8:30 p.m. ESPN - No. 23 West Virginia vs. No. 15 Clemson
Except for just a few games this season, Clemson has looked really good. But when the Tigers were beaten, they were beaten badly -- by 14 vs. Ga. Tech, by 24 vs. N.C. State, and by 21 vs. South Carolina. West Virginia, on the other hand, has been more consistent. The only real letdown game for the Mountaineers came in a 49-23 loss. Otherwise, you got what you expected out of them. They lost to Louisville -- in a hard-fought 38-35 game and their only other loss was a 47-21 trouncing by LSU. But the Tigers did that to everyone but Alabama this year. And West Virginia was actually in that game at the beginning of the second half.
Tonight's game is a question of which team shows up for Clemson, much like it was for the ACC championship game. In that one, I didn't predict Clemson to play well and thought it would lose to Virginia Tech by two TDs. Boy, was I wrong. For the first time in a few games, the Tigers put it all together and beat the Hokies for the second time this season, 38-10 (the first score was 23-3). If the good Clemson shows up, it can definitely beat West Virginia. If it doesn't, the potential for a blowout win for the Mountaineers is there.
Both teams can put up yards and points, so I expect this to be yet another high-scoring bowl game, as most of them have been. Both quarterbacks, Geno Smith for West Virginia and Tajh Boyd for Clemson, can air it out. Clemson is slightly more balanced on offense because it has a better running game than West Virginia. The Mountaineers are slightly better at pass defense and a good bit better at run defense than the Tigers, but both teams give about 26 points per game. Clemson has had to play better competition, both out-of-conference and in the ACC (slightly). West Virginia's out-of-conference schedule was quite weak outside of LSU while Clemson played both Auburn and South Carolina.
I think this will be another great BCS game, as every single one has been so far. I think Clemson will show up and I like Clemson's best over West Virginia's best.
Clemson 41, West Virginia 34
Except for just a few games this season, Clemson has looked really good. But when the Tigers were beaten, they were beaten badly -- by 14 vs. Ga. Tech, by 24 vs. N.C. State, and by 21 vs. South Carolina. West Virginia, on the other hand, has been more consistent. The only real letdown game for the Mountaineers came in a 49-23 loss. Otherwise, you got what you expected out of them. They lost to Louisville -- in a hard-fought 38-35 game and their only other loss was a 47-21 trouncing by LSU. But the Tigers did that to everyone but Alabama this year. And West Virginia was actually in that game at the beginning of the second half.
Tonight's game is a question of which team shows up for Clemson, much like it was for the ACC championship game. In that one, I didn't predict Clemson to play well and thought it would lose to Virginia Tech by two TDs. Boy, was I wrong. For the first time in a few games, the Tigers put it all together and beat the Hokies for the second time this season, 38-10 (the first score was 23-3). If the good Clemson shows up, it can definitely beat West Virginia. If it doesn't, the potential for a blowout win for the Mountaineers is there.
Both teams can put up yards and points, so I expect this to be yet another high-scoring bowl game, as most of them have been. Both quarterbacks, Geno Smith for West Virginia and Tajh Boyd for Clemson, can air it out. Clemson is slightly more balanced on offense because it has a better running game than West Virginia. The Mountaineers are slightly better at pass defense and a good bit better at run defense than the Tigers, but both teams give about 26 points per game. Clemson has had to play better competition, both out-of-conference and in the ACC (slightly). West Virginia's out-of-conference schedule was quite weak outside of LSU while Clemson played both Auburn and South Carolina.
I think this will be another great BCS game, as every single one has been so far. I think Clemson will show up and I like Clemson's best over West Virginia's best.
Clemson 41, West Virginia 34
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