The College Football BeltThe CFB Belt
Belt / 2011 season / Reign #282 · Game 1,448 of 1,643
January 4, 2012 Postseason Neutral site Belt changed hands

West Virginia takes the belt, 70–33, at a neutral site over Clemson.

Home · Defending Holder
ClemsonAP No. 14 33
AT
Away · New Holder
West VirginiaAP No. 23 70

AP poll, week 15: West Virginia No. 23 at Clemson No. 14 · No. 1 that week: West Virginia. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

West Virginia took the belt here, ending Clemson’s run of 31 days and 0 defenses (reign #281) and starting reign #282. It lasted 283 days and 5 defenses, until Texas Tech took it on October 13, 2012.

For West Virginia this was its 8th shot at the belt; it had never held the belt — and this was the day it took it.

This is the only time Clemson and West Virginia have met with the belt on the line.

AI-Written

Recap

West Virginia's high-powered offense overwhelmed Clemson in a first-half shootout to claim the College Football Belt. The game featured explosive plays throughout, with both teams trading touchdowns early: Clemson's Andre Ellington burst through for a 68-yard touchdown run on the opening drive, but West Virginia answered with Shawne Alston's 4-yard score and Tavon Austin's 8-yard touchdown to take an early lead. The decisive moment came in the second quarter when Darwin Cook returned an Andre Ellington fumble 99 yards for a touchdown, extending West Virginia's advantage to a commanding margin. Geno Smith's passing efficiency and West Virginia's superior third-down conversion rate (10-16 vs 3-13) proved too much for Clemson to overcome as the Mountaineers dominated time of possession and won convincingly, 70-33.

Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score
 ClemsonWest Virginia
Total yards443589
Rushing yards193182
Passing yards264407
First downs2431
3rd down conv.3/1310/16
Turnovers41
Penalties–yards6–654–40
Time of possession14:2522:15

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play
WhenTeamYardsPlay
Q1 9:33Clemson+68 ydAndre Ellington rush for 68 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 9:33Clemson+0 ydChandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q1 8:25West Virginia+33 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Devon Brown for 33 yards to the Clem 29 for a 1ST down.
Q1 6:54West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q1 6:54West Virginia+22 ydCorey Smith kickoff for 54 yards returned by Sammy Watkins for 22 yards to the Clem 38.
Q1 6:54West Virginia+4 ydShawne Alston rush for 4 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 4:38Clemson+27 ydTajh Boyd pass complete to Sammy Watkins for 27 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 4:38Clemson+36 ydSpencer Benton kickoff for 63 yards returned by Tavon Austin for 36 yards to the WVirg 43.
Q1 4:38Clemson+0 ydChandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.
Q1 4:15West Virginia+34 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Willie Milhouse for 34 yards to the Clem 23 for a 1ST down.
Q1 2:49West Virginia+8 ydTavon Austin rush for 8 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q1 2:49West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q1 2:49West Virginia+20 ydCorey Smith kickoff for 55 yards returned by Sammy Watkins for 20 yards to the Clem 35.
Q1 0:45Clemson+42 ydChandler Catanzaro 42 yard field goal GOOD.
Q2 13:25West Virginia+27 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Tavon Austin for 27 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 13:25West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q2 13:25West Virginia+23 ydCorey Smith kickoff for 69 yards returned by Sammy Watkins for 23 yards to the Clem 24.
Q2 11:44Clemson+39 ydAndre Ellington rush for 39 yards to the WVirg 14 for a 1ST down.
Q2 10:28West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q2 10:28Clemson+2 ydAndre Ellington rush, fumbled, recovered by WVirg Darwin Cook at the WVirg 1, Darwin Cook for 99 yards, to the Clem 0 for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 10:28West Virginia+23 ydCorey Smith kickoff for 68 yards returned by Sammy Watkins for 23 yards to the Clem 15, CLEMSON penalty 10 yard Illegal Block accepted.
Q2 5:57Clemson+24 ydTajh Boyd rush for 24 yards to the WVirg 47 for a 1ST down.
Q2 4:49Clemson+43 ydChandler Catanzaro 43 yard field goal GOOD.
Q2 4:49Clemson+31 ydSpencer Benton kickoff for 65 yards returned by Tavon Austin for 31 yards to the WVirg 36.
Q2 2:29West Virginia+7 ydGeno Smith rush for 7 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 2:29West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q2 2:05Clemson+6 ydTajh Boyd pass intercepted by Pat Miller at the Clem 38, returned for 6 yards to the Clem 32.
Q2 1:50West Virginia+30 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Willie Milhouse for 30 yards to the Clem 2 for a 1ST down.
Q2 1:13West Virginia+3 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Tavon Austin for 3 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 1:13West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q2 0:04West Virginia+1 ydShawne Alston rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q2 0:04West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q3 15:00Clemson+24 ydSpencer Benton kickoff for 67 yards returned by Tavon Austin for 24 yards to the WVirg 27.
Q3 12:35West Virginia+6 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Stedman Bailey for 6 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 13:25West Virginia+30 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Stedman Bailey for 30 yards to the Clem 7 for a 1ST down.
Q3 12:35West Virginia+38 ydCorey Smith kickoff for 63 yards returned by Sammy Watkins for 38 yards to the Clem 45.
Q3 14:45West Virginia+23 ydTavon Austin rush for 23 yards to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down.
Q3 12:35West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q3 9:18West Virginia+37 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Tavon Austin for 37 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q3 10:30West Virginia+24 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Stedman Bailey for 24 yards to the Clem 45 for a 1ST down.
Q3 9:18West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q3 9:18West Virginia+21 ydCorey Smith kickoff for 40 yards returned by Jaron Brown for 21 yards to the WVirg 49.
Q3 3:16West Virginia+24 ydPaul Millard pass intercepted by Rashard Hall at the Clem 35, returned for 24 yards to the WVirg 41.
Q3 1:37Clemson+28 ydTajh Boyd pass complete to DeAndre Hopkins for 28 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 12:35Clemson+17 ydTajh Boyd pass intercepted by Keith Tandy at the WVirg 17, returned for 17 yards to the WVirg 34.
Q4 12:27West Virginia+20 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Tavon Austin for 20 yards to the WVirg 49 for a 1ST down.
Q4 6:21West Virginia+7 ydGeno Smith pass complete to Willie Milhouse for 7 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 6:21West Virginia+0 ydTyler Bitancurt extra point GOOD.
Q4 1:01Clemson+4 ydRoderick McDowell rush for 4 yards for a TOUCHDOWN.
Q4 1:01Clemson+0 ydChandler Catanzaro extra point GOOD.

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Clemson

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Tajh Boyd24/462505.42266.8
Cole Stoudt0/100.00098.6

West Virginia

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Geno Smith32/434079.56089.1
Paul Millard0/300.0010.3

Rushing

Clemson

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Andre Ellington1011611.6168
Roderick McDowell4348.5114
Tajh Boyd10323.2024
Cole Stoudt155.005
D.J. Howard144.004
Sammy Watkins122.002

West Virginia

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Shawne Alston20773.8211
Andrew Buie13453.5011
Tavon Austin34013.3023
Geno Smith5265.218

Receiving

Clemson

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
DeAndre Hopkins1010710.7128
Sammy Watkins56613.2127
Jaron Brown22412.0015
Dwayne Allen22110.5015
Martavis Bryant22010.0014
Adam Humphries2126.009
Brandon Ford100.000

West Virginia

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Tavon Austin1212310.3437
Stedman Bailey58216.4130
Willie Milhouse37123.7134
Devon Brown57114.2033
Andrew Buie4328.0017
J.D. Woods11515.0015
Ivan McCartney2136.509
Show more stats (5 more categories)

Interceptions

Clemson

PlayerINTYDSTD
Rashard Hall1240

West Virginia

PlayerINTYDSTD
Keith Tandy1180
Pat Miller160

Kick Returns

Clemson

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Sammy Watkins714320.4380
Jaron Brown23618.0210
Chad Diehl11111.0110

West Virginia

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Tavon Austin511723.4360

Kicking

Clemson

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Chandler Catanzaro2/2100.0433/39

West Virginia

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Tyler Bitancurt0/00.0010/1010

Punt Returns

Clemson

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
DeAndre Hopkins200.000

West Virginia

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Devon Brown3-2-0.700

Punting

Clemson

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Dawson Zimmerman623839.70048

West Virginia

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Corey Smith517535.00048

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.

Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 320040228) · This game in the downloadable dataset