First things first: the West Virginia Mountaineers became the first team to ever score 70 points in a bowl game, trashing the Clemson Tigers, 70-26, in the 2012 Orange Bowl. Seventy points!
West Virginia Vs. Clemson Final Score, Orange Bowl 2012: WVU Breaks Bowl Record
From a four-touchdown, five-minute spurt around halftime to the highest combined-scoring first quarter and first half in Orange Bowl history to WVU pulling starting quarterback Geno Smith with 20 minutes left in the game, WVU made that whole rejected-by-the-ACC thing look mighty silly indeed.
SI.com: Orange Bowl box score and Orange Bowl FAQ.
Smith passed for 401 yards and six touchdowns, Tavon Austin put together 163 combined yards and four scores, Shawne Alston rushed for 78 and scored twice. It goes on and on. The funny thing is Clemson's offense actually played reasonably well, putting up 440 yards, but letting go of four turnovers made far too big of an opportunity for one of the nation's fastest, most capable offenses.
Dana Holgorsen, who became the head coach of the ‘Eers after a rocky setup with previous coach Bill Stewart fell apart, has helped give West Virginia its third victory in a BCS bowl game.
For more on the 2012 Orange Bowl, visit Clemson blog Shakin’ the Southland and West Virginia blog The Smoking Musket.
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