Josh Heupel discusses importance of leading Tennessee to Orange Bowl

As the kickoff to bowl season is underway, teams around the country are preparing for their season’s final game. This bowl season, fans will be treated to one of the more unique and promising Orange Bowls in recent memory. On Dec. 30, a battle between two of the top programs in the country to wear the color in Tennessee and Clemson will take place in Miami, FL. As the two teams begin their preparations, Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel discussed the importance of his Volunteers playing in the Orange Bowl.

“I believe and know that we will be in a bunch of these big games as our program continues to grow,” said Heupel. “I’m really proud of the steps that we’ve taken in essentially 22 months. For us, this is an opportunity to, again, be on a national stage; as we are, all year long, in the conference that we play in. We’ve played a lot of great opponents. We get a chance to play another one here. And for us, it’s an opportunity to take another step as a program.

“The practices that you get are important in the development of your roster. We get an opportunity to finish the season the right way. And in some ways, you’re kicking off the following season too. So, for us, it’s a national stage, has an opportunity to have an impact in recruiting, and we get a chance to take another step as a program.”

No. 6 Tennessee opened as a 2.5-point underdog against No. 7 Clemson on Sunday, according to the Action Network. The Vols and Tigers are matched up in the Capital One Orange Bowl on December 30 at Hard Rock Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 pm Eastern Time on ESPN.

Tennessee-Clemson: Series History 

The Orange Bowl will be just the 20th meeting between Tennessee and Clemson. The Vols hold an 11-6-2 advantage in the series, but lost the last meeting in 2003, when the Tigers won 27-14 in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.

The two teams have played just three times since 1974, after playing 16 times between 1901 and 1944. Tennessee won seven in a row, all in Knoxville, between 1920 and 1976. The series started with a tie in Knoxville in 1901, followed by two Clemson wins in 1902 and 1904. 

There was another tie at Clemson in 1905 and a Tennessee loss at Clemson in 1906. The Vols won three straight between 1907 and 1914 and Clemson won at Tennessee in 1915. The Vols won at Clemson in 1916 and lost at Clemson in 1919.