In an age of awkward bowl title sponsorships, terrible games, empty stadiums, I thought I would take the liberty to change Wednesday night’s game to a more appropriate name. This will be the second meeting between the Tigers and Mountaineers. The first meeting took place in the 1989 Gator Bowl where Clemson prevailed 27-7.
This is an intriguing matchup on the field and on the government tape. Lets cut to the chase and see how Clemson and West Virginia match up.
South Carolina | West Virginia | |
Per Captia Income | $32,505 | $32,080 |
Poverty Rate | 18.1% | 18.2% |
% Completing College | 20.1% | 14.8% |
% Completing HS only | 39.4% | 30% |
Unemployment Rate | 9.9% | 7.9% |
Population (millions) | 4.5 | 1.8 |
Fed Funds per person (FY10) | $10,415 | $11,260 |
Information retrieved from: USDA Economic Research Service
The tale of the Fed’s Tape indicates that West Virginia and South Carolina have more similarities than many South Carolinians would like to admit. There is a youtube video making its way throughout the West Virginia message boards of a Clemson fan taking a brutal slap at the people of West Virginia. It is one of those things where a person from South Carolina making fun of West Virginia is like the pot calling the kettle black.
Two culturally similar schools with similar football histories, the Mountaineers have enjoyed a lot of success over the years but like their counterparts from Clemson, have had a hard time getting over the hump and transitioning into an elite program. In the midst of conference expansion earlier this season, rumors of West Virginia joining the ACC were thrown around. I for one thought the Mountaineers would have been a great fit for the ACC. Unfortunately, the higher ups at member institutions allowed their bigotry to shine through and added schools that do nothing for the conference but allow administrators to fall all over themselves at academic functions.
It is important to understand West Virginia has a unique mission of access for the people of West Virginia. If you graduate from high school in the state of West Virginia, you are effectively given a chance at the flagship university.
This reality and the fact that West Virginia has held true to this mission, means they are not going to look sexy in US News school rankings. West Virginia is a more comprehensive institution than Clemson and makes strong efforts to meet the needs of the state. The people of West Virginia are a proud people, they take a lot of pride in where they come from and their values. It is a state that like South Carolina has a hard time getting out of its own way at times but offers its citizens good quality of life.
Enough about debunking stereotypes, there is a football game to be played tomorrow night. Couple of tidbits about WVU from my perspective, they have several athletes who are capable of putting on a show in a similar fashion as Sammy Watkins and Dwayne Allen. Names you should familiarize yourself with for the Mountaineers quaterback Geno Smith, receiver Tavon Austin, and receiver Steadman Bailey. WVU will throw the ball all over the yard. If the Clemson defense does not tackle well, it could be a long night.
Defensively, WVU will employ a 3-3-5 defense that can cause teams headaches in the ability to bring pressure from a variety of angles. Clemson fans have seen this offensive line struggle at times with odd front pressure packages. That being said, the Mountaineers are a light up front, which makes them susceptible to a power running game. Clemson will have a real opportunity to establish the run and if they can, it could be a good night for the Tigers. That being said, if the Clemson offense struggles and finds itself in long yardage situations on third down, defensive end Bruce Irvin will make it a long night for Tajh Boyd.
For better insight into West Virginia, I enlisted one of my best friends, Buseman for insight into WVU. He is currently a PhD candidate at WVU and a rabid college football fan.
Smoke and Mirrors vs. Slightly Better Smoke and Mirrors
WVU is an inherently flawed football team. No better than last year, the Mountaineers will take the field as a team that relied on a particularly tricky mix of smoke and mirrors and pure, dumb luck to secure the terrible Big East’s BCS bid.
The Mounties possess offensive skill position players who are roughly comparable to those of Clemson. Geno Smith is, for right now, a more experienced and talented QB than Boyd. Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey are supreme talents and the RBs are young but pretty good. If the Orange Bowl was a 7-on-7 contest, WVU would stand a pretty good chance of winning.
Unfortunately for the ‘eers, games are won on defense, in the trenches, and on special teams, and this squad has been either wildly inconsistent or downright horrific in these areas. The 3-3-5 works particularly well when an opponent has limited time to scout it – Clemson has had a month. Jeff Casteel, who I believe does about as much as he can with limited talent and a particularly feminine scheme, tends to abandon an entire side of the field in an oftentimes vain effort to supplement a spotty three-man pass rush. Julian Miller and Bruce Irvin are exceptional pass rushers, but they are too small to stop the run. WVU rotates in a pretty unremarkable and smallish platoon of NTs in the middle of the odd front. The LBs are serviceable but a bit on the slow and small side. If there is any spot on the defense where the Mounties can make some hay, it is in the backfield. Boyd fell in love with his arm and threw too many iffy passes towards the end of the season. The WVU DBs are good enough to take advantage of this flaw. Ultimately, though, I do not foresee Clemson having much trouble road-grading a small defensive front and running the ball downhill.
The WVU offense was also spotty this year. This inconsistency is the direct result of the OL’s inability to protect Geno game in and game out. Still, there appears to be enough weapons on offense to keep the ‘eers in the game. I don’t think CU has an answer for Stedman or Tavon (in the same way the WVU defense will fail to contain Dwayne Allen and Sammy Watkins).
This game will turn on special teams. I am OK with WVU’s placekicker. However, punt and kick coverage have been disastrous this year. The Mounties have struggled on kick and punt coverage for several years now and they were no better this year. This deficiency comes from terrible tackling and lane discipline – a pretty disastrous combo given the talent Clemson has returning kicks. Even if WVU does somehow cover kicks, it may not matter as the two punters used this year have the nasty habit of decapitating the ball girl on the sidelines after a wounded-duck, 12-yard punt.
Ultimately, I think Clemson gets at least one special teams TD and runs the ball down WVU’s throat. The Mounties will stick around, but they will play from behind all day and eventually succumb to a better team.
CU 34 WVU 24
There you have it from the WVU perspective. If the first two BCS games are any indication of what we can expect, don’t plan on going to sleep early tomorrow night.
In closing, I am humbled to have the opportunity to attend the Orange Bowl. After all the shoulda, coulda, and wouldas, to see a Clemson team finally rise to the occasion and win an ACC Championship again has brought me an immense amount of joy and satisfaction. Having waited 30 years to return to the Orange Bowl and 20 years for an ACC Title, I am going to soak this experience up like a sponge. It has been a fun ride and a special night awaits Tiger fans tomorrow night in Sun Life Stadium. GO TIGERS!!
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