West Virginia vs. Clemson and the 10 Biggest Blowouts in BCS Bowl History

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So much for the Big East not deserving to be an automatic qualifying conference. West Virginia quieted the critics, at least for now, by posting 70 points on the ACC Champion Clemson Tigers. The 37-point throttling was the largest margin of victory in BCS bowl history, but it wasn't the first time that a team has been totally blown out in a BCS game.

Just last year, Stanford and Oklahoma both won their BCS games by 28 points as Andrew Luck and Landry Jones put on clinics against the Hokies and Huskies.

USC and Florida own two of the largest blowout victories in BCS games, and Notre Dame has been on the short end of the stick twice when it comes to lopsided scores. As far as conference supremacy, the SEC and Pac-12 both own four of the top 10 BCS blowout victories.

There was really no formula I used for a blowout. These are the top 10 widest margins of victory in BCS bowl history. The spreads range from 27 to 37 points.

2007 Allstate Sugar Bowl

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No. 4 LSU vs. No. 11 Notre Dame

The Tigers handed the Irish a 41-14 loss, winning by 27 points. LSU held Notre Dame scoreless in the second half as LSU quarterback JaMarcus Russell scored three touchdowns in front of the crowd of 77,781 in the Superdome.

2010 Allstate Sugar Bowl

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No. 5 Florida vs. No. 3 Cincinnati

The Tim Tebow-led Gators beat down the Bearcats 51-24 for a 27-point victory.

The Big East Champion Bearcats, not the Gators, entered the Sugar Bowl undefeated at 12-0. There would be no fourth quarter magic needed for Tebow as he led the Gators to an early 30-3 lead going into the half.

The Florida quarterback passed for three scores and ran for another on his way to being named the MVP of the Sugar Bowl. He had 533 total yards in the game.

2008 Allstate Sugar Bowl

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No. 5 Georgia vs. No. 10 Hawaii

The Bulldogs cruised past the Warriors by 31 points, 41-10.

So far the Sugar Bowl is 3-for-3 courtesy of Georgia's beatdown of Hawaii. The Warriors were not able to continue the strong showing of non-automatic qualifying conference teams in BCS bowls and managed just 10 points.

For the first time in Sugar Bowl history, a purely defensive player was named MVP; Georgia DE Marcus Howard earned that distinction.

2001 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl

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No. 6 Oregon State vs. No. 11 Notre Dame

The Beavers beat down the Irish by a final score of 41-9 in a 32-point drubbing.

This one got out of hand after halftime; whatever Bob Davie said to his team didn't work. The Irish were down 12-3 going into the half, but surrendered 29 third quarter points.

Oregon State's Jonathan Smith and Darnell Robinson were co-MVP's.

2011 Discover Orange Bowl

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No. 4 Stanford vs. No. 14 Virginia Tech

Andrew Luck led the Cardinal to a 40-12 win over the Hokies to match the Sooners’ 28-point margin of victory in that year’s Fiesta Bowl.

Virginia Tech hasn't fared well in BCS games under Frank Beamer. The loss in last year's Orange Bowl dropped the Hokies to just 1-4 in such games.

The Cardinal outscored the Hokies 27-0 in the second half in what was supposed to be a close game. Stanford was favored by just 3.5 points heading into the contest.

Luck passed for four scores on his way to being named MVP. He finished 18-for-23 for 287 yards. The four touchdown passes set a Stanford bowl game record.

2011 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl

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No. 7 Oklahoma vs. Connecticut

Oklahoma beat an unranked UConn team 48-20 two days before Stanford put a 28-point beatdown on the Hokies.

The game was 34-20 going into the final period, but the Sooners scored 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.

Landry Jones threw for 429 yards and three scores on 34 of 50 passing, setting an Oklahoma bowl record.

2008 Rose Bowl Presented by Citi

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No. 7 Southern Cal vs. No. 13 Illinois

The Trojans beat the Illini by a final score of 49-17 in a 32-point hammering.

With John David Booty at the helm, the Trojans took an early 21-0 lead and never looked back. At the time, USC gained a Rose Bowl record 633 yards.

Booty and Rey Maualuga shared the MVP award.

2002 FedEx Orange Bowl

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No. 5 Florida vs. No. 10 Maryland

Ten years ago, the Gators hammered the Terps 56-23 in a 33-point blowout.

The game was Steve Spurrier's last game as Florida's head coach, but he went out in style as the Gators earned an easy victory over the ACC Champions.

2005 FedEx Orange Bowl

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No. 1 Southern Cal vs. No. 2 Oklahoma

The Trojans handed the Sooners a 36-point loss, winning 55-19 to capture the National Championship.

Even though the game was later vacated, it was still a rout put on by the Trojans' Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush.

USC went up 38-10 in the first half and totally dismantled Oklahoma. The 55 points were the most points scored in the Orange Bowl, and Leinart's five touchdown passes also set a record for the bowl.

2012 Discover Orange Bowl

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No. 23 West Virginia vs. No. 15 Clemson

The Mountaineers scored the most points in BCS history in a 70-33 clubbing of the Tigers. The 37-point spread is also the largest in BCS bowl history.

This game was absolutely embarrassing for the Tigers of Clemson. They surrendered 35 points in the second quarter alone. The Mountaineers tied or broke eight team and bowl game records, and the 69 combined first half points was also a record.

Perhaps the ACC, not the Big East, should lose its automatic qualifying status. The ACC is now just 2-13 in BCS bowls.