Sports Nation Poll: Wrong Again
January 06, 2012 07:55 AM | General
What is it about these ESPN Sports Nation polls that seem to stir up the competitive juices in the West Virginia Mountaineers?
Four years ago, 84 percent of the country picked Oklahoma to beat West Virginia in the 2008 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
West Virginia won the game 48-28.
On Wednesday night, more than 175 grand voted in ESPN’s Orange Bowl poll and an overwhelming number of them (72 percent) picked Clemson to beat West Virginia. The only state colored in red on an otherwise blue map of the United States was West Virginia.
West Virginia 70, Clemson 33.
Are you kidding me?
In no way did I ever imagine that West Virginia could score 70 points on a decent Clemson defense - or think that afterward I would wonder how many more points the Mountaineers could have scored if Dana Holgorsen hadn’t taken his foot off the gas pedal late in the third quarter - but I did have a sneaking suspicion that West Virginia was going to play well.
Why, because Holgorsen had his football team ready to play.
He didn’t take them down to South Beach too early, or overwork them with a lot of hitting or long practices. He didn’t consume himself or his players with Clemson preparation when the team resumed practicing back in Morgantown. And when they got to Miami – two days after Clemson by the way - all of the practices down in Florida were short and sharp.
He wanted to build his team up until it peaked on Wednesday night. Along the way, he sprinkled in a little motivation like those silly online polls to keep his players attentive and focused.
“Me and Devon Brown were in the hotel and it was the first time I saw it,” said Tavon Austin, who accounted for 280 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns against the Tigers. “I kind of got mad and turned the TV off and went to sleep. Coach Hologorsen 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.”
During his Tuesday morning press conference before the game, Holgorsen remarked that coaches can sometimes obsess on things and out-smart themselves by over preparing their players. Well, it was obvious that he had the right recipe cooked up for his team on Wednesday night.
And what about some of the head’s up plays that were made by West Virginia’s young players.
Early in the game, freshman running back Andrew Buie rolled over safety Rashard Hall, realized no part of his body had touched the ground, and continued running 16 yards to the Clemson 10 to set up West Virginia’s first touchdown.
Or, sophomore Darwin Cook alertly seeing the football coming out of the grasp of Andre Ellington as he was twisting his way toward the end zone to give Clemson a 24-21 lead. Instead, he grabbed the ball out of Ellington’s arms before he reached the goal line and took off running in the other direction 99 yards for a momentum-changing touchdown.
It was an incredible play that left his teammates shaking their heads in awe.
“That was amazing,” said senior defensive tackle Julian Miller. “I was lying in the end zone thinking it was a touchdown for Clemson and then I see him taking off.”
“Man, I think that took the heart right out of them,” added senior defensive end Bruce Irvin. “Darwin Cook made a head’s up play. He might have been the only one in the stadium who knew the ball came out. It was a great play and we needed that.”
It was a night full of great plays for West Virginia, especially from Austin, who showed the nation what a legitimate talent he is.
“I do know who the fastest kid on the field was, and that was very obvious,” said Holgorsen of Austin.
Added Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, “I’m telling you, we still haven’t tackled No. 1. He’s as good a skilled player with the ball in his hands as I’ve seen all year. I mean, he’s special.”
Perhaps by now Swinney even knows his name.
Before the game, a writer from the Greenville News began looking ahead to all of the possibilities beyond the Orange Bowl for a young Clemson team and how the Tigers were positioned for a national title run in 2012. The assumption clearly was that Clemson was going to roll over the Mountaineers.
Well, that didn’t happen.
The Tigers do have some great weapons – wide receivers Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins, tight end Dwayne Allen and running back Andre Ellington just to name a few, but it was apparent Wednesday night that West Virginia, too, has some terrific weapons and it should be considered contenders in 2012 as well.
Game MVP Geno Smith, who threw for an Orange Bowl record 401 yards and six touchdowns, believes the Mountaineers are.
“We’ve got to go back and get back to work and try and work twice as hard as we did last season, if we want to be back here next year,” Smith said. “We believe that we are contenders, but we’ve definitely got to come out and prove it.”
They certainly did Wednesday night – to a disbelieving nation.
Four years ago, 84 percent of the country picked Oklahoma to beat West Virginia in the 2008 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.
West Virginia won the game 48-28.
On Wednesday night, more than 175 grand voted in ESPN’s Orange Bowl poll and an overwhelming number of them (72 percent) picked Clemson to beat West Virginia. The only state colored in red on an otherwise blue map of the United States was West Virginia.
West Virginia 70, Clemson 33.
Are you kidding me?
In no way did I ever imagine that West Virginia could score 70 points on a decent Clemson defense - or think that afterward I would wonder how many more points the Mountaineers could have scored if Dana Holgorsen hadn’t taken his foot off the gas pedal late in the third quarter - but I did have a sneaking suspicion that West Virginia was going to play well.
Why, because Holgorsen had his football team ready to play.
He didn’t take them down to South Beach too early, or overwork them with a lot of hitting or long practices. He didn’t consume himself or his players with Clemson preparation when the team resumed practicing back in Morgantown. And when they got to Miami – two days after Clemson by the way - all of the practices down in Florida were short and sharp.
He wanted to build his team up until it peaked on Wednesday night. Along the way, he sprinkled in a little motivation like those silly online polls to keep his players attentive and focused.
“Me and Devon Brown were in the hotel and it was the first time I saw it,” said Tavon Austin, who accounted for 280 all-purpose yards and four touchdowns against the Tigers. “I kind of got mad and turned the TV off and went to sleep. Coach Hologorsen 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.”
During his Tuesday morning press conference before the game, Holgorsen remarked that coaches can sometimes obsess on things and out-smart themselves by over preparing their players. Well, it was obvious that he had the right recipe cooked up for his team on Wednesday night.
And what about some of the head’s up plays that were made by West Virginia’s young players.
Early in the game, freshman running back Andrew Buie rolled over safety Rashard Hall, realized no part of his body had touched the ground, and continued running 16 yards to the Clemson 10 to set up West Virginia’s first touchdown.
Or, sophomore Darwin Cook alertly seeing the football coming out of the grasp of Andre Ellington as he was twisting his way toward the end zone to give Clemson a 24-21 lead. Instead, he grabbed the ball out of Ellington’s arms before he reached the goal line and took off running in the other direction 99 yards for a momentum-changing touchdown.
It was an incredible play that left his teammates shaking their heads in awe.
“That was amazing,” said senior defensive tackle Julian Miller. “I was lying in the end zone thinking it was a touchdown for Clemson and then I see him taking off.”
“Man, I think that took the heart right out of them,” added senior defensive end Bruce Irvin. “Darwin Cook made a head’s up play. He might have been the only one in the stadium who knew the ball came out. It was a great play and we needed that.”
It was a night full of great plays for West Virginia, especially from Austin, who showed the nation what a legitimate talent he is.
“I do know who the fastest kid on the field was, and that was very obvious,” said Holgorsen of Austin.
Added Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, “I’m telling you, we still haven’t tackled No. 1. He’s as good a skilled player with the ball in his hands as I’ve seen all year. I mean, he’s special.”
Perhaps by now Swinney even knows his name.
Before the game, a writer from the Greenville News began looking ahead to all of the possibilities beyond the Orange Bowl for a young Clemson team and how the Tigers were positioned for a national title run in 2012. The assumption clearly was that Clemson was going to roll over the Mountaineers.
Well, that didn’t happen.
The Tigers do have some great weapons – wide receivers Sammy Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins, tight end Dwayne Allen and running back Andre Ellington just to name a few, but it was apparent Wednesday night that West Virginia, too, has some terrific weapons and it should be considered contenders in 2012 as well.
Game MVP Geno Smith, who threw for an Orange Bowl record 401 yards and six touchdowns, believes the Mountaineers are.
“We’ve got to go back and get back to work and try and work twice as hard as we did last season, if we want to be back here next year,” Smith said. “We believe that we are contenders, but we’ve definitely got to come out and prove it.”
They certainly did Wednesday night – to a disbelieving nation.
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