If I was Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops, I would give ESPN, CBS, NBC and Fox a call and ask them nicely to have someone, at least one person, pick Clemson to win the Orange Bowl on Dec. 31.

Right now, the Tigers—the No. 1 team in the country—are decidedly the underdog in the national semifinal game. Despite being the only undefeated team in the country, and the only team to go wire-to-wire as the No. 1 team in the College Football Playoff Committee Rankings, Las Vegas is giving Clemson four points.

It’s almost as if the Tigers should not even show up and play. Oklahoma seems to be the trendy pick to win the national championship. On ESPN and CBS, I have not seen a single analyst pick Clemson to win.

“We have been doubted in every game. When we are not doubted it is surprising to us,” Clemson linebacker Ben Boulware said earlier this week.

Normally, this kind of thing does not matter, but when it comes to Clemson and its rich history, more times than not being the underdog against the “Big Boys” of College Football has played in its favor.

Frank Howard played the “Little ole Clemson” card a lot in the days when he faced one of the elites in college football. To the media, Howard acted as if Clemson had no business being on the same field as the Miamis and LSUs of the world. But the underdog Tigers knocked off Miami in the 1951 Orange Bowl Classic, and nearly did the same to No. 1 LSU in the 1959 Sugar Bowl.

In 1978, Clemson was a decisive underdog to Woody Hayes’ Ohio State Buckeyes, though the Tigers were 10-1 and ranked No. 7 and the Buckeyes were 7-3-1 and ranked No. 20. Clemson ultimately won the game, 17-15. Then there was the punch and the next day Woody Hayes was fired.

Does this sound familiar? In the 1982 Orange Bowl, No. 4 Nebraska was a four-point favorite to top-ranked Clemson, though the Tigers were the only undefeated team in the country.

Very few thought Homer Jordan (No. 3) and the No. 1 Tigers could knock off No. 4 Nebraska in the 1982 Orange Bowl, but Clemson won the game, 22-15, to clinch the 1981 National Championship. (photo courtesy Clemson Athletic Communications)

Danny Ford did a great job playing the underdog card in that game. He got his Tigers fired up and they physically dominated the Huskers, 22-15, to win the program’s only national championship to this point.

Ford’s teams were later underdogs to Penn State and Oklahoma in the 1988 and ’89 Citrus Bowls, games in which the Tigers won and were clearly the better team in both.

In 1989, the experts said Clemson would not be able to handle Heisman Trophy finalist Major Harris and his West Virginia team, but Levon Kirkland and one of the best Clemson defenses of all-time shutdown Harris and the Mountaineers in a 27-7 victory.

In the 2004 Peach Bowl, the underdog Tigers took out No. 6 Tennessee, 27-14. And since Dabo Swinney has taken over, his teams have played the role of underdog in some of the biggest victories in Clemson history.

His Tigers knocked off No. 7 LSU in the 2012 Chick-fil-A Bowl. The next year they beat No. 6 Ohio State in the 2014 Orange Bowl and last year they routed Oklahoma, who was a three-point favorite, 40-6 in the Russell Athletic Bowl.

“Our guys kind of feed off of that,” co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott said.

Playing the role of underdog generally works for Clemson than being the favorite. Things have not gone too well in bowl games when the Tigers were the marked team.

Games that come to mind are the 1979 Peach Bowl loss to Baylor, the 1985 Independence Bowl against Minnesota, the 1992 Citrus Bowl loss to California, the 1996 Gator Bowl defeat to Syracuse, the 2002 Tangerine Bowl embarrassment to Texas Tech, the 2006 Music City Bowl to Kentucky, the 2010 Meineke Car Care Bowl loss to South Florida, and who will ever forget the 2012 Orange Bowl debacle to West Virginia.

“Internally there are some things we can share with our guys, but ultimately it is not going to matter,” Scott said. “Both teams know what’s at stake. This is not just a regular bowl game. This is a big deal playing in the playoffs. We are going to get Oklahoma’s best shot. Whether we are the favorite or the underdog, we feel like they are going to get our best shot.”

Clemson defensive tackle Christian Wilkins sacks Notre Dame quarterback DeShawn Kizer in this year’s 24-22 victory over the Irish. The Tigers held Notre Dame to a season-low 111 rushing yards.

But the Tigers like playing the role of underdog. They have feed off it all year long. Though they were a slight favorite to beat Notre Dame by Las Vegas’ standards, the national pundits gave Clemson no shot and said the Irish would physically manhandle them with their big offensive line and their front seven on defense.

But it was Clemson that did the manhandling as it held the Irish to a season-low on the ground and rushed for more than 200 yards on offense in a 24-22 victory. The defense even made a play at the end to seal the victory.

Against Florida State, again the Tigers were the favorites according to Las Vegas, but a lot of the so-called experts doubted Clemson’s ability to stop FSU’s running game, which in a way turned out to be true. However, after giving up a 75-yard touchdown on the game’s second play from scrimmage to running back Dalvin Cook, the defense did not give up another touchdown in the final 59 minutes, while the offense rallied for a 23-13 victory.

In the ACC Championship Game against North Carolina, it was said all week how the Tigers would not be able to slow down the Tar Heels high flying offense. By the end of the third quarter, Clemson held a 19-point lead. The defense held UNC to a season-low in total yards and rushing yards in the 45-37 victory. It was a game that was not as close as the final score might indicate.

So here we are again, Clemson playing in a big-time game against one of College Football’s elite and once again it is the underdog.

“At this point, we have taken it in stride and kind of hope to be doubted in every game because every time we are doubted we come out there and perform,” Boulware said. “It is what it is.”

And more times than not, it turns out to be a Clemson victory.

“It definitely probably helps the guys focus a little bit more as we prepare,” Scott said.