ESPN College Football

Heather Dinich talks with Clemson safety Rashard Hall following the Tigers' 70-33 loss to Clemson in the Discover Orange Bowl.

Heather Dinich says that Clemson should still be considered a frontrunner for the 2012 ACC title.

MIAMI -- There is being disrespected. And then there is the Big East.

Er, the Big Least.

The league everybody wants to diss and dismiss. The league that does not deserve its automatic qualifying status. The league that nobody wants to invite to the party.

As much as the ACC has stunk up nearly every one of its BCS games, it is the Big East that gets derisively mocked. It is the Big East that does not belong. It is the Big East without a marquee national team.

Consider what happened Wednesday night.

No Big East team has been embarrassed in a BCS game the way West Virginia embarrassed Clemson in the Discover Orange Bowl. What was supposed to be an offensive shootout certainly was on the West Virginia side of the field. Clemson delivered duds in the form of turnovers, missed tackles and blown assignments.

The Mountaineers turned a first-quarter deficit into a rout behind a 35-point spree in the second period, scoring often and at will in a 70-33 victory. No team has ever scored that many points in a bowl game. Quarterback Geno Smith teamed with nationally unheralded Tavon Austin to shred the Tigers. Smith, named the game's MVP, set a BCS and Orange Bowl record with six touchdown passes, and set an Orange Bowl record with 401 yards passing.

Know which quarterbacks he surpassed? A couple guys named Matt Leinart and Tom Brady. Not bad for Smith. Or West Virginia. Or the Big East, guaranteed to finish with a winning bowl record. Come to think of it, the Big East will have a winning bowl record in six consecutive seasons.

But before we get carried away with this Big East redemption story, there is one little problem.

West Virginia is headed out the door for the Big 12. So is this a West Virginia story, or a Big East story? Can it be both, with so much bad blood between the two?

It absolutely should be, for one final glorious night.

Just ask West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen, who sounds just as perturbed as a perpetually disregarded fan base when asked about the bad rap the Big East gets, and whether this win says anything about his league.

"I've only been there a year, I know, but West Virginia has won three BCS games in the last six years, which is a pretty good track record," Holgorsen said. "West Virginia has been in the Big East for the last six years, last time I checked. So I think that's a pretty good track record.

"Then going through the Big East schedule one year, we had some pretty tough games. We lost a couple of those, and then the ones that we won were tough. So the product at West Virginia was out there. There was a lot of teams in the Big East that gave us all we wanted."

Clemson -- not so much. It is not lost on many Big East fans that West Virginia has more BCS wins (three) than the entire ACC (two). But again, the same sentiment follows -- what happens to this league when its best representative finally leaves?

Teams like Cincinnati, Connecticut and Louisville have played on this stage, but none impressed the way the Mountaineers did on Wednesday night. There was no doubting which team had the best quarterback, and the best wide receiver. National pundits wanted to talk Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins. Nobody wanted to talk Smith and Austin.

So yes, even though West Virginia is about to bid adieu, this team feels just as disrespected as everybody else in the Big East. The players saw that few national media members picked them to win. In an ESPN SportsNation poll, 73 percent of the country picked Clemson to win.

"That was huge for me," said Austin, who finished with a BCS and Orange Bowl record four touchdown catches and 280 all-purpose yards. "Me and Devon Brown were in the hotel, and it's the first time I'd seen it. I kind of got mad and turned the TV off and went to sleep. Coach Holgorsen got us together in our meeting and told us just to believe in ourselves and believe in the people in this room, and that's what we did. We bought into what he said, and we got the job done."

Let's just throw around the disrespect card a little bit more. All three Big East co-champions were underdogs going into their bowl games: NC State was favored to beat Louisville; Vanderbilt was favored to beat Cincinnati; and Clemson was favored to beat West Virginia.

The Cardinals faltered. But West Virginia and Cincinnati finished with identical 10-3 records as the two best teams in the Big East. These two teams have been tied together since Nov. 12, when West Virginia beat the Bearcats 24-21 after knocking starting quarterback Zach Collaros out for the rest of the regular season. That win ultimately decided the BCS representative in this game; Collaros returned to guide the Big East to yet another win over the SEC. You can understand why a few Cincinnati players were a bit salty on Twitter while they watched West Virginia dismantle the Tigers.

No word on whether commissioner John Marinatto felt just as salty. To root or not to root had to be the question. There is resentment and bitterness on both sides, but the Big East absolutely needed to have one of its teams deliver this type of performance on a national stage.

Even if it is one that is saying goodbye.

Heather Dinich and Andrea Adelson wrap up West Virginia's win over Clemson in the Discover Orange Bowl.

Heather Dinich talks with Clemson coach Dabo Swinney following the team's 70-33 loss to West Virginia in the Discover Orange Bowl.

Heather Dinich talks with tight end Dwayne Allen about Clemson's future and his future.

MIAMI – You want to be first in line at the movies?

Stand behind Clemson’s defense, they’ll let you in.

First through the door at the Esso?

Don’t worry, Clemson’s defense will hold it open for you. And you might want to stay a while after watching the Tigers in Wednesday night’s 70-33 beatdown by West Virginia in the Discover Orange Bowl. If you watched more than three quarters, you lasted longer than most of the Clemson fans in Sun Life Stadium, which cleared out faster than a middle school during a fire drill.

Embarrassed isn’t the right word, said defensive coordinator Kevin Steele.

“Ass-kicked,” he said. “Excuse my language.”

The language can be excused. It was Clemson’s performance that was insulting.

The ACC champions. The Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year. And the most points ever scored by a team in any bowl game. Ever.

“It’s probably as bad a defensive performance as I’ve seen in a long, long, time,” said Clemson coach Dabo Swinney. “It’s incredibly disappointing.”

Just when you think the Tigers put it all together, they fall apart. Fine. We’re used to that. After an 8-0 start this season, Clemson lost three of its last four regular season games. It’s not unusual for Clemson to follow a stellar performance like the one in the ACC title game with a flop like the loss to NC State.

But this one – this one was a monumental fail, even by Clemson’s standards. It wasn’t just an embarrassment for the school and the program, but also for the ACC. Thanks to Clemson, West Virginia alone now has more BCS wins (three) than the entire ACC (two). With the loss, the ACC finished its bowl season with a forgettable 2-6 record and an 0-2 record in BCS bowls. The ACC was supposed to celebrate and bask in the achievement of having two teams qualify for BCS bowls for the first time in history. Instead, those two games made ACC fans cringe.

Don’t confuse Clemson’s debacle with Virginia Tech’s loss to Michigan, though. This was nothing like what happened to the Hokies in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, or even last year against Stanford in the Discover Orange Bowl. That was the ACC getting kicked in the shins. This was the ACC getting pantsed.

“Am I embarrassed?” said quarterback Tajh Boyd, “definitely. I’ve never been a part of, never actually been on that side of getting beat like that.”

“You have to be slightly embarrassed because we know we’re better than that,” said defensive end Andre Branch. “For someone to say they’re not embarrassed is kind of false.”

And Clemson’s defense “kind of” allowed quarterback Geno Smith 427 yards of total offense – just 16 yards shy of what Clemson’s offense totaled as a team.

Clemson had five weeks to prepare for this game. It looked like they practiced for five days – against T.L. Hannah High. Clemson hadn’t been to the Orange Bowl in 30 years, and it will be another 30 before it returns unless the defense makes drastic improvements.

“We’ve got to do a better job and it’s my responsibility,” Steele said. “I take responsibility for it. In this business, you stand in the paint, take your shots and get better. It’s what you do.”

After allowing 589 yards of total offense, seven touchdowns in seven trips to the red zone, and 49 first-half points, Clemson’s defense was more effective in paving the way for the Mountaineers than West Virginia’s offensive line. The Mountaineers were 10 of 16 on third-down conversions.

“We just got outplayed, point-blank, period,” said Branch. “They just out-executed us and made more plays than we did.”

The offense, with its four turnovers, didn’t exactly help matters.

You want to be the first out of Sun Life Stadium on Wednesday night?

So did Clemson.

Rece Davis, Lou Holtz and Mark May break down West Virginia's historic 70-33 victory over Clemson.

MIAMI -- West Virginia beat Clemson 70-33 in the Discover Orange Bowl on Wednesday night, putting up an NCAA record for points scored in a bowl game. Here is a quick instant analysis:

How the game was won: The second quarter. West Virginia went on a scoring blitz, thanks to its impressive and opportunistic defense. Darwin Cook got the spree started when he picked up an Andre Ellington fumble and returned it 99 yards -- the longest defensive score in school bowl history. It was the fourth defensive score of the year for the Mountaineers, the most since 2007. After that turnover, it was all downhill for the Tigers -- who turned the ball over a total of three times in the second quarter. West Virginia turned that into 21 points, and when halftime came the Mountaineers had outscored Clemson 35-3 in the period.

Turning point: That Cook fumble recovery changed everything. Clemson was down 21-17 and about to go in for the go-ahead score. Instead, Ellington fumbles and Clemson did not get a touchdown again until late in the third quarter. That one turnover brought Clemson's momentum to a halt and had a snowball effect. The Tigers simply could not get out of their own way.

Stat of the game: Hard to top the incredible bowl-record 70 points the Mountaineers scored. Consider this: West Virginia scored a TOTAL of 75 points in its final three games.

Player of the game: West Virginia receiver Tavon Austin. The best, most versatile player on the field, Austin finished with four receiving touchdowns, a career, Orange Bowl and BCS record. That also tied the record for all bowl games. He ran the ball, he caught the ball, he returned the ball to the tune of over 280 yards in yet another stunning display of his speed and escapability. Folks in the Big East knew all about his talents. Hopefully the entire nation knows as well.

Unsung hero of the game: West Virginia defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel. Clemson ran up and down his defense, scoring touchdowns on two big plays and taking a 17-14 lead after the first quarter. It appeared a shootout would be in order. But the Tigers scored 16 points the remainder of the game, and the defense created four turnovers -- including its third score in the past four games. Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins were completely shackled and ineffective after that opening period. Speculation has swirled about Casteel's future in Morgantown, so if this was indeed his last game with the Mountaineers, it was his best of the season.

What Clemson learned: It's not so easy being the ACC rep in a BCS game. The league moved to 2-13 in BCS bowls, including 0-2 this season. It's one thing for Virginia Tech to be the punching bag because it has represented the league so many times in BCS games, but no ACC team has ever been embarrassed this badly in a BCS game. It's one thing to lose. It's another to give up a bowl record for points scored. This is a young team, and will have every opportunity to bounce back from this loss. But it's going to be a stinging offseason.

What West Virginia learned: This team has one heck of a future in the Big 12. The Mountaineers showed they can score with the best of them, and their bowl record for points scored just surpassed the 67 points future conference partner Baylor put up in the Alamo Bowl against Washington. Geno Smith and nearly every skill player returns on offense, and Dana Holgorsen won 10 games in his first season as a head coach. It's also West Virginia's first 10-win season since 2007.

Record performance: Where to begin? You already saw the scoring record. Geno Smith had a career-high six touchdown passes, breaking an Orange Bowl and BCS record, held by USC quarterback Matt Leinart against Oklahoma in 2005. His 401 passing yards also set an Orange Bowl record, surpassing Michigan quarterback Tom Brady, who had 369 against Alabama in 2000.

MIAMI -- Sorry, Clemson fans. This is not an evil dream, and the game was not called at halftime. West Virginia continued its onslaught in the third quarter of the Discover Orange Bowl, with two more scores in the opening six minutes before taking its foot off the pedal.

No matter the final, the Mountaineers have already set a school record for points scored in a bowl game.

Tavon Austin scored his fourth receiving touchdown of the game, on a 37-yarder from Geno Smith. He set all sorts of school and bowl records in three quarters:

• The four touchdowns is a career best, and is the first time in his career he had more than two receiving touchdowns in a game. It also is a school bowl record for touchdowns receptions and points scored in a game.
• Smith also had a career-high five touchdown passes, to tie a school bowl record.

Clemson's DeAndre Hopkins scored a touchdown late in the third quarter -- the Tigers' first touchdown since the 4:38 mark of the first quarter. Yeah, remember that quarter? Clemson led 17-14. West Virginia has outscored the Tigers 49-9 since then.

MIAMI -- West Virginia blew open the Discover Orange Bowl against Clemson with a huge second quarter and leads 49-20 at halftime. Here is a quick first-half analysis.

Turning point: Easy. Clemson running back Andre Ellington was going in for the go-ahead touchdown from the 3-yard line when he fumbled in the middle of a huge scrum. West Virginia safety Darwin Cook picked up the ball and ran 99 yards for a touchdown to give the Mountaineers a 28-17 lead and send all the momentum the Tigers had to a screeching halt. That was the first drive of the game that the Tigers failed to score, and they managed only a field goal the rest of the way.

Stat of the half. 69. The teams set an Orange Bowl and BCS record for total points in a half. The previous record for the Orange Bowl: 48. West Virginia's 49 points in the first half were the most scored by any team in any bowl game ever.

Best player in the half: West Virginia all-everything man Tavon Austin. With three touchdown receptions and 158 total yards, Austin has been everywhere on the field. He has touches as a receiver, running back and kickoff returner, and has been incredibly hard for Clemson to tackle.

What Clemson needs to do: Ask for a do over. The Tigers had three turnovers that led to 21 West Virginia points in the second quarter. They actually ended the quarter with three turnovers on their final four possessions. The Ellington fumble was an absolute killer and essentially began their nightmarish second quarter.

What West Virginia needs to do: Continue to be aggressive. This defense has come to life in the past four games, and now has defensive scores in three of their past four games. This team is playing inspired football right now, and is absolutely dominating in every area. It is an understatement to say this is the team's best game of the year, on the biggest stage of the year.

MIAMI -- Clemson left tackle Phillip Price is out of the game with a knee injury and won't return, according to an announcement here in the press box. Price is a redshirt senior. Brandon Thomas, a redshirt sophomore, is his backup.

MIAMI -- Hello, offense! We have been expecting you.

Clemson and West Virginia were locked in the expected fireworks show in the highest-scoring first quarter ever of the Discover Orange Bowl. Clemson running back Andre Ellington opened the scoreing on a 68-yard run right up the middle of the West Virginia defense. Linebacker Jared Barber could not get off a block, and Darwin Cook took a bad angle for a tackle -- and Ellington was off for the third-longest run in Orange Bowl history.

Then it was Shawne Alston with a 4-yard touchdown run to get West Virginia on the board. True freshman Andrew Buie had the highlight on the drive, when he rolled over the back of would-be tackler Rashard Hall without allowing his knee to touch the ground.

Sammy Watkins answered with a 27-yard touchdown reception of his own later in the quarter -- marking the first time this season the West Virginia defense has given up multiple scores of 20-plus yards in a game. The touchdown also was the Tigers' 56th of the season, a new school record.

Then it was time for Tavon Austin, who scored on a 5-yard run. Austin, who came to West Virginia as a running back, is being used plenty out of the backfield -- he already has three carries for 25 yards and a score -- with Dustin Garrison on the sideline.

The longest scoring drive of the four in the first quarter belongs to West Virginia: Two minutes, 39 seconds. Each team has a touchdown drive that lasted under 2 minutes. Yup, this one has the feel of the back-and-forth shootout we all expected.

MIAMI -- A few quick notes on Clemson records:

• When Sammy Watkins caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from Tajh Boyd in the first quarter, Watkins broke two school records. It was his 12th touchdown catch of the year, breaking the record of 11 previously held by himself and Aaron Kelly in 2007. It was also his 13th overall touchdown of the year, breaking the previous Clemson record for a freshman. C.J. Spiller had 12 as a freshman in 2006. Spiller is here tonight watching from the Clemson sideline.
• Clemson established a school record for touchdowns in a season tonight. The record-setter came on Watkin's 27-yard scoring catch from Boyd — Clemson’s 56th touchdown of the season. The previous record of 55 came in 2000 and 2006.
• Clemson scored 17 points in the first quarter tonight, the most points Clemson has scored in the first quarter of a bowl game. The previous high was 14, against Missouri in the 1949 Gator Bowl.

MIAMI -- After a month of analyzing keys, players, depth charts and matchups it is time for West Virginia to show what it is made of in the Discover Orange Bowl against Clemson.

This could be the Mountaineers' final game as members of the Big East, so you know they want to go out on top. And as always, a good performance in this one can be used as a springboard into 2012, especially with so many stars coming back on offense.

West Virginia announced several lineup changes before the game began: Tyler Rader will start at right guard in place of Quinton Spain; Pat Eger will start at right tackle in place of Curtis Feigt; Shawne Alston will start in place of Dustin Garrison; and Ryan Clarke will be the B-back as Alston takes over for Garrison.

The starting spur safety will be a game-time decision.

The stadium looks to be about half full, but a larger contingent of Clemson fans is on hand for this game.