Tennessee opens as underdog against Clemson in Orange Bowl

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 in Miami, Fla., with kickoff scheduled for 8 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN.

The Vols (10-2, 6-2 SEC) are 9-3 against the spread this season, with the over hitting seven times and the under hitting six times. Clemson (11-2, 8-0 ACC) is 8-5 against the spread with the over hitting seven times and the under hitting six times.

It will be Tennessee’s fifth trip to the Orange Bowl and the first since 1998. The Vols beat Oklahoma in the 1939 Sugar Bowl, lost to Rice in the 1947 Orange Bowl, lost to Oklahoma in the 1967 Orange Bowl and lost to Nebraska in 1998.

Clemson has played in three Orange Bowls since 2011 and six times total in program history. The Tigers lost to West Virginia in the 2011 Orange Bowl, beat Ohio State in 2014 and beat Oklahoma in 2015. Clemson won the 1950 Orange Bowl against Miami, lost the 1957 Orange Bowl against Colorado and beat Nebraska in the 1982 Orange Bowl.

Tennessee and Clemson have not played since 2003, a 27-14 win in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. The two teams have played only 19 times and only four times since 1945.

Clemson Tigers: A Closer Look

Clemson is the ACC champion after beating North Carolina 39-10 on Saturday night.

Dabo Swinney made a change at quarterback, starting D.J. Uiagalelei before moving to Cade Klubnik. Uiagalelei was 2-for-5 passing for 10 yards, then Klubnik went 20-for-24 for 279 yards and a touchdown.

Uiagalelei this season has competed 62.1 percent of his passes, throwing for 2,521 yards, 22 touchdowns and seven interceptions and has rushed 142 times for 545 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.

Will Shipley leads Clemson on the ground with 1,110 yards and 15 touchdowns on 193 attempts. Antonio Williams is the leading receiver, catching 53 passes for 563 yards and four touchdowns. 

Four Clemson players have at least four touchdown catches. Tight end Davis Allen has caught 35 passes for 394 yards and five touchdowns. Wide receiver Beaux Collins has 22 catches for 373 yards and five touchdowns and tight end Jake Briningstool has 22 catches for 256 yards and four touchdowns.

Clemson is ranked 17th nationally in scoring defense, giving up 20.1 points per game. The Tigers are 10th against the run, allowing (101.08 yards per game), 77th against the pass (230.2 yards per game) and 24th in total defense (331.3 yards per game).

The season started with eight straight wins for Clemson, including one in double-overtime at Wake Forest on September 24. Notre Dame beat the Tigers 35-14 on November 6, jumping out to a 28-0 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Clemson bounced back with wins over Louisville and Miami before losing to rival South Carolina in the regular-season finale.

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.