Orange Bowl 2015: Underrated Stars to Watch and Picks in Oklahoma vs. Clemson

The first game of this year's College Football Playoff figures to be an offensive shootout, with the high-powered Oklahoma Sooners taking on the undefeated Clemson Tigers in the Orange Bowl. 

It's been a slow rise for the Sooners in 2015, who started the year ranked 19th in the Associated Press Top 25 and had to overcome an early October loss against Texas. They have reeled off seven straight wins, scoring at least 44 points six times during that stretch. 

Clemson has steadily been building to this moment in the spotlight, winning at least 10 games in each of the previous four seasons, and everything head coach Dabo Swinney has done during his seven full seasons finally came together with a 13-0 mark this year. 

Both teams are loaded with stars who would be worthy of dissecting in their own article, but instead of picking someone like Deshaun Watson or Baker Mayfield to focus on, there is one unheralded superstar from both sides worth keeping a close eye on to see how they impact the outcome. 

Clemson S T.J. Green

Rainier Ehrhardt/Associated Press

Coming into the year, Swinney pegged T.J. Green as a potential breakout candidate for the Tigers defense. 

While Green may not have become a star on the level of other Clemson defenders like Shaq Lawson or Kevin Dodd, he did have the best year of his career with 74 total tackles and 5.5 tackles for loss. 

It's easy to get lost on Clemson's defense because Swinney has done such a spectacular job finding and developing talent. The aforementioned Lawson and Dodd combined for 37 tackles for loss and 18 sacks in 2015. 

Yet for all the talent on that side of the ball, the Tigers have shown some cracks in the last two games, allowing 69 total points to South Carolina and North Carolina. The secondary has given up two big plays for touchdowns in those games, with South Carolina's Pharoh Cooper and North Carolina's T.J. Logan burning them. 

Oklahoma lives on big plays, with Mayfield averaging 9.6 yards per attempt and three of its top five receivers averaging at least 15 yards per reception. 

Clemson linebacker Ben Boulware told Matt Connolly of the State, per NCAA.com, after the ACC Championship Game against North Carolina that closing games out has been a problem for the team lately. 

"The fourth quarter, we kind of let it get away with big plays... We keep giving up these stupid big plays, and they're all easily correctable," Boulware said. "It's been that way all year. We keep giving up stupid stuff. It's annoying, and that's why I'm not as happy as I should be."

Looking at things from a bigger picture, the Tigers defense has allowed at least 27 points in four of the last six games. These aren't great teams, either, with the likes of North Carolina State and Syracuse putting up points, so the Sooners have to feel confident. 

The first line of defense will be Lawson and Dodd, but the secondary is going to play just as big a role in the outcome of this matchup. 

Green has the ability to enforce his will because he moves all over the field and makes plays, as evidenced by his high tackle total. He has to be on point against the fast-paced Sooners to keep the Tigers defense from having another second-half slump that will end their title hopes. 

Oklahoma TE Mark Andrews

Alonzo Adams/Associated Press

It was tempting to look at the Sooners defense for an underrated star, since covering Watson will be the focus for head coach Bob Stoops, but tight end Mark Andrews' name kept jumping out when going over the numbers. 

Andrews is a redshirt freshman who still has a lot of development ahead of him, yet he's already proved to be a matchup problem for opposing defenses. He's listed at 6'6" and 247 pounds by 247Sports, so his role right now is cut and dry: catch touchdowns.  

So far, Andrews has played his part perfectly, with six of his 17 receptions in 2015 going for touchdowns. The most encouraging thing is what he's doing around the red zone, with 16.8 yards per reception. 

While acknowledging there wasn't a deep crop of Big 12 tight ends to choose from, Kevin Connaghan of Pro Football Focus offered Andrews high praise in naming him the conference's best player at the position: 

"

Tight end was not a featured position in the conference and Mark Andrews — with his 17 catches, 286 yards and six touchdowns — was the best of the bunch. Not that Andrews is a typical tight end, lining up split out as a receiver on two-thirds of his snaps, but without other tight ends standing out he’s the best choice in the conference. 

"

It's easy to fall into a trap by comparing any tight end with wide receivers to New England Patriots star Rob Gronkowski, but that's how Oklahoma has deployed Andrews this season. 

Andrews is too tall for cornerbacks to get involved in a jump-ball situation, and he's too quick for linebackers to keep up with. 

The Sooners have been diligent with how they have used Andrews this season, but if there is a game to turn the young playmaker loose, it's in the national semifinals against a defense that has shown some holes in the season's second half.

Prediction

Oklahoma and Clemson feature two of the nation's best offenses. The Sooners averaged 45.8 points per game in the regular season, and Clemson wasn't far behind at 38.5. 

Certain advanced metrics love the Sooners in this spot, with Jay Boice of FiveThirtyEight.com noting they are ranked No. 1 in the Football Power Index (FPI) and have a 66 percent chance to defeat Clemson. 

There's nothing not to like about Oklahoma right now when the offense is firing on all cylinders and the defense is holding its own, including allowing just 23 points on the road to the high-powered Oklahoma State offense in the regular-season finale. 

Yet going over rosters player for player and being battle-tested, Clemson has somehow gotten to a point where its underrated. The Tigers have eight players with at least 5.5 tackles for loss, including three with at least 14. 

Oklahoma's late-season wins over Baylor and TCU don't look as impressive as they once could have because both teams were without their starting quarterbacks in those games. Clemson had to defeat two legitimate Top-10 teams during the regular season in Notre Dame and North Carolina. 

Anything can happen in a one-game scenario, but the Tigers are better on paper and have a more impressive resume that makes them favorites to win the Orange Bowl. 

Clemson 38, Oklahoma 34