Tennessee vs. Clemson odds: Early point spread released for Orange Bowl

The slate of games for one of college football’s most exciting times of the year has been set. On Sunday, the bowl schedule was arranged, as a variety of exciting, non-conference matchups will air throughout the month of December and January. One of those marquee matchups will be a battle between No. 6 Tennessee and No. 7 Clemson in the Capital One Orange Bowl.

The Orange Bowl is featured as one of six New Year’s Six matchups this season, and FanDuel has already released their point spread for the game, which has the Tigers as favorites with Clemson -4.5.

The Tigers are coming off of an impressive ACC Championship victory over North Carolina, which featured an improbable hero. After two offensive possessions, head coach Dabo Swinney gave true freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik the reigns of the offense, and he delivered.

In the most action he’s ever seen in a collegiate game, Klubnik completed 20 of his 24 pass attempts for 279 yards and a touchdown. He also added 19 receiving yards and 30 rushing yards along with a touchdown on the ground on his way to leading the Tigers to a 39-10 victory.

The Volunteers will also be playing with their in-season backup quarterback in the Orange Bowl, as they lost star quarterback and Heisman Trophy hopeful Hendon Hooker in their second to last game of the regular season. Joe Milton will get the start for Tennessee, the Michigan transfer who originally started for the Vols before Hooker took over and burst onto the national scene last season.

Milton started for Tennessee in their regular season finale against Vanderbilt, leading a dominant 56-0 victory over the Commodores. Milton only threw for 147 yards and one touchdown pass in that game, as it was highlighted by a high-powered rushing attack, with Tennessee rushing for 362 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.

This Orange Bowl matchup features what the College Football Playoff committee sees as two of the best two-loss teams in the country, who both had high playoff hopes during the season. Both teams suffered road losses to two teams that ended the season ranked in the Top 25, with Tennessee falling to Georgia and Clemson suffering an upset loss to Notre Dame.

They also both share upset losses to South Carolina, and will be looking to reach the 11-win mark on December 30 when they square off in Hard Rock Stadium in Miami in a game that will feature no shortage of the color orange.