MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. − Tennessee’s best season in more than 20 years ended in fitting fashion with a 31-14 win over Clemson in the Orange Bowl on Friday.
Quarterback Joe Milton tossed touchdown passes to three different receivers to earn MVP honors.
Linebacker Aaron Beasley had 12 tackles, a career-high four tackle-for-loss and two sacks to lead a defense that bent but didn’t break. Defensive end Byron Young made two timely sacks in his final Tennessee game before heading to the NFL. Wesley Walker and Tamarion McDonald made interceptions in the fourth quarter to seal it.
It was the Vols’ best bowl win since the 1998 national title game, when No. 1 Tennessee beat No. 2 Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl.
This victory didn’t reach that height. But it wasn’t far off, as No. 6 Tennessee (11-2) beat No. 7 Clemson (11-3) in a top-10 matchup in a New Year’s Six Bowl.
The Vols reached 11 victories for the first time since 2001 after earning 10 regular-season wins for the first time since 2003. And it’s only coach Josh Heupel’s second season.
Here are four observations from Tennessee’s win amid a crowd of 63,912 at Hard Rock Stadium.
Joe Milton made quite an impression
Milton was steady and productive in his audition for the starting quarterback job in 2023, his final season of eligibility.
Milton was 19-of-28 passing for 251 yards, three TDs and no interceptions. It was his second start since Hendon Hooker, the SEC Offensive Player of the Year, suffered a torn ACL against South Carolina on Nov. 19 that ended his college career.
Milton finished the season with 10 TD passes and no interceptions. He will compete with freshman Tayven Jackson, who played sparingly this season, and five-star signee Nico Iamaleava, who ran the scout team in bowl practices, for the 2023 starting job.
Squirrel White leads next wave of Vols receivers
Tennessee provided a preview of its 2023 wide receiving corps, and it looked promising.
Freshman Squirrel White had a career-high nine receptions for 108 yards and one TD. And he caught a 50-yard pass.
Bru McCoy had a 16-yard TD catch. Ramel Keyton hauled in a 46-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter to help the Vols pull away.
All three plan to return next season. Tennessee also could get a wide receiver in the transfer portal.
The unit had to be re-tooled for the Orange Bowl with its stars not playing. Jalin Hyatt, the 2022 Biletnikoff Award winner, and Cedric Tillman, a 2021 All-SEC performer, opted out to prepare for the NFL Draft.
Vols jumped ahead after Clemson miscues
The Vols earned a 14-3 halftime lead, but Clemson helped them. The Tigers had a failed fake field goal, three missed field goals and a costly clock mismanagement to end the first half.
Clemson’s B.T. Potter had missed only three field goals during the regular season, going 18-of-21. It earned him an All-ACC selection and semifinalist honor for the Lou Groza Award.
So it was surprising when Potter missed three field goals just in the first half. He was off target from 55 yards, 49 yards and 42 yards on three consecutive possessions.
But the first time Potter lined up to kick, Clemson faked the field goal. Holder Drew Swinney, son of Clemson coach Dabo Swinney, was stopped by Kamal Hadden and Solon Page two yards short on a fourth-and-4 rush.
And just before halftime, Clemson drove to the 13-yard line but didn’t have a timeout remaining. Rather than throw an incomplete pass to stop the clock, freshman quarterback Cade Klubnik scrambled and was dropped for a 2-yard gain as the clock expired.
Offense breaks more records to cap season
Tennessee already had broken single-season school records for points and total offense, both set in 2021 in Heupel’s first season.
During the Orange Bowl, the Vols surpassed 4,000 yards passing in a season for first time in school history. The previous record was 3,981 yards, set in 1997 in Peyton Manning’s senior season, which also ended in the Orange Bowl.
And Jabari Small’s 2-yard score in the second quarter was Tennessee’s FBS-leading 40th rushing TD of the season, tying the mark set by the 1951 national title team.
Reach Adam Sparks at adam.sparks@knoxnews.com and on Twitter @AdamSparks.
