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Tonight’s Discover Orange Bowl (8:30 ET on ESPN) between No. 23 West Virginia and No. 15 Clemson should continue the trend of strong offensive performances during the bowl season.

West Virginia Offense
Geno Smith broke the West Virginia school record with 3,978 passing yards this season. Smith ranks ninth nationally in total offense and has completed 65 percent of his passes this season.

West Virginia’s success hinges on Smith’s ability to throw the ball downfield. Since the start of last season, the Mountaineers are 13-0 when he completes at least half of his passes thrown 15-or-more yards downfield.

The Mountaineers offense has transitioned from run-based under Rich Rodriguez to pass-centric under new head coach Dana Holgorsen. From 2005-07, West Virginia ranked in the top four in rushing offense and the bottom 20 in passing offense each season. This year, the Mountaineers are seventh in passing and 98th in rushing.

Clemson Offense
Clemson is led by the dynamic duo of Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins. Watkins set ACC freshman records with 77 receptions, 1,153 receiving yards and 11 touchdown receptions. Boyd has thrown for at least three touchdowns seven times this season.

As the Tigers ran out to an 8-0 start, Boyd was great in the red zone, but over the last five games he has struggled to complete passes.

In Clemson’s 10 wins, he has thrown 15 touchdowns without an interception. In three losses, Boyd has more interceptions than completions.

Watkins became the second Clemson receiver in the last eight seasons to gain at least 1,000 yards. Over 60 percent of his yards have come after the catch, including two games where he gained over 100 yards after catching passes.

Numbers to Know
Clemson is playing in its first BCS bowl game since the system began in 1998. The last time the Tigers played in the Orange Bowl was in 1982, when they beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers to claim the national championship.

The schools have met once before, with the Tigers beating the Mountaineers 27-7 in the 1989 Gator Bowl. That is Clemson’s only win in four games against current Big East members. West Virginia is more familiar with the ACC, posting a 97-97-5 record against current conference members.

With Virginia Tech’s Sugar Bowl loss, the ACC has the fewest wins of any automatic qualifying conference in BCS games. The ACC is 2-12 in BCS bowls, and every other AQ conference has at least six wins.

West Virginia has won at least nine games in each of the past seven seasons. During that stretch, the Mountaineers are 2-0 in BCS bowl games, beating the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2006 Sugar Bowl and the Oklahoma Sooners in the 2008 Fiesta Bowl.

There were 770 games played in the 2011 college football season. We give you the 10 plays that shaped the BCS Championship race.

1. Tyrann Mathieu returns fumble for TD
LSU 40, Oregon 27
Significance: These top-five teams were locked in a 6-3 game. The Tigers went three-and-out and punted, but Kenjon Barner fumbled the return at the three and LSU's playmaker snapped it up and went into the end zone for a momentum-shifting score.

2. Kirk Cousins completes 44-yard Hail Mary to Keith Nichol
Michigan State 37, Wisconsin 31
Significance: Wisconsin had its eyes on a perfect regular season and a spot in the title game. But after a last-second heave, ricochet, catch and then video review, that dream was dashed.

3. Oklahoma misses 28-yard field goal vs Texas Tech
Texas Tech 41, Oklahoma 38
Significance: The Sooners were preseason No. 1 and still undefeated, but trailed 31-7 at home. They mounted a comeback, but after Michael Hunnicutt's missed FG from 28 yards out there wasn't enough time left to overcome a 10-point deficit.

4. Tajh Boyd gets intercepted in the end zone
Georgia Tech 31, Clemson 17
Significance: Down 14 points, Clemson had just intercepted Georgia Tech, getting the ball at Georgia Tech's nine-yard line. But on the first play, Boyd was picked by Jemea Thomas, ending the Tigers' comeback and dashing their national-title hopes.

5. LSU’s Eric Reid intercepts Alabama at the 1-yard line
LSU 9, Alabama 6 (OT)
Significance: In a 6-6 game in the fourth quarter, LSU's Eric Reid wrestled the ball away from Alabama TE Michael Williams at the one-yard line for an interception, preventing what could have been the winning score. LSU would win it in overtime.

6. Boseko Lokombo picks off Andrew Luck and returns it for TD
Oregon 53, Stanford 30
Significance: This was Stanford’s last major obstacle to a perfect regular season. Down 16 points, Luck had Stanford driving. But the pick ended those hopes, putting the game out of reach and handing the Cardinal its only loss of the season.

7. Boise State misses 39-yard field goal as time expires
TCU 36, Boise State 35
Significance: Playing on the home turf where they had been dominant for so long, the Broncos went down a point after TCU made the gutsy call to go for two. But Boise drove down the field before Dan Goodale sailed his kick wide right as time expired and the Broncos were no longer unbeaten.

8. Brandon Weeden's pass intercepted in first play of second overtime
Iowa State 37, Oklahoma State 31 (2 OT)
Significance: The Cyclones came back from a 24-7 deficit to tie the game at 24 heading into overtime. But on the first play of the second overtime, Brandon Weeden was intercepted. Three plays later Iowa State scored to end Oklahoma State's dream.

9. Oregon misses 37-yard field goal as time expires
USC 38, Oregon 35
Significance: Even after their season-opening loss, the Ducks still had a shot at the BCS Championship. But USC, ineligible for postseason play, gave the Ducks a battle at Autzen Stadium. Down three, Oregon had the chance to send it into overtime. But Alejandro Maldonado missed a 37-yarder.

10. Robert Griffin III completes 34-yard TD pass with :08 left
Baylor 45, Oklahoma 38
Significance: Just like Oregon, Oklahoma still had a chance to sneak back into the title picture despite a loss. But Baylor's Heisman candidate Griffin shocked the Sooners with a game-winning touchdown pass with eight seconds left.

To see images of these plays, click here.

The 13th-ranked Clemson Tigers travel to Blacksburg on Saturday to take on No. 11 Virginia Tech (ESPN2, 6 ET). Clemson leads the all-time series 17-12-1, but has lost five straight games against the Hokies, all by 17 points or more. In their last meeting in 2007, Virginia Tech returned a punt, a kickoff, and an interception for touchdowns en route to a 41-23 win in Death Valley.

Both teams come into Saturday’s ACC contest 4-0 and ranked in the AP Top 15. It’s the first time Clemson has started 4-0 since 2007 and the first time Virginia Tech has done it since 2006. Both the Hokies and Tigers failed to reach 5-0 in those seasons, each losing their fifth game of the year to Georgia Tech.

In its past two games, Clemson has defeated No. 21 Auburn and No. 11 Florida State, the first time Clemson has beaten ranked teams in consecutive games since 2005 (No. 17 Florida State and No. 19 South Carolina). Clemson has never beaten ranked teams in three consecutive games in the program’s history.

Virginia Tech comes in with a streak of its own, winning 12 straight ACC contests, including the 2010 ACC Championship game. Last season, the Hokies became the first team since Florida State in 2000 to go unbeaten in ACC play.

Clemson QB Tajh Boyd enters the weekend leading the ACC in pass efficiency (173.8, 11th in FBS) and passing yards per game (313.8, 12th in FBS). Boyd will face a stiff test Saturday as the Hokies lead the ACC in pass efficiency defense (88.6, 6th in FBS) and are ranked among the top 10 nationally in sacks (14) and interceptions (seven).

Boyd has been successful throwing the ball downfield, especially when compared to his opponent. Hokies QB Logan Thomas has completed just more than one-third of his passes and has yet to throw a touchdown on throws 10 or more yards down field; Boyd has completed more than half of those throws and has yet to be picked off.

When Virginia Tech has the ball it will look to the ground game and junior RB David Wilson. Wilson ranks second in the ACC and seventh nationally in rushing yards per game (129.0) and is tied for third in the conference with five rush touchdowns.

Since Frank Beamer took over as head coach in 1987, the Hokies are 178-32-2 when outrushing their opponent. Virginia Tech has not lost a game to an FBS school when outrushing them since 2008 (Boston College) and has outrushed its opponents 847-to-172 in four games this season.