Tyler Davis walked off the practice field earlier this week still trying to catch his breath. His eyes were watery, too.

There’s still a ways for Clemson’s defense to go to get ready for one particular aspect of Tennessee’s offense.

“We’re definitely preparing for that,” the Tigers’ senior defensive lineman said.

Davis was referring to an offensive tempo unlike anything Clemson has seen this season. Tennessee will bring the nation’s top offense in terms of points and yards into the teams’ Orange Bowl matchup on Dec. 30, success the Volunteers have had in part because of their ability to push the pace.

“They try to wear you out and try to tire you out,” Davis said.

Tennessee, under the direction of former Oklahoma quarterback and second-year coach Josh Heupel, has run at least 75 plays in seven games this season. The Volunteers have eclipsed the 80-play mark twice, including a season-high 86 in their season opener against Ball State.

“We know from watching film, they’re a fast-moving offense,” linebacker Jeremiah Trotter Jr. said. “So we’ve been making sure we’re practicing that in our practice with our scout team. We’re trying to have high tempo in preparation for that.”

Not only are things moving faster during the first week of bowl practices, but there’s some extra conditioning going on afterward as well. The defense’s objective, Trotter said, is to be physically up to par once the game rolls around in order to adequately combat the Volunteers’ fast-moving attack, even if doesn’t have all of its regular pieces.

Tennessee ran a season-low 53 plays in its regular-season finale against Vanderbilt with Joe Milton at quarterback. Hendon Hooker, the Volunteers’ starter, won’t play against Clemson either after tearing his ACL last month. Meanwhile, star receiver and Biletnikoff winner Jalin Hyatt has opted out of the bowl game after declaring for the NFL Draft earlier this week.

What exactly Tennessee’s tempo looks like against the Tigers given those changes remains to be seen, but Clemson isn’t expecting the Volunteers to stray too much from their identity – one the Tigers know they need to be able to keep up with.

“Really just make sure you’re in shape so that you don’t get tired,” Trotter said. “You know when players get tired, they’re more proned to making mistakes. But we’ve been working on that and making sure we get our conditioning there in practice, and I feel like it’s going to pay off on gameday.”

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