Clemson bowl projections include game vs Uiagalelei
So what are the odds of Clemson football facing Oregon State and former quarterback DJ Uiagalelei in a bowl game?
Quite favorable, actually. Several college football prognosticators who make a living by predicting who will end up where come bowl season have pitted Clemson against the Beavers in what would be an intriguing Holiday Bowl showdown on many levels, not the least of which would be former position-room cohorts Uiagalelei and Cade Klubnik renewing acquaintances.
Klubnik, who served as Uiagalelei’s backup during the 2022 regular season, replaced him early in the ACC Championship Game and led Clemson to a 39-10 victory against North Carolina. Uiagalelei entered the transfer portal shortly thereafter and Klubnik has been the Tigers’ starter since.
Such a postseason matchup on Dec. 27 at San Diego’s Petco Park also would reunite Uiagalelei with Clemson wide receiver Beaux Collins, who was a teammate not only at Clemson but also for multiple years at St. John Bosco High in Bellflower, California.
“That would be an interesting matchup right there, for sure,” Collins said. “I’d love to see that, actually. That would be crazy being able to compete against him. I’ve been on the same team with him for years.”
Of the eight sources providing bowl projections on Monday, six predict a Holiday Bowl clash between Clemson of the ACC and Oregon State of the Pac-12. Those six include Mark Schlabach of ESPN, Jerry Palm of CBS, Steven Lassan of Athlon Sports, Brett McMurphy of actionnetwork.com, Brad Crawford of 247Sports and collegefootballnews.com.
The two outliers are ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura, who sees Clemson facing Rutgers in the Dec. 28 Pinstripe Bowl in
New York, and The Sporting News’ Bill Bender, who predicts the Tigers to wind up in the Dec. 29 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville against Texas A&M.
Clemson (7-4) has won four straight games heading into Saturday’s rivalry game at South Carolina. Oregon State (8-3) is coming off a 22-20 loss against Washington, its third defeat by three or fewer points this season.
Scott Keepfer covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at skeepfer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @ScottKeepfer