The big news from last night was the shellacking the Mountaineers gave the Clemson Tigers in the Orange Bowl. West Virginia tied or broke nine bowl records in the game. Aside from the football team’s monstrous win, the men’s basketball was also able to defeat Rutgers last night 85-64.
What is there to say about the Orange Bowl other than wow! After being down 17-14 in the first quarter the Mountaineers stormed back with 35 points in the second quarter. The Mountaineers did not slow down from there scoring another 14 points in the third quarter
and finally a lone touchdown in the fourth.Geno Smith was unstoppable as he went 31/42 for 401 yards and 6 touchdowns. Smith also added five carries for 26 yards and one touchdown and was named MVP of the game.
Tavon Austin played on a whole new level as he had 11 receptions for 117 yards and 4 touchdowns. Touchdowns were also scored by Stedman Bailey who recorded 82 receiving yards and Willie Milhouse who had 72 yards. With Dustin Garrison out, the healthy running backs came up huge. Shawne Alston was the lead back with 20 carries for 77 yards and two touchdowns. Austin also had an impact on the run game as he had four carriers for 46 yards. Even Andrew Buie who had trouble running the ball throughout the season had a decent game carrying the 13 times for 45 yards.
The defense easily had one of their best games all season. They did start out slow, but once the game got going things began to click. Darwin Cook had the play of the game, nabbing a fumble on the one yard and returning it 99 yards for a touchdown. A few plays later Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd fumbled the ball which was recovered by the Mountaineers and lead to another Mountaineer touchdown. Boyd also threw two interceptions in the game. Keith Tandy came up with one and returned it 18 yards while Pat Miller hauled in the second and returned it only six yards. The Mountaineers defense was also able to sack Boyd three times; this was an area the team struggled with throughout the season. Bruce Irvin, Will Clarke and Najee Goode each came away with one sack.
The Mountaineers’ special teams were the biggest problem the team had all year, but they definitely showed up when it mattered. Kicker Tyler Bitancurt was a perfect 10/10 on extra points as the Mountaineers had no need to go for field goals. Austin had five kick returns for 117 yards. The punting unit which was inconsistent all year finally found their mojo. Punter Corey Smith had five punts for 175 with two of them landing inside the twenty yard line. This punting prevented many Clemson returns.
Records broken in the 2012 Orange Bowl are as follows:
Most TD (team) 10, WVU (tied)
Most combined points (half) 69 (1st half)
Most points (team) 70, WVU
Most points in a quarter (team) 35, WVU (1st)
Most points in a half (team) 49, WVU (1st)
Most Pass TD (individual) 6, Geno Smith (tied)
Most TD responsible (individual) 7, Geno Smith (tied)
Most points responsible (individual) 42, Geno Smith (tied)
Most rec TD (individual) 4, Tavon Austin (tied)
(Courtesy of ESPN Stats & Information)
From the field to the hardwood, the Mountaineers did not stop their domination last night. About an hour and a half before the Orange Bowl the West Virginia Men’s basketball tipped off against Big East opponent Rutgers.
The first half was dominated by the Mountaineers as they dropped 51 points on the home team. Darryl “Truck” Bryant came away with 16 points, three steals and two rebounds. Kevin Jones snagged 7 rebounds and recorded 8 points. Aaron Brown came off the bench to drop 11 points. These three players helped propel West Virginia with a huge halftime lead.
The start of the second half was a bit shaky for the Mountaineers as Rutgers went on a 10-0 run which cut the lead to 15. However, the Mountaineers were not fazed for long as they began to knock down shots left and right. Freshman guard Jabarie Hinds ended the drought with a three pointer and Bryant and Jones followed suit putting up points and grabbing rebounds. Eventually this proved to be too much for Rutgers as West Virginia pulled further and further away.
Bryant finished with an astounding 29 points as well as three rebounds and three steals. Jones racked up another double-double by recording 14 points and snatching 14 rebounds. Deniz Kilicli added 16 points, two steals, two assists and two rebounds. Hinds dropped 11 points and had a team high 7 rebounds.
The Mountaineers’ next game is against the 9th ranked Georgetown Hoyas in Morgantown. Last year the Mountaineers beat the Hoyas when they were ranked 13th 65-59 in Washington D.C.
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