Tennessee Beats Clemson in a Very Orange Orange Bowl

Orange was everywhere in this year’s Orange Bowl in Miami on December 30th. Both Tennessee and Clemson have Orange in their school colors (although different shades).

The Tennessee shade of orange prevailed in this one. The Volunteers never trailed in the game, although the Tigers made a game of it by making a one score game of it at 21-14 with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter. But Tennessee tacked on 10 more points to put it out of reach and win 31-14.

Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton III had a very productive night, completing 19 passes for 251 yards and three touchdowns, with no interceptions. Clemson QB Cade Klubnik threw for 320 yards but none for touchdowns and two were intercepted.

Clemson ends the season at 11-3, while Tennessee finishes at 11-2. It’s the Volunteers’ best season since 2001, when they were 11-2 and finished fourth in the polls. Tennessee was 13-0 and National Champions in 1998. Are the Volunteers returning to that level of prominence after years of being everything from bad to pretty good? This season they beat five teams ranked in the Top 25 during the regular season, including a huge win over then unbeaten and third ranked Alabama. The Volunteers lost to defending champion (and undefeated top seed in the College Football Playoff) Georgia, and also to unranked South Carolina in an inexplicable 63-38 blowout. (SC then beat Clemson the next week, and lost to #21 Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl 45-38 to finish 8-5). The Southeast Conference is the deepest in college football, but Tennessee has gone from 3-7 in 2020 to 7-6 last year (coach Josh Heupel’s first season) and 11-2 this year, so the future looks bright in Knoxville.