The 78th Discover Orange Bowl exceeded the lofty expectations of even those who knew this would be a high-octane extravaganza.

It was fast. It was frenetic. And it was ferocious.

In other words: an Orange Bowl on steroids.

When the clock finally ticked to 0:00, and the season had officially ended, three-point underdog West Virginia left Clemson in a stupor, dominating its first Orange Bowl 70-33 Wednesday at Sun Life Stadium.

The Mountaineers’ 70 points were the most ever scored by one team in the history of bowl games, witnessed by 67,563 fans.

This wasn’t “Almost heaven, West Virginia,’’ the lyrics of a John Denver song traditionally sung by Mountaineers fans. This was heaven.

“It means a lot for me,’’ first-year WVU coach Dana Holgorsen said. “We’ve got about 23 seniors behind me that have done a heck of a job in helping with this transition. I said from Day One this is not about me, it’s about these seniors that deserve this win.

“You don’t score 70 points by being good on offense. You score 70 points by being good on all three sides of the ball.’’

The first half of the game featured a combined 69 points — the most scored in any half of an Orange Bowl, and most scored in a half in BCS bowl history. The 49 points by West Virginia in that half were the most scored by any team in any bowl game in history.

The most shocking play of the night — the game-changer — occurred at 10:28 of the second quarter, with West Virginia leading 21-17. On first-and-goal from the West Virginia 3, Clemson tailback Andre Ellington fumbled in a heap of orange, white, gold and blue as he approached the goal line. At first, Clemson — and much of the crowd — thought Ellington had scored, with Tigers All-American tight end Dwayne Allen jubilantly raising both his hands to signify a touchdown. But suddenly, like a made-for-TV movie, Mountaineers safety Darwin Cook emerged from the heap and sprinted 99 yards into the opposite end zone for a West Virginia touchdown.

In the process, Cook took down Obie — the plump, fuzzy, Orange Bowl mascot — as he charged into the padded end zone wall. With a hand from Cook, Obie sprang back up, right along with the Mountaineers.

Ruled official after a replay review, it was the second-longest scoring play, and longest defensive score, in Orange Bowl history. What could have been a 24-21 Clemson lead, turned out to be a 28-17 West Virginia advantage, and pumped even more adrenaline into an already crazed Mountaineer crowd.

In the second quarter, West Virginia outscored Clemson 35-3 and led 49-20 at halftime. Over the second and part of the third quarter, the Mountaineers increased the run to 49-3, and led 63-20. WVU led 63-26 at the end of three quarters.

The Mountaineers, clearly the pride of the Big East, finished their season 10-3.

The Atlantic Coast Conference Tigers finished 10-4, losing three of their last four and four of their last six.

With an amazing performance by hometown hero Geno Smith, the West Virginia quarterback from Miramar who grew up watching Orange Bowl games on the Jumbotron from the hood of his mother’s car, the Mountaineers had a night that will long be remembered. In the first half alone, Smith completed 20 of 27 passes for 256 yards and three touchdowns — all of those touchdowns caught by nationally heralded receiver Tavon Austin. The 5-9, 176-pound junior from Baltimore scored his fourth touchdown in the third quarter to set an Orange Bowl touchdown receptions record.