The No. 11 Clemson Tigers (11-2) and the No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers (10-2) meet Friday in Miami for the Capital One Orange Bowl. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET (ESPN). Below, we analyze Tipico Sportsbook’s lines around the Clemson vs. Tennessee, and make our expert college football picks and predictions.
Rankings courtesy of AFCA Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports
Clemson ended its season with a 39-10 victory against North Carolina, finishing 8-0 in the ACC and 11-2 overall with both losses coming within the final 5 weeks of the season. The Tigers finished 7-6 against the spread (ATS) and had an Over/Under record of 7-6. Clemson’s offense put up an average of 404.6 yards per game, good for 55th in the nation, while their defense allowed only 20.1 PPG to rank 19th-best.
Tennessee capped off its season with a 56-0 victory against Vanderbilt to finish 2nd in the SEC East (6-2) behind Georgia. Tennessee looked unstoppable after a 62-59 victory against Alabama, but a knee injury to Heisman-hopeful QB Hendon Hooker derailed the season.
The Vols also fell victim to South Carolina in their 2nd-to-last game, getting blown out 63-38. The Volunteers finished the season 9-3 ATS with an Over/Under record of 7-5. Their offense ranked tops in the nation with 538.3 YPG while their defense ranked 44th giving up 23.5 PPG. Although they enter Friday as the underdog, the Vols can play with flare and keep things interesting.
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Clemson vs. Tennessee odds
Provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Thursday at 12:26 p.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): Clemson -230 (bet $230 to win $100) | Tennessee +180 (bet $100 to win $180)
- Against the spread (ATS): Clemson -6 (-109) | Tennessee +6 (-111)
- Over/Under (O/U): 63.5 (O: -108 | U: -112)
Clemson vs. Tennessee picks and predictions
Prediction
Clemson 38, Tennessee 28
Moneyline
PASS.
The odds do not present enough reward for the risk involved.
Against the spread
BET CLEMSON -6 (-109).
The Tennessee offense is only a shell of what it was under Hooker, especially with top WRs Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman opting to head for the NFL Draft instead of playing.
Expect Clemson to be able to maintain a solid lead throughout. The Tigers are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 bowl games whereas the Volunteers are 0-4 ATS in their previous 4 neutral site games.
Over/Under
LEAN OVER 63.5 (-108).
Tennessee has the top-ranked offense in the nation, scoring an average of 47.3 PPG and Clemson’s ranked 25th at 34.7 PPG..
For Clemson, the Over is 4-0 in its last 4 games after allowing 20 or fewer points in its previous game and 4-0 in its last 4 following a straight-up win of 20 or more points. For what it’s worth, the Over is 4-0 in Tennessee’s last 4 Friday games.
Although some time has passed since their season finale, Clemson was starting to find its offensive identity, scoring at least 30 points in each of its final 4 games.
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