Orange Bowl:

#23 West Virginia (9-3, 5-2, 1st in the Big East) vs. #14 Clemson (10-3, 7-2, 1st ACC Atlantic Division, ACC Champions)

With freshman running back Dustin Garrison out due to a knee injury, junior Shawne Alston will have to step up his play. That might mean Geno Smith will need to kick up his game, too. If he does…well, look out Clemson! With Smith at the controls, West Virginia brings the nation’s #7 pass offense into Sun Life Stadium for the Orange Bowl. The Mountaineers average 341.8 yards per game while throwing the ball. Smith has throw 25 TD passes while giving up only 7 INTs.

Clemson has Tajh Boyd at QB and he’s no slouch either. Boyd has thrown for 31 TDs this year while tossing only 10 INTs. The Tigers are 21st in the nation in passing offense averaging 284.8 ypg.

Both teams are strong on pass defense (WVA is 28th in the nation while Clemson is 32nd).

Clemson is 56th in the nation in rush offense with 155.8 ypg while West Virginia is only 93rd with 117.8 ypg.

On rush defense it’s the opposite. WVA is the better of the two yielding just 140.8 ypg and ranking 46th in the nation as compared to Clemson giving up 176.5 ypg in 77th place.

Clemson was powering along on cruise control until the last week in October. They then lost three out of four games—all road games—to Georgia Tech, North Carolina State, and South Carolina before defeating Virginia Tech—for the second time in the season— in the ACC Championship game.

Clemson has used the time since December 3rd to get healthy--which is bad news for West Virginia.

I may be a Big East fan, and I truly hope West Virginia can prove me wrong, but I’ve little love for the Mountaineers in this game. With the injuries they've suffered, WVA just doesn't have the man-power to beat the Tigers.

Clemson 38, WVA 24