MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. – Clemson fell to Tennessee in the Orange Bowl late Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium, ending its season at 11-3. Here are four sequences that went a long way in determining the outcome, a turning point and a telling stat from the Tigers’ 31-14 loss.

• Clemson quickly moved into Tennessee territory on its first possession when freshman Cole Turner pulled down a 33-yard reception on third-and-long. But the game’s first big momentum swing came a few plays later when the Tigers were forced to settle for a 44-yard field goal. Except the Tigers faked it. Holder Drew Swinney took the snap and took off to his left with B.T. Potter by his side, but Swinney never pitched the ball and was stopped for a 2-yard gain that turned the ball over on downs. The Vols took that momentum and turned it into an 11-play, 75-yard drive capped by Joe Milton III’s 16-yard touchdown pass to Bru McCoy to take a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter.
• Having already missed multiple field goals in a game for the first time since October 2021, Potter again trotted out for a 42-yarder after the Tigers’ fourth possession of the game also bogged down in Tennessee territory. Potter pulled the kick left for his third miss, giving the Vols possession back at their own 25-yard line. The Vols flipped the field four plays later when Milton connected with Squirrel White for a 50-yard bomb down to Clemson’s 2-yard line. Jabari Small capped the Vols’ quick scoring drive on the next play with a scoring run up the middle to push Tennessee’s lead to 14-0 with 9:03 left in the second quarter.
• Clemson quickly got Tennessee’s offense off the field on its final possession of the first half and called its last two timeouts to preserve the final minute and change for its offense. The Tigers took over at their own 30 with 1:39 left in the second quarter and needed just two plays to move into Vols territory. Clemson continued marching to Tennessee’s 13 before a delay of game moved the Tigers back 5 yards with time running out. It looked like Clemson might have to settle for another field-goal attempt that would draw the Tigers within one possession, but it turned into another empty one when Klubnik dropped back to pass with 13 seconds left. Instead of throwing the ball away against coverage, Klubnik darted up the middle but was caught and tackled well shy of the end zone as time ran out on the first half.
• Despite having just two fields midway through the third quarter, Clemson trailed by just one score and took over possession again at its own 21 after the defense got yet another stop. The Tigers leaned on their ground game to yet again move onto Tennessee’s side of midfield in six plays. But after its next three plays netted just 8 yards, Clemson faced fourth-and-2 from the Vols’ 31 and decided to go. But Will Shipley was stopped a yard short of the line to gain, giving the ball back to Tennessee. And the Vols used a 42-yard scamper by Jaylen Wright to quickly threaten again before Milton connected with White for a 14-yard touchdown that gave them their largest lead at 21-6 with just 5 ticks left in the quarter.

Turning point

Clemson got itself back in the game with its first touchdown early in the fourth quarter on Klubnik’s 4-yard keeper, cutting Tennessee’s lead to seven after a successful two-point run by Shipley. But the Tigers’ momentum didn’t last long. Tennessee moved into Clemson territory on its next possession thanks to Milton’s third-down completion to Ramel Keyton, who then got behind Clemson’s defense to haul in a 46-yard touchdown. Tamarion McDonald then delivered the dagger when he intercepted Klubnik on a fourth-down desperation heave a few plays later, giving the Vols’ offense the ball back near midfield already up two scores with just half a quarter to play.

Telling stat: 3

That’s how many times Clemson scored despite crossing midfield 11 times, including on all seven of its first-half possessions. On a night when the Tigers ran a whopping 101 plays and racked up 484 total yards, nine of their possessions reached Tennessee’s 32-yard line or deeper. Yet Clemson matched a season-low in points after wasting one opportunity after another. Clemson lined up for six field goals, missed three of them, came up short on a fake, had a turnover on downs and turned it over twice. Meanwhile, Tennessee scored on five of its six trips into Clemson territory, four of those being touchdowns. It was the difference in the game.