It's Not the Playoff, But the Orange Bowl Still Matters

No, it is not the College Football Playoff. No, it does not carry a path to the national championship and no, it will not mean you finished the football season as the No. 1 team in the nation. But what it is is simply one of the most prestigious games of all of the bowl games.

So, don't try to sell Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney on the idea that the Orange Bowl is not a big deal.

"Well, I mean I think postseason's always important," Swinney said. "Only four teams get to go to the playoff. There's 131, I think, division one teams, so this is an opportunity to compete at the highest level. This is the Orange Bowl. This is one of the greatest traditional bowls in all of college football, and so to have an opportunity to finish your season, to compete at the highest level, for your seniors to be able to showcase themselves one more time against a great opponent, for your young players to have an opportunity to experience this stage, it's special.

"So it's the tradition of college football, to be a part of it. And so you get a chance to play one more time and it's what we do. We like to play, and so we got one more opportunity to play."

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel has a unique perspective when it comes to the Orange Bowl, having led the Oklahoma Sooners to an undefeated season and a national championship with a victory over Florida State in the 2001 Orange Bowl.

While both teams had College Football Playoff aspirations, the Tennessee head coach noted that this will be Tennessee's first Orange Bowl appearance in more than two decades and the program's first appearance in a New Years Six bowl game--and it is an experience that you remember all of your life. 

"Yes, just simply put, having played and coached in this game, this is a memory," Heupel said. "The game itself and the entire week, the experience that is something that you're going to remember the rest of your life. And I had an opportunity to just run into a bunch of my teammates as one was getting inducted into the Hall of Fame. You remember these moments and these experiences create bonds that last forever. And for us, what this program has done, the steps that it's taken in less than 24 months since I took the job, what these kids are made of, they get one more opportunity to go do it together against a great opponent.

"And it's a culmination of all the work that's put in, it's a culmination of this season, and it is a great opportunity for your young kids to be exposed to one of the biggest and best games in all of college football."

Clemson is a 6.5-point favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. 

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