70-33 Yipes!

"...WVA just doesn't have the man-power to beat the Tigers."

Boy! When I'm wrong, I'm really, really wrong!

A week ago Baylor set a record for most points scored in a bowl game when they put up 67 points in the Alamo Bowl. That record didn't even last a week when West Virginia put up 70 in the Orange Bowl against Clemson last night.

Gino Smith got the MVP and was credited with throwing for 401 yards and six (!) touchdowns, but he should at least share that award with Tevon Austin who caught four of those "passes" for TDs. Three of them were not much more than little flips forward--almost like a basketball give-and-go--as wide receiver Austin sped across the field between the center and Smith. Austin's speed and ability to tight-rope walk his way down the sidelines turned even the shortest "toss" in to a long TD pass.

Austin's TDs came on plays of 8, 27, 3, and 37 yards. In addition, Geno Smith hit Stedman Bailey for a 6-yard score and Willie Milhouse for a 7-yard TD. Smith used his legs to score on a 7 yard run. And Shawne Alston acrossed the line twice as he carried the ball 20 times for 77 yards.

But the play that turned the game around--and was the second longest scoring play in Orange Bowl history--was made by Mountaineer safety Darwin Cook. With Clemson trailing 21-20 in the second quarter, Andre Ellington--who had started the games scoring with a 68 yard run--drove into a pile at the goal line as he attempted to put the Tigers back in the lead. The ball popped loose, however and boiled to the top of the scrum. Cook snatched the ball and, not hearing any whistles, took off for the other end of the field while many Clemson players stood around the heap signalling touchdown. Ninety-nine yards later it was a touchdown--for West Virginia.

The extra point made it 28-20, but that too was ephemeral. Two quick turnovers by Tahj Boyd (Clemson had four on the night), a couple of quick strikes by Smith and crew and it was 49-20 at halftime. (That too was a record: highest score by a single team and by two teams in a half.)

Watching this game was like watching a train wreck: the carnage as Clemson was destroyed on defense was a horrible sight, but you just couldn't stop watching for fear of missing a spectacular play by someone--anyone--on the West Virginia side of the ball.

Good thing there are no bowl games tonight. I need to catch my breath after this one.

Now, about those critics who keep calling it the Big Least...West Virginia was just 5-2 in conference. Please explain.