Clemson had plenty of opportunities to put points on the board in Friday’s Orange Bowl against Tennessee. But the seventh-ranked Tigers kept beating themselves, and missed opportunities proved too costly to overcome in a 31-14 loss to the No. 6 Volunteers at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.

The Tigers moved the ball into Tennessee territory 11 times but came away with just two field goals and one touchdown after consistently stalling out on the Vols’ side of the field, missing three field goals and turning the ball over on downs two times.

Clemson ran a whopping 101 plays, outgained Tennessee 484-375, had 34 first downs to the Vols’ 21 and ran 36 plays on Tennessee’s side of the field in the first half alone, yet came out on the wrong side of the outcome.

Cade Klubnik, making his first career start, completed 30-of-54 passes for 320 yards and threw two interceptions. Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton, filling in for the injured Hendon Hooker, went 19-of-28 passing for 251 yards and three touchdowns.

Clemson’s ninth trip into Tennessee territory ended in a turnover on downs when Will Shipley was stuffed on fourth-and-short late in the third quarter. Tennessee’s offense then went right down the field in 1:22 for another touchdown, with Milton zipping a 14-yard pass to Squirrel White, giving the Vols a 21-6 lead with five seconds left in the third. Jaylen Wright’s 42-yard gash a couple of plays earlier set the score up.

The Tigers finally put the ball in the end zone on their next possession, marching 71 yards on 12 plays to cut their deficit to 21-14 with 10:01 left in the game on a 4-yard touchdown run by Klubnik and then a Shipley run for the two-point conversion.

But just when Clemson gained some momentum after making it a one-score game again, the Vols struck right back. Less than two minutes after Klubnik’s touchdown run, Tennessee extended its lead to 28-14 on a 46-yard touchdown strike from Milton to Ramel Keyton.

Clemson was able to move the ball with some nice drives in the first half but had no points to show for it until late in the second quarter. The Tigers’ first four possessions ended with a failed fake field goal attempt and three consecutive missed field goals from B.T. Potter, who had only missed three field goals all season coming into the Orange Bowl.

All seven of the Tigers’ first-half drives ended in Tennessee territory, but Clemson could only get three points.

It looked like Clemson (11-3) might score first after freshman wide receiver Cole Turner made an outstanding diving catch for a 33-yard gain on third-and-14, helping set up what looked to be a Potter field goal attempt on fourth-and-4 from the Tennessee 27-yard line with a little under 10 minutes left in the first quarter.

However, holder Drew Swinney — who had a two-point conversion run on a trick play in the ACC title game — was stopped by the Volunteers short of the sticks on a fake field goal, resulting in a turnover on downs.

Tennessee (11-2) capitalized on the unsuccessful fake with a long touchdown march. Milton fired an accurate laser to wide receiver Bru McCoy in the end zone for a 16-yard score that gave the Vols a 7-0 lead at the 5:17 mark of the opening period, capping a 12-play, 75-yard drive.

Following a missed 55-yard field goal attempt by Potter on Clemson’s ensuing possession, the Tigers forced a three-and-out to get the ball back, but another scoring opportunity was missed when Potter — who was 18-of-21 on field goals entering the Orange Bowl — couldn’t connect on a 49-yard try early in the second quarter.

After Potter’s third missed try, a 42-yarder, Tennessee quickly extended its lead to 14-0 on a 2-yard touchdown run by Jabari Small with 9:03 remaining before halftime. It came one play after Milton hooked up with White on a 50-yard deep ball down the seam.

The Tigers finally got on the scoreboard with 5:11 to play in the first half when Potter hit a 31-yarder, tying the Clemson record of 72 career field goals, which he later surpassed with a 40-yard field goal on Clemson’s first possession of the second half.

Clemson had another chance to score on its final possession of the first half after moving the ball inside the Tennessee 20-yard line. But with no timeouts, Klubnik decided to run the ball in the waning seconds of the second quarter, and time expired before the Tigers could put any more points on the board.

The nail in the Tigers’ coffin came when Klubnik was intercepted on a desperation heave midway through the fourth quarter, throwing the ball up for grabs on a fourth-and-8 play from the Clemson 33. A couple of Tennessee possessions later, kicker Chase McGrath booted a 32-yard field goal to provide the final margin.

Klubnik was picked off again with less than two minutes left on Clemson’s final possession, and Tennessee kneeled out the rest of the clock with the Tigers out of timeouts.

With the win, Tennessee improved its lead in the series against Clemson to 12-6-2. The Tigers fell to 4-3 all-time in Orange Bowl play after previously winning its last two appearances in the 2013 and 2015 seasons.

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