Collin Stevens of The Roar
Upon beating North Carolina 39-10 this weekend in Clemson’s 21st ACC Championship win, Clemson football recovered from a loss during rivalry week and jump-started their postseason endeavors for the year. The championship game also saw the rise of Cade Klubnik, who was 20/24 against the Tarheels with 279 yards passing. Klubnik also led the Tigers in rushing, picking up an additional 30 yards and a score using his legs. The decision to go with the true freshman ultimately led to the replacement of Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei, who entered the transfer portal just this week after being benched. But fans may be wondering- If the Tigers are sitting on the outside of playoff contention, where did they end up after all? Moving forward, the 11-2 Clemson Tigers will match up against Rocky Top and No. 6 Tennessee in the 89th Orange Bowl, held Dec. 30th in Miami Gardens, Florida. Historically, Clemson has a long track record of Orange Bowl appearances, participating in the bowl six times, including a National Championship win over Nebraska in 1981. On the other hand, the Volunteers hold a 1-3 Orange Bowl record, starkly contrasting the 4-2 record of their Tiger-pawed opponents. Despite a record of success, the 2022-2023 season has been a rollercoaster for both programs. The 10-2 Volunteers began the season on fire, fueled by a burning offense and star quarterback Hendon Hooker. After a loss to Georgia however, the Vols fell to No. 5, and later to No. 10 after losing to Shane Beamer and the Gamecocks. Though the “lost to South Carolina bowl” sounds far less catchy than the Orange Bowl, UofSC ironically managed to knock off both ranked opponents during the season...back-to-back. And while the loss left an understandably bad taste in the mouths of Clemson followers, fans can at least feel better about their team’s 31-30 fall to the Gamecocks than Tennessee, who witnessed their team blown from the waters of the Vol Navy 63-38. The Volunteers' last win came during rivalry week after handing it to Vanderbilt 56-0 on Nov. 26th. Fans of Tennessee hope that the win is enough to supply a head of steam going into the Orange Bowl, and the momentum to topple the Tigers without Hooker (out for the season with an ACL injury). As for Clemson, a similarly hot start was brought to a halt by a crippling loss to Notre Dame in South Bend. This loss gave the 8-0 Tigers their first scratch of the season and sent the No. 4 ranked playoff contenders to No.10. Though Clemson flirted with the idea of playoff contention and the potential to sneak into the top of the rankings, the opportunity to jump the standings never presented itself. Now sitting at No. 7, the Tigers have an opportunity to win their 5th Orange Bowl in program history and move to an impressive 12-2 on the season. The Vols and Tigers have met on the gridiron only once since 1976, which ended in a 27-14 Clemson win. Clemson hopes to carry on the trend in a matchup of college football titans, and an Orange Bowl is surely for the record books.
