Clemson Sacked By Tennessee In Orange Bowl
In the Orange Bowl, Tennessee sacked Clemson.
The Tigers are haunted by three missed field goals in the season's final game.
Fla.'s Miami Gardens All but one thing—the score—was done correctly by Clemson.
The Tigers, who are rated eighth, have trouble scoring touchdowns and converting field goals. On the other side, Tennessee didn't.
In a 31-14 victory in the 89th Orange Bowl Classic, the sixth-ranked Volunteers were assisted by quarterback Joe Milton's three touchdown throws and a two-yard scoring run from Jabari Small. Clemson entered Tennessee territory 11 times, but only managed to score 14 points as a result.
The Tennessee 32 or beyond was reached by nine of those eleven possessions.
In the first half, Clemson ran 36 plays on the field's Volunteer side.
Clemson ran 36 plays on the Volunteers’ side of the field in the first half but had just three points to take into the locker room. Totaling 273 yards on the ground, the Tigers only once punted.
However, on their opening drive, kicker B.T. Potter missed attempts from 55, 49, and 42 yards out and failed to gain a first down on a fake field goal attempt.
The Volunteers (11-2) drove the ball 75 yards in 11 plays after Clemson's failed fake field goal attempt. With 5:17 left in the first quarter, Kwauze McCoy caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Milton to end the drive.
However, kicker B.T. Potter failed to score on attempts from 55, 49, and 42 yards out.
The Volunteers (11-2) marched the ball 75 yards in 11 plays after Clemson's failed fake field goal attempt. With 5:17 left in the first quarter, Kwauze McCoy caught a 16-yard touchdown throw from Milton to end the drive.
With 9:03 left in the first half, Tennessee increased its advantage to 14-0 when Small rushed in from two yards out after Potter missed yet another range goal attempt. A 50-yard pass from Milton to White that put the Vols at the Clemson 2 was the pivotal play of the drive.
Once more, the Tigers (11-3) were unable to complete a drive. On fourth-and-two from the Tennessee 31 this time, Shipley was stopped a half-yard short of the first down.
With five seconds left in the third, Milton connected with Squirrel White across the middle for a 14-yard touchdown throw and a 21-6 lead for Tennessee. It did not take Tennessee long to take advantage of this. Wright ran up the middle for 42 yards.
The Tigers recovered on their subsequent possession, putting together a 12-play, 71-yard drive that culminated with a touchdown. With a four-yard run, Cade Klubnik completed the drive. The score was subsequently lowered to 21-14 with 10:01 remaining in the contest thanks to a two-point attempt by Will Shipley.
The Volunteers immediately retaliated as Milton delivered his third touchdown pass of the game, this one to Ramel Keyton who managed to elude Clemson's coverage from 46 yards out.
Linebacker Jeremiah Trotter was named the game's MVP after recording a game-high nine tackles for the team and 1.5 tackles for loss.
Major Play:
Late in the third quarter, Clemson was down 14-6 and faced a fourth-and-two from the 31-yard line after once again moving the ball deep into Tennessee territory. However, with 1:27 left in the period, the Volunteers took control after Shipley was stopped a half-yard short of the first down. On the subsequent drive, Tennessee scored a touchdown to increase its lead to two points.
Klubnik, a freshman, had 320 yards via the air and 51 more on the ground, including a touchdown run of four yards.
Game-winning statistic: Despite entering Tennessee territory 11 times, Clemson only managed to score 14 points. 101 plays were carried out by the Tigers.
Update on injuries: Sheridan Jones, a cornerback for Clemson, did not participate in the Orange Bowl. The game was kicked off without Jones and with Toriano Pride. In spite of suffering a foot injury in the third quarter, defensive end K.J. Henry was able to continue playing.
At the end of February, spring practise will start.
