The Clemson Tigers put their unblemished record (13-0) and 16-game win streak to the test against the Oklahoma Sooners (11-1) for the opportunity to close out the season with a Orange Bowl win. The game will begin Thursday, Dec 31 at 4:00 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN.
Clemson defeated North Carolina 45-37 in the ACC Championship game. Deshaun Watson had a huge game through the air in the victory, connecting on 26 of 42 passes for 289 yards, three TDs and one interception. He also ran for 131 yards and two TDs on 24 carries. Wayne Gallman also had a big game with 187 rushing yards and a TD on 28 attempts. Oklahoma managed to get the win as well, crushing Oklahoma State 58-23. Joe Mixon had a big game running the ball for the Sooners, carrying 14 times for 136 yards and two TDs. Samaje Perine had a great game as well, adding 131 rushing yards and two TDs on 17 carries.
The Tigers are small underdogs with Oklahoma favored by three in the game. For this contest, the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 65 points.
Heading into this bowl game, the Tigers are 13-0 Straight Up (SU) and 6-7 Against The Spread (ATS). The Tigers offense is averaging 550.6 total yards per game during their last five games. During their last five games, the Tigers gave up 163.6 passing yards per game. One of the keys to the game will be whether the Sooners can protect the quarterback against Clemson’s aggressive pass rush. The defense ranks 11th in the nation in sacks with 2.9 per game.
Across the field, the Sooners have a record of 9-3 ATS and 11-1 SU. The Sooners went 5-0 SU and 4-1 ATS over the last five games. The Tigers may be catching the Sooners at the wrong time. They have found their groove on offense in the past five games, averaging 593 total yards during that span. The Oklahoma run defense has turned the corner during the past five games as well. During that span, it’s allowed 120.2 rush yards per game, dropping its season average to 150.1. If the Tigers don’t do a good job holding on to the ball, they’ll have a hard time against the Sooners defense, which ranks 11th in the country in turnovers with 2.2 per game. The Sooners generally save their best for last, averaging 9.5 points in the fourth quarter.
Orange Bowl Predictions: SU Winner – Oklahoma, ATS Winner – Oklahoma, O/U – Under
Notes
Clemson is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games.
Clemson is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games.
Oklahoma is 10-0 SU when leading at the half this season. Clemson is 12-0 SU when taking a lead into halftime.
Oklahoma is 3-1 SU this season in games where it wins the turnover battle, yet undefeated (6-0 SU) in games where it loses the turnover battle.
The Oklahoma defense is averaging 3.2 sacks per game this season, but Clemson is 7-1 SU when allowing at least 3.0 sacks in a game.
The Clemson ground attack is ranked 23rd nationally, compared to the 46th-ranked rush defense of Oklahoma.
