The Orange Bowl

Mountaineers take on Clemson

The BCS Orange Bowl is one of the most prestigious bowl games in the country. The game will feature the ACC Champion Clemson Tigers and the Big East representative the West Virginia Mountaineers. Both teams feature big play quarterbacks and high powered offenses that have a ton of speed and are known for putting up a ton of points. Clemson got the bid to the Orange Bowl after beating the Virginia Tech 38-10 in the ACC Championship game and West Virginia got the bid because they were the highest ranked team in the Big East at the season's end. This will be the first trip the Mountaineers will ever make to the Orange Bowl and Clemson's 4th appearance. Clemson will enter the game at (10-3, 6-2 ACC) and West Virginia's record is (9-3, 5-2 Big East), there is no doubt folks will be talking a lot about the offenses coming into this one, but there is much more to these teams than that.

The Clemson Tigers have been a bit of a surprise this season. They have one of the best passing attacks in the country led by quarterback Tajh Boyd who has thrown for 3,578 yards, 31 TDs and 10 interceptions. Those are massive numbers for an ACC team to be putting up and Boyd will be looking to add to the total in the Orange Bowl. His main target is Freshman Sammy Watkins who has caught 11 TD passes and has gained 1,153 yards through the air this season. The speedy receiver could be a big threat in this game and could be a difference maker to look out for. The team does have a thousand yard rusher in Andre Ellington who scored 10 TDs this season. Over the past 3 games, the defense has been fantastic giving up less than 20 points per game, helping their offense tremendously. If their defensive backs can contain the speedy receivers of West Virginia, it would be the story of the game.

Similar to the Tigers, the Mountaineers are led by a heavy passing attack and an athletic quarterback who shattered all of the passing records at West Virginia. Geno Smith has been playing out of his mind this season and has thrown for nearly 4,000 yards and 25 TDs. He has the ability to throw the ball or tuck it and run away with break away speed. His receivers are having record-breaking years as well with both Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin both gaining over 1,000 yards through the air this season. Combined they have 15 TDs receiving and are widely considered the best dual threat in the country. They also have a dual threat at running back with Dustin Garrison and Shawne Alston both running the ball and combining for 15 TDs as well. On the defensive side of the ball, they lost 7 starters from the 2010 campaign and it has been a rebuilding year for the young defense.

This game has shoot-out written all over it. Both quarterbacks have thrown for a massive amount of yards and have weapons to help them out. Combined these teams could put up 80 points and the winner will be decided on the defensive side of the ball. The defensive backs will be the difference maker in the Orange Bowl this year and whoever can halt the oppositions passing attack will have an added edge. The Clemson running game has been better than the Mountaineers but the West Virginia defensive line is has been standing tall as of late and will have the ability to stop the run. This one will light up the scoreboard and will be exciting from the opening kick-off until the final minute of the game.

The Orange Bowl Overview

The Orange Bowl is one of the oldest and most prestigious of the annual college football bowl games played in the United States. Hosted by the city of Miami, Florida, this game has been played annually since 1935, and celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2009.

Miami boosters decided to organize a football bowl game to boost the city's economy in the depths of the Depression and the Florida land bust. The first games were played at Miami Field, which was replaced in 1938 by the Miami Orange Bowl. The annual game was held there until 1996, when it moved to Dolphin Stadium. After returning to the Orange Bowl for one final game in 1999, the Orange Bowl has remained at Dolphin Stadium (AKA SunLife Stadium).

Beginning in 1989, Federal Express sponsored the Orange Bowl and its name was changed to the FedEx Orange Bowl; FedEx ended its association with the game after the 2009 season and in 2010 Discover took over the sponsorship. The game is now officially called the Discover Orange Bowl.

For many years the Orange Bowl hosted the champion of the Big Eight Conference. Since 1998 the Orange Bowl associated with the Big East and Atlantic Coast Conference, and beginning in 2008 has been exclusively tied to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

Beginning in 1998, the Orange Bowl became one of the four college football bowls to make up the Bowl Championship Series (the other three bowls in the series are the Sugar Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Rose Bowl). Every four years, the Orange Bowl hosts the National Championship Game the week after the New Year's bowl games.

Oklahoma has played in the most Orange Bowls with 18 appearances, with Nebraska close behind at 17. Between them they account for 20 Orange Bowl wins. The Orange Bowl Hall of Fame includes players Joe Namath and Bart Starr, and legendary coaches Paul "Bear" Bryant, Joe Paterno, and Tom Landry among many others, all of whom participated in at least one Orange Bowl in their careers.

The Orange Bowl can also claim one of the oldest bowl game mascot figures, Obie the Orange, who has been appearing at Orange Bowl games and events since the bowl's founding in 1935.

There are numerous events, awards, sporting events and festivals associated with the Orange Bowl name, that run virtually throughout the year. These include a college basketball classic game, junior Orange Bowl football game, a Cheer and Dance championship, a tennis tournament, a swim meet, a sailing regatta and a youth festival. Around the game itself, the Orange Bowl holds a Tailgate Party the night before, as well as a coaches' luncheon and prayer breakfast. Each December, the Orange Bowl recognizes the top college football place kicker with the Lou Groza Place Kicker Award.

The Orange Bowl also sponsors the Orange Bowl-FWAA Courage Award, which is voted on by members of the Football Writers Association of America and commends a player who has shown extraordinary courage on or off the field. At Allpro in the sportsbook we'll have all types of college football betting lines that allow you to bet on bowl game MVP and other awards, you can even bet the coin toss. Odds for the NFL MVP are also interesting around this time of year as well.

Packers vs Saints, Falcons vs Panthers, Giants vs Eagles are just a few of the game previews we also have within our NFL odds section as well. If you've enjoyed our previews for the bowl games you should check out our pro football game previews as well. The Orange Bowl odds and the Orange Bowl game preview will be released at the end of December. Our Orange Bowl betting options will cover all aspects of the game.