Orange Bowl 2012 Projection: Clemson Tigers vs. West Virginia Mountaineers

Don’t ask what is going to happen in the Sugar Bowl because it is utter chaos right now and it depends if the voters move TCU pass Georgia and or the loser of the Big Ten Championship. Boise State and Kansas State remain legit possibilities, but let us talk about the Discover Orange Bowl.

The Clemson Tigers is putting a beatdown on the Hokies 38-10 late in the fourth quarter (Update: Clemson wins 38-10), and will be on their way to its first ever BCS Bowl. The Orange Bowl is an ACC tie-in so we can pretty much bank on a Clemson-West Virginia matchup thanks to the Cincinnati Bearcats victory over the Connecticut Huskies.

The three-way tie in the Big East will allow the Mountaineers to win via the tiebreaker in which the highest ranked team goes to the BCS.

The Orange Bowl has the last at-large bid pick and it is almost a mortal lock that the Big East will go last in the selection process.

So, with a Clemson-West Virginia matchup we can almost bank on those two squaring off and it could turn into a shootout.

Dana Holgorsen and Dabo Sweeney have two high-octane offense that love to get up and down the field thanks to a legit receivers with a stud signal caller threading the needle.

Tajh Boyd and Geno Smith would be a tremendous matchup to look forward that the media will look at, but it will be the defenses that give us a great idea on who will win this BCS Bowl.

The Tigers defensive line flexed its muscle all night long against the Hokies thanks to Brandon Thompson and Andre Branch.

The two together are quite the duo up front and their speed is something that West Virginia may have no answer for.

If the Mountaineers attempt to throw a boatload of smoke screens all over the field, the Tigers linebacker can start to tee off the young WV wideouts.

Special teams could be another huge factor since Tavon Austin, DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins are all speed demons. Plus, all three can hit the home run either on special teams or on offense. Both teams are tough to match up with because they will throw three and four set receivers at you all game long.

Geno Smith and Tajh Boyd are two of the more talented spread quarterbacks in the country and I would bank on a shootout with the running game of Clemson to prove to be the difference. WV has had zero running game this season and it is due to catch up to them against a legit Tigers squad. With an Orange Bowl victory, I am banking on Dabo to see his squad ranked in the top ten come preseason football.

Drama’s Pick: Clemson 38, West Virginia 24