MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — The 89th Orange Bowl will have a playoff-type matchup as seventh-ranked Clemson faces number six Tennessee.
Clemson is 11-2 while Tennessee is 10-2 after a season where both teams were in the mix for a spot in the CFB Playoff.
However, both teams suffered disappointing losses that derailed their playoff hopes. Tennessee lost to Georgia and South Carolina while the Tigers lost to Notre Dame and South Carolina.
But both Dabo Swinney and Josh Huepel expect both of their teams to put aside any disappointment and do their best to end the 2022 season with a victory in one of the sport's premier bowl games.
Clemson will be making its seventh Orange Bowl appearance and its first since winning the CFP Semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl in 2015. The Tigers own a 4-2 all-time Orange Bowl record and won their first national title in the 1982 Orange Bowl. Clemson also appeared in 1951 (15-14 win over Miami), 1957 (27-21 loss to Colorado), 2012 (70-33 loss to West Virginia) and 2014 (40-35 win over Ohio State).
This will mark the 20th time the Volunteers and Tigers have met on the gridiron dating back to 1901, with Tennessee leading the all-time series 11-6-2. The two most recently met in the 2004 Peach Bowl, where Clemson won 27-14.