WVU 70 – Clemson 33
West Virgnia showed once again not to bet against them in BCS games.
Geno Smith tied the record for any bowl game with six touchdown passes, and the Mountaineers set a bowl scoring record Wednesday night with their high-powered offense. But safety Cook made the pivotal play by returning a fumble 99 yards for a touchdown to break the game open and help rout Clemson 70-33.
Cook collided comically with mascot Obie after scoring one of the Mountaineers’ five TDs in the second quarter, including three in the final 2:29 for a 49-20 lead. It was the highest-scoring half by a team in a bowl game.
“I always envisioned making great plays,” Cook said. “If you think it will happen, it will happen.”
Tavon Austin tied a record for any bowl game with four touchdown catches. Smith went 31 for 42, and had 401 yards passing to break Tom Brady’s Orange Bowl record. Smith also ran for a score, helping West Virginia break the bowl record for points established six nights earlier when Baylor beat Washington 67-56 in the Alamo Bowl.
“Never could we imagine we’d put up 70 points,” Smith said.
The Mountaineers (10-3) won in their first Orange Bowl appearance and improved to 3-0 in Bowl Championship Series games.
“The guys wanted to come in and make a statement, and the only way you can do that is if you play well on all three sides of the ball,” coach Dana Holgorsen said.
Nine bowl records were tied or broken in West Virginia’s lopsided Discover Orange Bowl win over Clemson.
Most TD (team), 10, WVU (tied)
Most combined pts (half), 69 (1st half)
Most pts (team), 70, WVU
Most pts in quarter (team), 35, WVU (1st)
Most pts in half (team), 49, WVU (1st)
Most pass TD (individual), 6, Geno Smith (tied)
Most TD responsible (individual)7, Geno Smith (tied)
Most pts responsible (individual) 42, Geno Smith (tied) Most rec TD (individual), 4, Tavon Austin (tied)
Credit: ESPN Stats & Information
