After an up and down year the Mountaineers have made a BCS bowl. However, it will not be an easy task as they will be facing the fifteenth ranked Clemson Tigers. Both teams won their conferences, with West Virginia sharing theirs with Cincinnati and Louisville.
Geno Smith had an astounding year throwing for 3,978 yards, 25 touchdowns and just 7 interceptions. Look for Smith to continue to air the ball out as the Mountaineers look to burn the Tigers’ secondary. Smith’s favorite target this year has been Stedman Bailey who snagged 67 receptions for 1,197 yards and 11 touchdowns. 
It has also been reported that running back Dustin Garrison will not play due to a knee injury, so look for Shawne Alston, Vernard Roberts and Andrew Buie to step up and fill the void for the injured Garrison. While Garrison has had more carries and more yards than the other running backs, Alston leads the running corps with 10 touchdowns and he is in good position to prove he can be the main back next year.
The Mountaineer defense struggled at some points during the season, but they were able to overcome these obstacles and find ways to shut down the opposing offense. The Mountaineers recorded 12 interceptions this year with Keith Tandy leading the way with three picks for a total of 45 yards. One problem the defense faced was the ability to sack the quarterback. The defense seemed to pull together towards the end and come away with 28 sacks. Senior Bruce Irvin came away with 7 sacks while senior Julian Miller racked up 6 sacks. Look for these two players to put the pressure on Tigers’ quarterback Tajh Boyd who was sacked 28 times. Boyd also threw 10 interceptions this year so watch for the defense to make some big plays during the game. Also a little fact about Boyd is at one point he had committed to WVU, but then he decided to go play for Clemson instead.
The most concerning area all season for the Mountaineers has been the way the special teams has performed. The punting was terrible as most of the kicks went 20 yards at the most. Out of the two punters Corey Smith seemed to be the better option as he had 21 punts for 857 yards with an average of 40.81 yards a punt. Kicker Tyler Bitancurt was 16 of 22 from field goal range with his longest being 45 yards. Bitancurt was by far the most productive special teams’ player. The biggest problem was the defensive special teams as they allowed plenty of big returns. In total they gave up 1,692 on 69 returns and they also allowed two touchdowns. They will have to pull it together big time if they want to be able to stop Clemson from gaining big yards on kick and punt returns.
The Mountaineers have had plenty of time to prepare for this game and that will hopefully pay off for them. Every last player on the Mountaineers will have to step it up a notch if they want to stop the Tigers in their tracks.
Prediction: WVU-27 Clemson-20
Player of the Game: Geno Smith 30/45 375 yards 3TDs 2INTs
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