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There's nary information to the rumor that Shane Beamer volition execute the opening coin flip for this year's Capital One Orange Bowl, which volition people lone the 4th clip Clemson and Tennessee person met successful shot implicit the past 75 years.
Had it not been for Beamer's South Carolina Gamecocks, either the Tigers oregon Vols easy could person been successful the College Football Playoff. South Carolina shocked Tennessee 63-38 successful the next-to-last week of the regular season. Then successful the regular-season finale, the Gamecocks snapped a seven-game losing streak to Clemson and bushed the Tigers 31-30 successful Death Valley.
So present we are with the astir "orange" Orange Bowl successful the game's storied history.
Dabo Swinney has built a monster astatine Clemson, truthful overmuch truthful that 11 wins and an ACC title is seen arsenic a ho-hum season. Josh Heupel, successful conscionable his 2nd play starring the Vols, guided Tennessee to its archetypal 10-win regular play since 2003.
The astir intriguing portion of this crippled volition beryllium the backmost position. Tennessee's Joe Milton III took implicit for Hendon Hooker, who was 1 of the Heisman Trophy favorites erstwhile helium was injured successful the South Carolina game. For Clemson, freshman Cade Klubnik came disconnected the seat to pb his squad to a 39-10 triumph implicit North Carolina successful the ACC title game. The Tigers' starter each play long, DJ Uiagalelei, has decided to participate the transportation portal aft being benched against the Tar Heels.
No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 7 Clemson
Capital One Orange Bowl
When: Friday, Dec. 30 astatine 8 p.m. ET
Where: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
How to watch: ESPN and ESPN App
Opening enactment via Caesars Sportsbook: Clemson by 4.5
Tennessee
Key player: Nobody successful Tennessee's programme wanted Joe Milton III to get his changeable this way. But with prima backmost Hendon Hooker going down with a season-ending ACL tear, Milton gets a accidental to amusement what he's got connected a large stage. It's besides an accidental to spot however overmuch Milton has improved from a twelvemonth ago, erstwhile helium opened the 2021 play arsenic the Vols' starter but was replaced by Hooker. Milton's limb spot is incredible, and astatine 245 pounds, he's a bruising runner successful short-yardage situations. The situation for Milton is accuracy. He's been prone to overthrow receivers and firearm passes that were hard to drawback erstwhile helium could person utilized much finesse. The feeling astir Tennessee's programme is that Milton has polished up his crippled successful each phases. The Vols volition request that mentation of Milton against a talented Clemson defense.
X factor: The Vols' walk defence was shaky for overmuch of the season. They're ranked 127th nationally retired of 131 teams (allowing 287 passing yards per game) and gave up 47 passes of 10 yards oregon longer, which was past successful the SEC. With Klubnik acceptable to marque his archetypal commencement astatine backmost for Clemson, the onus volition beryllium connected the Vols' walk unreserved arsenic overmuch arsenic (or much than) the secondary. Tennessee needs to unit Klubnik and support him guessing. The Vols had 27 sacks successful 12 games, but were constricted to 2 successful their losses to South Carolina and Georgia. Getting borderline rusher Byron Young going again would beryllium immense for the Vols. He leads the squad with 5 sacks and 14 backmost pressures, but wasn't arsenic productive down the stretch.
How Tennessee wins: The Vols person followed the aforesaid blueprint each season. Get an aboriginal lead, get the opposing defence connected its heels, deed immoderate large walk plays, past decorativeness the woody with the moving game. Tennessee has scored 38 oregon much points successful 10 of its 12 games. The Vols emotion to spell for the knockout punch. But successful their 2 losses this season, they fell down aboriginal (24-6 to Georgia and 21-7 to South Carolina) and weren't astir arsenic bully playing from behind. Getting Milton into a travel successful the archetypal 4th volition beryllium captious for Tennessee, which means moving the shot efficaciously and creating immoderate manageable third-down situations volition beryllium arsenic critical. The Vols privation to play accelerated and acceptable the code early, but doing that without Hooker could beryllium challenging. That's wherefore Tennessee can't spend to discarded possessions successful this game.
Clemson
Key player: Quarterback Cade Klubnik. While astir Clemson fans are apt to walk the clip betwixt present and the Orange Bowl reasoning of what mightiness person been had Klubnik been the Tigers' starter each along, there's inactive the precise existent question of whether his prima crook successful the ACC title crippled marked the commencement of a caller epoch oregon conscionable a bully crippled against a atrocious defense. Yes, Klubnik was an elite enlistee with tons of talent, but until the North Carolina game, helium hadn't impressed connected the tract successful constricted reps connected crippled days and hadn't won implicit the coaching unit capable to unseat DJ Uiagalelei arsenic the Tigers' starter, adjacent erstwhile the discourtesy struggled. Remember that the Tar Heels had 1 of the worst walk defenses successful the ACC successful 2022, and they were down 2 cardinal antiaircraft backs successful the matchup against Clemson. It seems wide Klubnik was a existent betterment implicit Uiagalelei -- but the Orange Bowl volition archer america overmuch much astir whether he's bully capable to pb Clemson backmost to the benignant of explosiveness it had nether Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence.
X factor: Cornerback Nate Wiggins. Yes, Klubnik was the large communicative from the ACC rubric game, but the champion subordinate connected the tract was Wiggins, who had a walk breakup successful the extremity zone, a blocked tract extremity and a pick-six successful the triumph implicit Drake Maye and UNC. Wiggins was expected to blossom into a superstar this season, but helium got disconnected to a rocky start, including a brutal show against Wake Forest successful September. But helium made dependable advancement passim the season, culminating with the monster show against Carolina. He'll request different large crippled arsenic portion of the Tigers' up-and-down secondary if Clemson wants to dilatory a terrific Tennessee passing game.
How Clemson wins: The Tigers request to travel the aforesaid look they utilized successful the ACC title game, lone with Klubnik connected the tract from the opening snap. Tennessee's tally defence is terrific -- 10th nationally successful EPA, 4th successful yards earlier interaction per transportation and 11th successful tally stuffs -- truthful Clemson can't trust connected Will Shipley & Co. to cardinal a ground-and-pound win. The passing crippled needs to beryllium functional, and present that's connected Klubnik's shoulders. On the flip side, Clemson's D didn't precisely halt North Carolina successful the ACC rubric game, but it made large plays successful the reddish portion and won the turnover battle. That mightiness beryllium the best-case script against Tennessee too.
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