Clemson football vs. Tennessee in Orange Bowl: Score prediction, scouting report

Here's a bowl filled with oranges and plenty of offense.

Clemson football will face a Tennessee team that leads the country in scoring when they match up Dec. 30 (8 p.m., ESPN) for the Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

The No. 6 Vols (10-2) are averaging 47.3 points per game. In the eight games since scoring 63 against Akron, not counting a 27-13 loss to Georgia, they averaged 49.9 points. Tennessee put up 52 on Alabama, 44 on Kentucky, 66 on Missouri and 56 on Vanderbilt.

The No. 7 Clemson (11-2) has averaged 35 points in the four games since a loss at Notre Dame. The Tigers on Saturday turned to freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik in the first quarter against North Carolina, and he led the way to a 39-10 victory in the ACC Championship game.

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How Tennessee reached the Orange Bowl

Like Clemson, Tennessee had thoughts of making the College Football Playoff until a late-season loss to South Carolina. The Gamecocks crushed the Vols, 63-38, and then the following week beat the Tigers, 31-30. As a result, Tennessee and Clemson were relegated to a next-best scenario with a New Year’s Six bowl appearance. The Vols’ only other loss was 27-13 to defending national champion and No. 1 Georgia. Tennessee finished its regular season with a 56-0 win against Vanderbilt.

Tennessee has new starting quarterback

The Vols lost starting quarterback Hendon Hooker to a season-ending ACL injury in the South Carolina loss. Their new quarterback is senior Joe Milton, a former transfer from Michigan. Milton (6-foot-5, 245 pounds) is a strong-armed quarterback but more of a game manager. Against Vanderbilt, he was 11-of-21 passing for 147 yards and a touchdown. Hooker had thrown for 3,000 yards and 27 TDs with just two interceptions.

Vols have lost offensive coordinator

Vols offensive coordinator Alex Golesh, who has received so much credit for turning Tennessee into a scoring machine, is leaving to be the coach at USF. An official announcement was made Sunday. Golesh was offensive coordinator at Tennessee for two years and before that was co-offensive coordinator at UCF. He has never been a head coach. He worked as an assistant at Toledo, Illinois and Iowa State.

Score prediction

Clemson 41, Tennessee 37: This game has all the makings of an offensive shootout. Clemson has the better defense and an offense sparked by Klubnik that can outmatch the Vols, especially after the loss of their coordinator and starting quarterback.

Todd Shanesy covers Clemson athletics for the USA TODAY Network.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Clemson football vs. Tennessee in Orange Bowl: Scouting, prediction