. He finished the regular season with a combined 10 touchdowns.
Overall Clemson is averaging 34.9 points per game and is 28th in the nation in total yardage (441.5 ypg). With Boyd leading the way the Tigers are 21st in the country in passing (284.8 ypg).
The defense is 58th in total yards allowed (379.4), 36th in passing yards (202.9) and 82ndagainst the run (176.5).
Record setter
West Virginia quarterback Geno Smith, who grew up in the Miami area, will try to give the hometown crowd a show. Based on is numbers this year he should be up to the task.
Smith holds several school records including attempts and completions and passing yards in a season (3,978 ypg). He’s got a pair of talented, big play wide receivers at the ready like Stedman Bailey who made 67 grabs this year for 1,197 yards and 11 scores. Then there’s Tavon Austin, who had 89 receptions this year for 1,063 yards.
Thanks to Smith, the Mountaineers (9-3), meanwhile, rank seventh in the country in passing offense (341.8), tied for 18th in total offense (459.6) and are 21st in scoring (34.9).
The defense is good but not great. They rank in the top 50 in several key categories: 27th in yards allowed (340.3), 31st in passing yards (199.6) and 50th in rushing yards given up (140.8). West Virginia is allowing 26.2 points per game.
Pressure packed
Reaching a BCS bowl looked like a long shot for West Virginia after a loss to Louisville on Nov. 5 dropped it to 6-3. However they closed the season with three straight wins (2-1 ATS) by a combined seven points, overcoming a fourth-quarter deficit in each. The Mountaineers finished in a three way tie with Cincinnati and Louisville atop the Big East but by virtue of a tiebreaker, WVU earned a trip to its third BCS game.
Harvey’s take: This one shapes up as a shootout and a combined 70+ points isn’t out of the question. I’ll take the over and maybe add a small play on Clemson in my college bowl picks.
Good luck!
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