How to Watch: No. 6 Tennessee vs. No. 7 Clemson in the Orange Bowl
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Game day is finally here. No. 6 Tennessee and No. 7 Clemson in the Capital One Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. The game is scheduled for an 8 p.m. Eastern Time start on ESPN.
The Vols (10-2), after winning 10 games in the regular season for the first time since 2003, are in the Orange Bowl for the first time since 1998 and are seeking their first 11-win season since 2001.
Clemson (11-2) earned its Orange Bowl bid with a 39-10 win over North Carolina in the ACC Championship Game on December 3 in Charlotte. The Tigers started the season 8-0, before losing 35-14 at Notre Dame on November 5, then 31-30 against South Carolina at home on November 26.
Tennessee is making its fifth appearance in the Orange Bowl. The Vols beat Oklahoma 17-0 in the 1939 Orange Bowl, lost to Rice in the 1947 Orange Bowl, lost to Oklahoma in the 1968 Orange Bowl and lost to Nebraska in the 1998 Orange Bowl.
Tennessee vs. Clemson: How to watch, stream, listen
Kickoff Time: 8 p.m. ET, Friday
Location: Hard Rock Stadium (65,326), Miami Gardens, Fla.
TV: ESPN (Play-by-play Joe Tessitore; Analyst — Greg McElroy; Sideline Reporter — Katie George). ESPN App or WatchESPN.com
Radio: WNML-FM 99.1 in Knoxville. The Vol Network radio broadcast (Bob Kesling – play-by-play, analyst — Pat Ryan and Brent Hubbs) can be heard on local affiliates across the state of Tennessee. The game can be heard on Satellite Radio on SiriusXM Channel 136 or 190 or on the SiriusXM App on Channel 961.
The game can also be streamed online through ESPN+, the streaming platform from ESPN that requires a paid subscription. ESPN+ is separate from cable or satellite subscriptions. More info can be found here.
Josh Heupel’s history in the Orange Bowl
Second-year Tennessee coach Josh Heupel was Oklahoma’s quarterback and Heisman Trophy runner-up in 2001 when he led the Sooners to a national championship, capping the season with a 13-2 win over Florida State. He was a graduate-assistant coach at Oklahoma when the Sooners lost to Southern Cal in the Orange Bowl in 2004.
Heupel was hired as Tennessee’s coach in January 2021, taking over a team that won only three games during the COVID-shortened 2020 season. He won 14 of his first 20 games with the Vols, trailing on General Robert Neyland (18), Bill Battle (17), John Barnhill (16) and Bowden Wyatt (16) for most wins through 20 games.
“It’s been a long time since Tennessee has been here,” Heupel said on Thursday. “Really proud of what this program has done in the last 23 months since our staff arrived. Really proud of our players.
“Playing a great opponent here tomorrow, and looking forward to that. We’ve seen a lot of the VFLs, former players, starting to make their way down here and I know our fan base is, too. It’s great to see all those former players show up, and I’m looking forward to going out and competing with our football team.”
