Orange Bowl Preview: Tennessee vs. Clemson

Clemson University was founded in 1889 by Thomas Green Clemson. Clemson was undefeated until November. The team was still alive for the college football playoffs but lost to Shane Train. Cade Klubnik will start for Clemson against Tennessee. Tennessee finished its regular season 9-3 ATS and 1-1 outright as underdogs. This game opened up at Tennessee+6.5 and got as high as +7 for a moment. It is now at +4. 5 on some sites. Over/Under is set at 63.

Clemson will give freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik some help from sophomore running back Will Shipley. Shiply has 1,100 yards on the season with an impressive 5.8 ypc in Clemson's zone running scheme. Tennessee's defense will try to keep Shipleys below 120 yards of total offense.

Tennessee's quarterback Joe Milton is going to have to deal with pressure from Clemson's defense. Clemson has 40 sacks on the season. Tennessee's offensive line should be at full strength. Clemson is loaded with disruptive defensive players. This is Milton's 5th year in college football. He is playing in a quarterback-friendly offense. A good performance can go a long way to securing his starting job for next season, it starts with feeling and responding to pressure.

Clemson is 2-1 in Orange Bowls under Dabo Swinney. In 2012 Clemson was defeated by West Virginia 70-33. Tennessee was going to hire Kevin Steele from Clemson, but Dave Hart vetoed that decision. Derek Dooley hired Sal Sunseri instead. Cade Klubnik will start for Tennessee. The Vols have 27 sacks this season. They had just 3 sacks against Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. Their secondary is not good enough to make plays when opposing quarterbacks get comfortable in the pocket. Tennessee's offensive line is good. It's not hard to imagine why.