Orange Bowl Betting Odds

Match-Up: West Virginia vs. Clemson

(wagering lines available at 5Dimes)

In a battle of major conference champions, the West Virginia Mountaineers, out of the Big East tangle with the ACC’s Clemson Tigers in this season’s Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens. The game is slated to get underway at 8:30 p.m. (ET) and it will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

West Virginia earned this season’s Big East title by virtue of a higher BCS ranking in a three-way tie-breaker with Cincinnati and Louisville. All three schools were 5-2 straight-up in conference play. The Mountaineers finished the season 9-3 SU overall and 6-6 ATS. The total went ‘over’ in eight of their 12 games.

Look for a heavy dose of Geno Smith and the West Virginia passing game in this matchup. Smith threw for 3,978 yards and 25 touchdowns as key part of a Mountaineers’ offense that was ranked seventh in the nation in passing yards per game. His top two receivers were Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin. These two combined for 2,260 yards on 156 receptions. Bailey led the team with 11 touchdowns. The Mountaineers’ offense averaged 34.9 points a game, while their defense gave-up an average of 26.3 points a game.

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Clemson claimed this year’s ACC title with a convincing 38-10 romp over Virginia Tech as a seven-point underdog in the conference championship game. It was its second victory over the Hokies this season after beating them 23-3 as a seven-point road underdog on Oct.1. The Tigers finished the year 10-3 SU and 8-5 ATS. The total went 6-7 in their 13 games.

This is another team with a prolific passing attack that averaged 284.8 yards per game this year. Tajh Boyd led the way with 3,578 passing yards and 31 touchdowns while completing 60.5 percent of his throws. Sammy Watkins was the Tigers’ leading receiver with 77 catches for 1,153 yards and Andre Ellington anchored the running game with 1,062 yards on 213 carries. These two combined for 21 touchdowns on the year. Clemson almost mirrors West Virginia in scoring with 33.6 points a game on offense and 26.2 points allowed on defense.

The Mountaineers are 1-4 ATS in their last five bowl games and 5-13 ATS in their last 18 games against the ACC. The total has gone ‘over’ in eight of their last 11 bowl games.

The Tigers are 1-5 ATS in their last six bowl games and 0-5 ATS in their last five games against the Big East. The total has stayed ‘under’ in six of their last seven bowl games.

Game Betting Pick

Given both of these teams past trends in bowl games, something is going to have to give on Wednesday night. Stick with Clemson to find a way to win and cover the three points in an extremely well-matched contest as it is a bit more battle-tested of the two.