WVU, Clemson could light it up in the Orange Bowl

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Watch for a battle of the offenses to shine Wednesday in the Orange Bowl at Florida’s Sun Life Stadium when No. 23 West Virginia Mountaineers will face No. 15 Clemson Tigers, who have one of the nation’s most powerful offenses.

This will be WVU’s biggest test of the year.

Finishing 9-3 under first-year head coach Dana Holgersen, West Virginia is ranked seventh nationally in passing offense (341.8 ypg.), No. 17 in total offense (459.6 ypg.), 19th in scoring offense (34.92 ppg.) and averaging 35 points per game. The trip to the Orange Bowl is the first in program history, but it marks the school’s third BCS appearance in the last seven years.

The Mountaineers’ offense is powered by quarterback Geno Smith, sitting at No. 9 in the nation for total offense with 314-of-483
completed passes for 3,978 yards and 25 touchdowns. West Virginia’s game on the ground is led by freshman running back Dustin Garrison with 742 yards and six scores on 5.5 yards-per-carry, while junior Shawne Alston has 10 rushing touchdowns.

The passing game is dominated by receivers Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin. Austin finished the 2012 regular season with 89 catches for 1,063 yards and four touchdowns while Bailey caught 67 passes for a school-record 1,197 yards and 11 touchdowns. The receiving duo is the first in program history to post 1,000 yards in the same season.

On the offensive line, left tackle Don Barclay was named First-Team All-Big East, and the 2012 Orange Bowl will mark his 40th career start as a Mountaineer, the most in school history. Center Joe Madsen is only one career start behind Barclay, starting all but one game in his career at West Virginia.

Defensively, West Virginia has 12 interceptions on the season, 11 of which are from defensive backs. Cornerback Keith Tandy has contributed to three of the 12 interceptions, while Brodrick Jenkins has two. Redshirt senior defensive tackle Julian Miller leads West Virginia’s defense. Miller has 27.5 career sacks, the second-highest in program history.

Clemson’s high-caliber offensive numbers nearly mirror those of WVU.

First-Team All-ACC quarterback Tajh Boyd leads the Tigers offense with 274-453 completed passes for 3,578 yards and 31 touchdowns. One of Boyd’s biggest weapons is Dwayne Allen, a first-team All-ACC pick and winner of the John Mackey Award. Allen has 577 yards and eight touchdowns on 48 receptions — school records in all three areas. Another weapon on the Clemson roster is freshman receiver Sammy Watkins, who has caught 77 passes for 1,153 yards and 11 touchdowns this season.

Orange Bowl officials are thrilled with this year’s match-up. “We anticipate an exciting, high-scoring game,” Orange Bowl CEO Eric Poms said to ESPN.

The game will be a homecoming for a number of WVU players. Much like their Clemson foes, West Virginia recruits from the Florida area. With nine players on the Mountaineers’ roster being native to the south Florida area, the Orange Bowl will be familiar territory. Among the nine natives to the state is the dangerous offensive trio of quarterback Geno Smith and receivers Ivan McCartney and Stedman Bailey.

“This is a dream come true,” McCartney told Miami reporters prior to a recent practice. “A lot of athletes don’t get the chance to go home and play after leaving. I can’t believe this. Can’t even describe it.”

The Mountaineers’ first and last meeting with the Tigers was in the 1989 Gator Bowl, where Clemson defeated West Virginia 27-7.

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