Best bowl outside of playoffs on tap in Miami: Orange Bowl No. 7 Clemson vs. No. 6 Tennessee
The best bowl not called the College Football Playoff kicks off at 8 p.m. Friday in a sea of orange at Hard Rock Stadium.
That’s when the No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers of the always-treacherous Southeastern Conference face the No. 7 Clemson Tigers of the get-little-respect Atlantic Coast Conference in the Capital One Orange Bowl.
Had it been the culmination of the 2024 season, when the playoff expands to 12 teams, the 89th Orange Bowl edition would have national title implications. Yet despite the era of opt-outs and transfer portal mania, this high-profile showdown should draw plenty of eyes, even if:
A. Clemson true freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik is making his first career start after DJ Uiagalelei entered the portal; B. Tennessee graduate transfer quarterback Joe Milton III took over on Nov. 19 after former Heisman candidate Hendon Hooker tore his ACL; C. Tennessee offensive coordinator Alex Golesh, who helped lead the Vols to the nation’s No. 1 offensive ranking (538.3 yards-a-game average) and No. 1 scoring offense (47.3 points), is now the head coach at USF; D. Tennessee Biletnikoff Award winner (nation’s top receiver) Jalin Hyatt opted out of the Orange Bowl, with fellow star receiver Cedric Tillman also opting out.
While Tennessee had been flaunting its explosive, high-tempo offense, Clemson, the 5 1/2-point favorite, had the nation’s No. 24 defense (331.3 yards allowed per game), No. 10 rushing defense (101.1), No. 17 scoring defense (20.1 points), was No. 6 in tackles for loss (7.9 a game) and No. 13 in sacks (3.08 a game) heading into bowl season. But Tigers star junior defensive end Myles Murphy, a projected first-round pick and first-team All-ACC, opted out and declared for the draft. Starting junior linebacker Trenton Simpson (77 tackles) injured his ankle during the ACC title game and won’t play.
And more: Tennessee starting linebacker Jeremy Banks announced Christmas Eve, before the team headed to Miami, he was skipping the Orange Bowl before the draft. Banks, the Vols’ top pass-rushing linebacker, had 53 tackles, 4½ tackles-for-loss and eight quarterback hurries in 11 games this season.
Game-changers?
It is yet to be seen how the confluence of these game-changing factors affect the Orange Bowl showdown, but both coaches know it’s the current reality for most of college football.
“That’s kind of the landscape of what happens at times inside your program when you’re having success, and during the course of bowl season,’’ Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said Thursday. “You can see that across the country. The unique thing is you have a couple extra weeks to prepare and plan for those situations. ...We lost some really good players. That provides unique opportunity.”
“It is what it is,’’ Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “It’s a different world than when I became the head coach [in 2009]. I certainly hope the bowl games stick around. ...Things have evolved in college football, and bowl games are a great experience. It’s another day to go play. It’s an opportunity to finish your season. It’s an opportunity to get an unbelievable experience.”
Clemson defensive coordinator Wes Goodwin, whose Tigers have been preparing for arguably the fastest offense in the nation, said this week that Tennessee is “not going to wholesale change what they do” based on a different quarterback and absence of its top wideouts.
“I’m sure they’ll mold it to the strength of what they feel like those guys can do,’’ Goodwin said. “Next man up for them. Milton has got a huge, huge arm. He can throw it as far as anybody that you want to see on game day. And those [other] receivers who will get the opportunity Friday night are just as dangerous — they’re fast, they can knock the top off. It’ll be a huge, huge challenge out back for us.’’
There are still plenty reasons to tune in, including Klubnik and Milton III.
“In life, you’ve got to learn,” said Milton, who played at Michigan for three seasons and started in the 2020 COVID season before transferring to Tennessee for 2021. “On my mirror back in Knoxville, Tennessee, I have a saying that says to never stop learning because life never stops teaching. I pretty much look at that every day when I brush my teeth and wash my face. It’s one of the things I cherish because it’s life — things are going to happen. You’re going to face adversity.”
Said Klubnik: “My confidence comes from preparation. And I love the game. So, when I get out there and play, I think another switch just kind of happens that I don’t really have any control over. It just kind of happens. Just another part of me kind of comes out and I just go out there and play.”
Swinney said Klubnik’s preparation for the biggest stage of his life since three-year starter Uiagalelei recently transferred to Oregon State, has “been a process since he got here last January,’’ even if he didn’t know it then.
“Kind of an accumulation of practice and meetings and developing physically, summer skills and drills,’’ the coach said. “He’s gotten some experience through the year — some good things, had mistakes as well. We felt like opportunity could come at any point and he took advantage of it in the [ACC] championship game. He’s just got to do his job —play within the system, take care of the ball and make sure he’s having some fun.’’
History
The Tigers and Vols last met in the 2004 Peach Bowl after the 2003 season, with Clemson winning 27-14. The teams have met 19 previous times since 1901, with the Vols leading the series 11-6-2.
Other than for a national championship game or college football playoff semifinal, this will be the highest-ranked Orange Bowl matchup since AP No. 5 USC beat No. 3 Iowa in 2003.
Heupel has never appeared in the Orange Bowl as head coach, but won a national title against Florida State in the 2001 OB (2000 season) as the Heisman Trophy runner-up quarterback for Oklahoma.
“There are great players all over the field when two great teams like this get together,’’ Heupel said, when asked how Tennessee prepared for an elite defense like Clemson’s. “At the end of the day, you gotta do what you do.’’
