Bowl projections do not mean a whole lot at this point in the season, but after Clemson’s 41-10 win over Boston College on Saturday, there was one that was quite intriguing.

The win over the Eagles evened the Tigers’ record at 3-3 overall and 2-2 in ACC play, and College Football News has Clemson pegged for an appearance in the Gator Bowl. While the program has a lot of experience playing in that bowl game, it’s the projected opponent that makes this one interesting.

The outlet is projecting Oklahoma (5-1, 1-1 SEC) to be the opposing team, which would mean a Dabo Swinney vs. Brent Venables matchup. The Sooners are coming off their first loss of the season, a 23-6 defeat at the hands of Texas.

Venables was a central figure in Clemson’s six consecutive College Football Playoff appearances from 2015 to 2020, which included two national titles.

As the Tigers’ defensive coordinator from 2012-2021, Venables built one of the nation’s top defenses. Over that span, the Tigers ranked first nationally in sacks (445; next most was 392) and opponent third-down conversion percentage (30.2), second in opponent pass efficiency rating (111.1) and takeaways (244; tied), third in scoring defense (17.8 ppg) and opponent completion percentage (53.3), fourth in total defense (311.4 ypg) and pass defense (190.5 ypg), fifth in interceptions (148) and sixth in rushing defense (120.9 ypg). His defenses helped the program win ACC titles each year from 2015-20.

Venables left after the 2021 campaign to take over as head coach at Oklahoma, where he served as defensive coordinator before joining Swinney’s staff. He was on the staff when the Sooners won it all in 2000.

While there is still a lot of football to be played, and it’s far from a guarantee that this projection comes to fruition, this is one matchup that sure is fun to think about.

This season’s Gator Bowl is set to be played on December 27 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN. The game is played at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville.