Clemson coach Dabo Swinney celebrated his team’s ACC championship game victory by hosting a pizza party for about 30,000 fans.
Imagine what’s in store if the Tigers win a national championship. A trip to the title game is on the line when at the Orange Bowl when Clemson battles the red-hot Oklahoma Sooners.
College Football Odds at BookMaker.eu
Oklahoma Sooners -3.5
Clemson Tigers +3.5
Over/Under 64.5
ODDS ANALYSIS
After winning their first ACC crown since 2011 and claiming the No. seed in the College Football Playoff, the Tigers will start preparing for their Orange Bowl semifinal matchup as 3.5-point underdogs. Clemson has struggled at the betting window all year, going 1-4 ATS in its last five games, and enters the contest with a middling 6-7 ATS record. Since an upset loss to Texas in Week 5 threatened to derail their season, Oklahoma has come to life going 7-0 SU and 6-1 ATS to close the regular season.
2015 OKLAHOMA IN REVIEW
Oklahoma had to do quite a bit of work to get to the Orange Bowl this season. Starting Week 10 ranked 15th in the nation, the Sooners reeled off five straight wins, including three straight against ranked Big 12 opponents Baylor, TCU and Oklahoma State. OU is arguably the hottest team in college football, winning its last seven games by an average score of 52-19, with each of its last three against teams ranked in the top 11 of the AP poll at the time, with two coming on the road. The Sooners are led by quarterback Baker Mayfield, who ranks No. 2 nationally in yards per pass attempt and pass efficiency rating, No. 6 in passing touchdowns and No. 7 in completion percentage. He’s accounted for 42 touchdowns and only five turnovers on the season. Under his direction OU has surpassed 500 yards of total offense in nine of 12 games, including in each of the last seven. Don’t overlook the Sooners defense, though. It ranks first in the Big 12 in every major defensive category.
2015 CLEMSON IN REVIEW
Flying under the radar for much of the season, the Tigers escaped as the only undefeated FBS team with signature wins over Notre Dame, Florida State and North Carolina in the ACC title tilt, three teams still ranked in the top 10 headed into bowl season. Led by Heisman finalist quarterback Deshaun Watson, the Tigers completed the regular season with 13 wins. Watson, who threw for more than 3,500 yards with 30 touchdowns, and ran for almost 900 yards and 11 scores, was named the winner of the Davey O’Brien Award, given to the nation’s best quarterback. He’s also a finalist for the Maxwell Award as well as the Heisman. Clemson fielded one of the best defenses in the country but a drop toward the end of the season raised some concerns. The Tigers allowed at least 27 points in four of their last six games, including 37 to North Carolina in the ACC championship.
OKLAHOMA BOWL HISTORY
The Sooners are making their 49th bowl appearance and 17th straight under coach Bob Stoops. Only three schools entered this season with longer active consecutive streaks of bowl appearances recognized by the NCAA. OU has an all-time bowl record of 28-19-1 and has won four of its last six bowl games under Stoops. The Sooners own a rich and successful Orange Bowl history with a 12-6 record in 18 previous trips. Four of their seven national championships culminated with Orange Bowl wins.
CLEMSON BOWL HISTORY
The Tigers will play in their 27th bowl game in the past 31 seasons and they own an all-time record of 19-18. Clemson is one of seven schools to win a bowl game each of the last three years with the wins coming against LSU, Ohio State and Oklahoma. All three teams were ranked at the time, making Clemson the only school in the nation to beat a top 25 team in a bowl game each of the past three years. Since taking over late in the 2008 season, Swinney has take Clemson to a bowl every year and has a 4-3 record. The Tigers walloped OU in last season’s Russell Athletic Bowl 40-6. Clemson’s only national championship came in the 1981 season that ended with a victory over Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.
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