MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Joe Milton said before the Orange Bowl that he wanted to "put on a show" for his hometown. The Tennessee quarterback did just that Friday night at Hard Rock Stadium.
Milton, who was born and raised in Pahokee, about an hour north of the stadium, threw for 251 yards and three touchdowns as No. 6 Tennessee defeated No. 10 Clemson 31-14.
The Orange Bowl MVP improved to 2-0 as a starter after taking over for an injured Hendon Hooker in November. Milton led the Volunteers (11-2) to their best record since 2001.
"It was a statement game for Tennessee as a team and also a statement game for me playing at home," Milton said after the game.
For Clemson, things unraveled early for the Tigers (11-3), who never seemed to recover.
Clemson kicker B.T. Potter missed his first three field goals, leaving points off the scoreboard for a team that struggled to reach the end zone despite racking up 484 yards on 101 plays.
"You don't get any points for yards," Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said.
Tennessee took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Milton to Bru McCoy.
Potter missed a 55-yard field goal try on the next possession.
Clemson's kicker missed twice more on back-to-back possessions in the second quarter from 49 and 42 yards out before eventually making amends with a 31-yard field goal with 3:52 to go before halftime.
Tennessee took advantage of Clemson's kicking woes, taking a 14-0 lead when Milton connected with Squirrel White on a 50-yard pass that set up Jabari Small's 2-yard touchdown run.
Potter nailed a 40-yarder to open the second half for Clemson.
Perhaps the final dagger for Clemson came when Will Shipley was stopped short on 4th and 2 on Tennessee's 30-yard line. On the ensuing possession for Tennessee, Milton hooked up with White in the end zone for a 14-yard score that gave the Volunteers a 21-6 lead.
Clemson found some life in the fourth quarter when quarterback Cade Klubnik, making his first career start, ran into the end zone for a 4-yard touchdown. Shipley's 2-point conversion cut Tennessee's lead to seven, but the defense couldn't stop the Volunteers on the next series.
Milton completed a 13-yard pass to Ramel Keyton on 4th and 6 and then found him wide open on the very next play as they hooked up on a 46-yard touchdown to ice the game.
Tennessee tacked on another 3 with a 31-yard field goal by Chase McGrath with 3:07 remaining.
Klubnik was intercepted twice in the fourth quarter, killing any real chance at a rally. He finished with 320 passing yards but was also sacked four times.
"There were just a lot of missed opportunities," Klubnik said afterward.
With the win comes lofty expectations for the future of the Tennessee program and second-year head coach Josh Heupel, who won a national championship as a player at the Orange Bowl to cap the 2000 season.
But Heupel believes the Volunteers are just getting started.
"The best is yet to come," he said.