1/5/2012 Links at Lunch: Orange Bowl Post-Mortem

Kirk Herbstreit predicted a destruction in last night’s Orange Bowl. He was right about that, but boy was he misguided on who would be doing the destroying.

Friend Of The Blog Allen Kenney (BlatantHomerism) coined the term “Holgo The Destroyer,” and it’s certainly fitting. His West Virginia came to the Orange Bowl with the single-minded determination to “crush [their] enemies, see [Clemson] driven before [them], and to hear the lamentation of [Clemson’s] women.”

I still can’t wrap my head around it. Seventy freakin’ points. The Numerical helps make some sense of the otherwise unfathomable offensive orgy that ensued in Miami, courtesy of SBNation‘s Bill Connelly.

Michael Felder broke down the mayhem at Crystal Ball Run, including bringing into question CU defensive coordinator Kevin Steele. There was obviously some sort of malfunction with the Tiger defense, but that wasn’t the sole issue vexing Clemson, as examined at Shakin’ The Southland.

Early on, it seemed that this shootout wouldn’t be so one-sided. A single play made by the West Virginia defense completely altered the complexion last night, and seemed to fuel the Mountaineer defense. The WVU 3-3-5 stack had been tenative early, but became a force thereafter, a positive for Arizona fans who followed my advice via AZDesertSwarm.com and paid attention to Jeff Casteel’s formation. Whether Casteel is Arizona-bound remains a mystery per Jenn Menendez of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but Casteel’s comments to WVIllustrated.com’s Geoff Coyle, indicate he wants to stay in Morgantown.