Orange Bowl Betting Odds: ACC Champions Seek Another Bowl Victory

Late-Season Losses Knocked Tennessee and Clemson Out of National Title Race

There was a time earlier this season when a college football bowl showdown between Clemson and Tennessee could easily have come as part of the College Football Playoffs. Both teams stumbled a bit down the stretch. However, going to the Orange Bowl isn’t the worst consolation prize in the world. The Orange Bowl betting odds have Clemson as the favorite.

Quarterbacks Hendon Hooker of Tennessee and D.J. Uiagalelei of Clemson both spent time as Heisman Trophy candidates. However, with an injury ending Hooker’s brilliant season and Uiagalelei in the transfer portal, it will be Joe Milton and Cade Klubnik at quarterback in the Orange Bowl.

Star receivers Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman won’t play in the bowl game for Tennessee as they head to the NFL. Clemson defensive lineman Myles Murphy and linebacker Trenton Simmons had the same decision. Running back Kobe Pace, receivers E.J. Williams and Will Taylor, linebacker LaVonta Bentley and cornerback Fred Davis are among the Tigers in the transfer portal. Receiver Beaux Collins and cornerback Malcolm Greene are dealing with injuries.

Tennessee finished sixth and Clemson seventh in the College Football Playoff rankings. The Volunteers are sixth in both national polls while Clemson is 10th in the Associated Press poll and 11th in the American Football Coaches Association poll ranking.

Clemson Tries to Turn Tide on SEC

Clemson has had mixed results when facing SEC teams in bowl games with a 5-7 record and a 7-5 mark against the spread. One of those meetings came against Tennessee in the Peach Bowl on Jan. 2, 2004 with Clemson winning 27-14 as a five-point underdog. The Tennessee vs Clemson odds favor the Tigers this time around.

Tennessee had won four bowl games in a row before falling to Purdue 48-45 in the 2021 Music City Bowl.

Milton is one of six Florida natives on the Tennessee roster. Defensive lineman Tyler Davis and starting center Will Putnam are among the top Florida natives for Clemson.

Clemson is 4-2 in its six previous Orange Bowl appearances while Tennessee is 0-3 in the Orange Bowl.

Despite Departures, Tennessee’s Offense is Still Explosive

It seems like ages ago when Tennessee was struggling to top the 350-yard mark on a weekly basis. It actually happened during the 2019 and 2020 seasons.

Tennessee heads into the bowl game leading the nation with an average of 538 yards per game. Nine times the Volunteers topped the 500-yard mark. Even with those impressive numbers, the Orange Bowl betting odds list Tennessee as the underdog.

Milton, who has thrown 116 passes in 16 career at Tennessee after transferring from Michigan, will be leading the offense in place of the injured Hendon Hooker.

Tennessee relied on the 1-2 tandem of Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small for the Volunteers to average more than 200 rushing yards per game for the second season in a row.

Seven of the top nine college football players tacklers for Tennessee are seniors and that could be key in trying to slow down the Clemson offense.

Where There’s Will, There’s a Way

There are plenty of Clemson players who won’t be suiting up in the Orange Bowl. Star running back Will Shipley should be a headliner for the Tigers. He is one of the reasons why the Orange Bowl betting odds favor the Tigers.

Shipley is Clemson’s leading rusher for the second year in a row. He has 1,110 yards this season with five 100-yard games. He is also a threat in the passing game with 34 receptions.While Uiagalelei was erratic as a passer, he was Clemson’s second-leading rusher and had seven scoring runs.

Antonio Williams is set to join DeAndre Hopkins, Sammy Watkins and Artavis Scott as the only freshman to lead Clemson in receptions since the start of the 2010 season.

The defense will miss Simpson and Murphy. There is still plenty of talent for the Tigers to make life difficult for the short-handed Tennessee offense.

Tennessee Looks to Tame Favored Tigers

With the college football injuries, transfers and players skipping the game to begin preparations for the NFL, it is hard to know what to expect in this top-10 matchup. There is no recent history to help those who bet online since the NCAAF teams haven’t played since a 2004 bowl game.

The line opened with Clemson favored by 4.5 and has moved to the Tigers being favored by 6.5-7 points. There has been very little movement in the total as it is holding close to the 63-point mark that it opened at.

When looking at college bowl games with odds, this is the first time since 2010 that Tennessee is listed as the underdog in a bowl game. The Volunteers and Tigers are a combined 5-4 against the spread away from home.

Tennessee is just 2-11 in its last 13 games when listed as the underdog while the total has gone over in six of Tennessee’s last seven games against ACC teams. Clemson has covered in six of its last nine NCAAF games.

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