Earlier we mentioned the 2015-16 NCAA Football Bowl Games on Thursday the 31st of December has 3 Bowl Games of which 2 are of the College Football Playoffs Semi-final with the Cotton Bowl and the Orange Bowl to determine the Finalist for the 2015-16 NCAA Football Championship Game.
In this article we are previewing the 2nd Game which is the Capital One Orange Bowl with the 11-1 No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners (Big 12 Champs) playing the 13-0 No. 1 Clemson Tigers (ACC Champs) with the game being played at the Sun Life Stadium in Miami, Florida with the kick-off scheduled for 4:05 PM ET and seen on ESPN TV.
It’s amazing that the last time these 2 teams met was last season when they played in the Russell Atletic Bowl, the game was said to be one of the uglier bowl games as the Clemson Tigers beat the Oklahoma Sooners 40-6. Thus fans are wondering if the Sooners can get revenge and move on to the Championship game, and as t hey say kill 2 birds with one win. That could be easier said than done as Clemson as their star QB B. Mayfield leading the team.
For those that Bet on College football at SBG or the likes, the oddsmakers have the No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners favored at -3 ½ with the Over/under at 65 and -170 on the Money Line, while the No.1 Tigers are listed as the underdogs at +3 ½ and +150 on the ML.
The fans of the 11-1 No.4 Oklahoma Sooners you know your team thought their loss back in October to Texas would keep them out of the CFP, but then they had 7 consecutive win, and some help as Stanford beat Notre Dame with a field goal, thus the Sooner got a spot in these CFP semifinals and this Orange Bowl berth.
The team’s success in 2015 is the result of a well organized offense led by QB B. Mayfield who is said to be the most efficient QB in the FBS as he passed for 35 touchdowns this season and some 3,390 yards with a mere 5 intercepts. With QB Mayfield at the helm the team has average 46 points per game and some 308 passing yards each game. In this game with the Tigers he will face a stout Clemson defense, but he still has a strong backfield in RB’s S. Perine and J. Mixon.
The rushing leader is RB Perine with 15 touchdowns and some 1,292 yards rushing and Mixon trails with 7 touchdowns and 750 yards rushing, while QB Mayfield can also add to the running game as he has 7 rushing touchdowns this season and 422 rushing yards. The Sooners are 17th overall with their average of 235 yards rushing each game in 2015.
Thus, with the Sooners powerful offense, on defense they will seek to force Clemson into making turnovers to give the Sooners some extra possession time on the clock. That’s because the Tigers this season have struggled somewhat giving up 25 turnovers in 2015.
The fans of the 13-0 No. 1 Clemson Tigers have one advantage, even though it’s only a psychological advantage from their beating the Sooners last season in the Russell Athletic Bowl. If they can use that to their advantage and beat the Sooners then that earns them a slot for the National Title game.
Yes Tiger fans, your team enters this Bowl Game undefeated and maybe their familiarity with this Sun Life Stadium will relief some the increased pressure of staying undefeated, since they played in this stadium earlier this season when they routed the Hurricanes 58-0 in a surprising shutout!
The 1st priority for the No. 1 Clemson Tigers is to stop or contain the high powered offense, and their defense performance throughout the season indicates that they should be able to confront the Sooners QB B. Mayfield and team. The Clemson Tigers rank 5th in the FBS in pass defense at 167 yards allowed each game to their opponents and with 38 sacks to date they are ranked 6th.
The Tigers of offense will be looking for their Heisman finalist QB D. Watson to lead them to victory in this game. To date QB Watson has passed for 30 touchdowns and 3,515 yards with some 11 intercepts to date. In 8 of their ultimate 9 games he passed for at least 260 yards in those 8 games. Yes, he is a dual threat as he has also rushed for 888 yards and scored some 11 rushing touchdowns. Thus, the Tiger fans expect their QB Watson to do it all and bring them a victory in this Semi-final game and take them to the CFP Finals.
The sportsbook prediction for the Orange Bowl CFP Semifinal game is that the No.4 Oklahoma Sooners keep the game close with the No, 1 Clemson Tigers but in the end the Sooners win a close game 38-35 and hand the Tigers their 1st loss of the season and eliminate the chances of the Tigers winning the National Title this 2015-16 Season.