Miami, Florida - This year's Orange Bowl will be as orange as it can get, with the Clemson Tigers squaring up against the Tennessee Volunteers for a college football New Year's Six bowl game.

Had it not been for the South Carolina Gamecocks, both Clemson and Tennessee could have easily made the College Football Playoff.

The Gamecocks manhandled Tennessee 63-38 in Week 12 of the regular season, then ended a seven-game losing streak with a win over Clemson at Death Valley in the regular-season finale.

Now, Clemson and Tennessee will settle for a bowl game appearance and give fans an intriguing showdown headlined by their quarterbacks.

Both teams will play with different quarterbacks than they started the season out with, but one school is doing so by choice, while the other is being forced to.

After Heisman Trophy front-runner Hendon Hooker suffered a season-ending injury during the South Carolina game, the Vols replaced the record-breaking passer with Joe Milton III.

As for Clemson, after freshman Cade Klubnik came off the bench to lead his team to their eighth conference title, head coach Dabo Swinney ruled Klubnik to be the starter for the Orange Bowl, benching former starter DJ Uiagalelei yet again.

As a result, Uiagalelei entered the transfer portal, and has become one of the hottest players on the market.

With both Clemson and Tennessee starting the big matchup with inexperienced passers, getting into a good rhythm offensively will be a key factor in the winning team's victory.

Perhaps, the teams' defensive athletes will play an even bigger role in the game's outcome. If either team can pressure the opposing team's quarterback, then forced turnovers can create more opportunity for offensive plays and touchdown scores.

Clemson and Tennessee's Orange Bowl showdown is set for December 30 at 8 PM EST.