Orange Bowl picks: Clemson-Tennessee betting splits for spread, over/under, ML

The New Year’s Six bowl games officially get started tonight as the No. 7 Clemson Tigers will meet the No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers in the Orange Bowl at 8 p.m. ET. The game will take place at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, FL, and will air on ESPN.

Both teams had successful 2022 campaigns with Clemson winning the ACC championship and Tennessee returning to national relevance. Several top players on both teams like Jalin Hyatt, Myles Murphy, and others have elected to not play in tonight’s contest, but it should be an intriguing matchup nonetheless.

Before both of these teams do battle in the Orange Bowl, we’ll go over the betting splits courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook and see how the public wagered on this matchup.

Betting splits for Clemson vs. Tennessee

Clemson -4.5: 52% of action, 46% of bets
Tennessee +4.5: 48% of action, 54% of bets

It’s a near even split in regards to the spread with the slight majority of the money going towards Clemson covering as a 4.5-point favorite while most of the bets are on Tennessee to cover. With former Clemson starting quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei transferring to Oregon State, freshman Cade Klubnik will be getting the start tonight and the money being on him to get the job done on a big stage is certainly bold. We’ll see who ultimately gains the edge in this game.

Over 60.5: 37% of action, 59% of bets
Under 60.5: 63% of action, 41% of bets

There’s a major discrepancy when it comes to the point total here as most of the money is all over the under while most of the total number of bets on are on the over. This huge difference could be due to the upheaval on both sides.

Tennessee had one of the most explosive offenses in the country but will be without its top receivers in Hyatt and Cedric Tillman in this contest. That goes along with starting quarterback Hendon Hooker already being out with an ACL tear and offensive coordinator Alex Golesh departing to take the USF job. Meanwhile, Clemson’s offense underwhelmed at times with Uiagalelei under center and Klubnik didn’t necessarily light it up in the few times he saw action. The under is tantalizing but it’s understandable why the public would think 60.5 is a low enough bar to clear.

Clemson ML (-195): 50% of action, 57% of bets
Tennessee ML (+165): 50% of action, 43% of bets

Dead even money on the moneyline here but most of the public is leaning on Clemson to pick up the outright ‘W’. It may just be muscle memory for bettors to pick the Tigers but recent history suggests that this is the smart bet. Clemson has won its last four non-College Football Playoff bowl games and head coach Dabo Swinney seemingly always has his team ready for these situations. Meanwhile, Tennessee is returning to one of the current NY6 games for the first time since the 2004 season, so this is new territory in recent history for the Vols.