This was a very important bowl bid for both teams as each recruits Florida very heavily… harder than any other program in the South that doesn’t share a border with the Sunshine State. Geno Smith hails from Miramar– a serious recruiting pipeline for the Mountaineers- as does WR Ivan McCartney. Clemson counters with Sammy Watkins from Ft. Meyers and Mike Bellamy from Nocatee, Florida. These programs need Florida so they have a great opportunity to showcase their respective programs tonight in the heart of the richest recruiting grounds in the country. The 78th Discover Orange Bowl will be a shootout reminiscent of the Wild Wild West. The Mountaineers’ Geno Smith (4,000 passing yards) is probably the most underrated passer in the country while Clemson QB, Tajh Boyd (3,500 passing yards) has led a pigskin revival that has had everything this year outside of head coach Dabo Swinney catching the Holy Ghost.
Andre Branch of Clemson and Bruce Irvin of West Virginia are respectively two of the best defensive end prospects in the country as both are lethal off the edge and could be game changers tonight. With the absence of Dustin Garrison due to a sprained ACL, Mountaineer wide receivers Tavon Austin and Ivan McCartney will need to really step it up for West Virginia to have a chance. The Mountaineers are giving up 26 points a game this year, and they have not seen an offense as explosive as Clemson. Look for Clemson to establish the running game early with Andre Ellington and use its embarrassment of riches on offense to run away with this one late. Dana Holgorsen will have some tricks up his sleeves so expect some Star Wars scoreboard action, but Clemson is just too strong and will win its first ever BCS Bowl game.
I’ve got the Tigers over the Mountaineers 44-35 gaining a stronger recruiting foothold in the state of Florida. Can you just imagine what Dabo will say in the interview after the game???