The Ohio State Buckeyes will play in potentially the most electrifying bowl game of 2014 when they take on the Clemson Tigers in the Discover Orange Bowl tonight on ESPN. Hoping all season to play in the BCS Championship game, the No. 7 Buckeyes will instead play the No. 12 Tigers in an Orange Bowl that’s sure to be dominated by two of the nation’s most entertaining quarterbacks. With such fireworks on tap, you’ll want to watch Orange Bowl online free live streaming on ESPN tonight using a few different services.
Clemson’s Tajh Boyd and Ohio State’s Braxton Miller lead two of college football’s most potent offenses. Miller, the Buckeyes dual-threat quarterback, marched through the regular season with a 12-0 record and had a No. 2 BCS ranking entering the Big Ten championship. But against Michigan State, which has since stuffed Stanford in the Rose Bowl game and cemented a top-five ranking, the Ohio State Buckeyes suffered a stunning 34-24 loss and headed to tonight’s Orange Bowl.
Likewise, Clemson Tigers senior QB Tajh Boyd lit-up defenses all season long, passing for 3,473 yards and leading the Tigers to a No. 3 BCS ranking at one point. But the Tigers suffered two losses, a demoralizing 51-14 beatdown by Florida State and a season-ending 31-17 loss to South Carolina, pushing Clemson into the 2014 Discover Orange Bowl on ESPN.
As you watch Orange Bowl online free live streaming or on ESPN, keep an eye on Clemson receiver Sammy Watkins, a favorite target of Boyd’s. The Tigers averaged 45.1 points and 534.6 yards per game in their wins this season, with the QB / wide receiver duo a big reason why.
Watkins led the ACC with 1,237 yards on 85 catches, earning second-team All-American honors while scoring 10 touchdowns. That could be bad news for the Ohio State Buckeyes pass defense, which has allowed its past four opponents to complete 63.7% of their passes and rack up 340.8 total yards.
While passing for 29 touchdowns this season, Boyd also scored nine TDs on the ground. Couple that with senior running back Roderick McDowell, who had 510 yards and five touchdowns, and you’ve got a Clemson Tigers ground game that can kick into gear if needed tonight against the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Of course, the Buckeyes can turn it on via the ground as well. The Buckeyes averaged 518.5 yards per game during the regular NCAA football season, scoring 46.3 points per game. That prolific offense flows directly through Buckeyes QB Miller. Miller may have only passed for 1,860 yards this season, but he did much of his damage on the ground. Combined with running back Carlos Hyde, Miller led an Ohio State offense that enters tonight’s 2014 Discover Orange Bowl game with an offense that averaged 317.5 rushing yards. That figure was good enough for third in the nation.
The 2014 Discover Orange Bowl between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Clemson Tigers will kick-off tonight with a start time of 8:30pm EST / 5:30pm PST. The Orange Bowl will be broadcast live on ESPN for those who subscribe to that channel via their local cable provider or satellite company and want to watch the Orange Bowl in HD. Otherwise you can watch Orange Bowl online free live streaming on ESPN3, which is also available through the ESPN mobile app and the ESPN app on Xbox 360. Doing so requires that you subscribe to ESPN though, so you may as well watch Orange Bowl on ESPN rather than online streaming at that point. Another option is to watch the Buckeyes vs Tigers 2014 Orange Bowl game online free on VIP Box, though we aren’t big fans of that outlet.