Tennessee vs. Clemson in the Orange Bowl

It’s almost the end of the college football season. Soon we’ll only have our memories and best moments to watch on repeat on YouTube. Yes, I know spring football will be there to help us through the 8 month long drought, but it’s just not the same.

Sad days indeed.

But the holiday season is not the time for the fearless prediction of being miserable. We want to go out with a bang by making the right call as the Vols take on Clemson in the Orange Bowl, Tennessee’s first NY6 bowl game since the Cotton Bowl on New Years morning 2005.

Tennessee could have been sent to the Sugar Bowl. But instead, that spot went to Alabama, because the college football playoff committee apparently didn’t know that Tennessee beat Alabama, or that Tennessee beat an LSU team that beat Alabama, or that Tennessee had a better schedule than Alabama, or that The Vols and Crimson Tide both finished the regular season with the same record.

But I digress… If you had told any Vols fan in August that they would go 10-2, beat Florida, Alabama and LSU and be picked for the Orange Bowl , it’s a deal he would make every time.

The Vols and Tigers don’t have much recent history. Their last meeting was at the end of the 2003 season, a 27-14 Peach Bowl victory for Clemson. This is the only time these teams have played since 1977.

Tennessee Sports Betting officially launched on November 1, 2020. Tennessee was the first SEC state to legalize sports betting.

UT is very different today in terms of personnel compared to mid-November. Quarterback Hendon Hooker tore his ACL during the South Carolina game. Wide receivers Cedric Tillman and Jalin Hyatt opted out of preparing for the NFL Draft, as did linebacker Jeremy Banks. Clemson is also short on key players, as is retired non-defensive lineman Myles Murphy and injured linebacker Trenton Simpson. Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei headed for the transfer gate after being benched early in the ACC Championship game.

Thus, the 2 former reserve QBs – Joe Milton III for Tennessee and Cade Klubnik for Clemson – will have the chance to show a national television audience what they can do.

For Milton, this is his chance to solidify himself as a favorite to be Tennessee’s starting QB in 2023. He’ll be a 6th-year senior and has been on offense for Josh Heupel since early 2021, but there’s no guarantee that the position will be his September. Rising redshirt freshman Tayven Jackson and real freshman Nico Yamaleava wait in the wings, Yamaleava already training with the Vols. Milton was impressive in the regular-season finale against Vanderbilt, but the 24th-ranked Tigers defense will pose a much tougher challenge.

Milton will likely rely on Bru McCoy, who is the Vols’ best remaining pass catcher. McCoy finished 2nd in the Vols in catches (48) and receiving yards (619) this season. His 27-yard catch in the final seconds of the Alabama game will be remembered by UT fans for generations. Running backs Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small should get their fair share of runs against Clemson and could relieve Milton of a lot of pressure.

Klubnik played even less than Milton during the regular season, throwing just 11 passes on rake serve. But he looked great as a relief to Uiagalelei in that ACC title game, completing 20 of 24 passes for 279 yards and 1 TD. He’ll pitch to another true freshman, wide receiver Antonio Williams, to move the football through the air. Williams led the Tigers in catching (53) and receiving yards (563) this season, while catching 4 touchdowns.

Tennessee will also have to worry about Clemson’s second star running back, Will Shipley. He rushed for 1,110 yards and 15 touchdowns while catching 34 passes out of the backfield. Tennessee is ranked 86th in total defense (not great, Bob!), but they’re solid against the run, giving up under 112 yards per game.

At the time, boules games were really exhibitions. In 1951, the Vols lost to Maryland in the Sugar Bowl, but the AP elected national champions Tennessee before that game was even played. Programs did not emphasize these games nearly to the point that they did in the decades that followed.

Now, with the advent of the Playoffs, we’re at that point again. Even a bowling game with Orange Bowl status and history isn’t significant without the possibility of a national championship on the line.

When you try to figure out which team is more motivated to play after missing the CFP, then consider that each had a long layoff plus major player withdrawals and a new QB leading the offense, it helps predict a much harder result.

But there must be a winner. It’s not 1993, and this game can’t end in a tie, so here goes…