The Russell Athletic Bowl, which will be played on December 29th at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida, will pit the Clemson Tigers (9-3), who finished 17th in the last AP Poll, against the Oklahoma Sooners (8-4). Clemson’s promising season was derailed early on with losses to Georgia and Florida State. Clemson, however, found its quarterback of the future in freshman Deshaun Watson. In between several injuries, Watson’s dual-threat ability provided a huge spark to Clemson’s offense. As a starter, Watson went 4-1 with his only defeat coming to the hands of Florida State in overtime. Watson unfortunately tore his ACL in Clemson’s final game against South Carolina and will miss this contest. Clemson will hope its top-ranked defense and rushing attack can support embattled quarterback, Cole Stoudt. Running back Wayne Gallman has taken over Clemson’s backfield and is averaging 5.0 yards per carry. Clemson’s defense figure to make life difficult for Oklahoma’s injured quarterback, Trevor Knight. This game will feature a lot of NFL talent and fans can expect to pay average ticket prices for this match-up.
According to TiqIQ, the average secondary market price for Russell Athletic Bowl tickets is currently $93.18, while the get-in price for the game is $31. That places the game as the second most expensive Russell Athletic Bowl since 2010, 10% below last season’s game.
Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops expects the return of several key players for this bowl game. Knight, who suffered a neck injury in early November, missed three games, but is expected to return for this game. Knight is a prototype dual-threat quarterback that has accounted for 20 total touchdowns in nine games. Oklahoma also expects to have its top wide receiver, Sterling Shepard back for this game. Through eight games, Shepard had 957 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Shepard is one of the nation’s best deep threats, so expect a fierce battle between Clemson’s bruising secondary. True freshman running back Samaje Perine has been one of College Football’s best surprises. Perine has rushed for 1,579 yards and 21 touchdowns.
While fans expect to pay average ticket prices to attend the Russell Athletic Bowl, Clemson is looking to once again secure ten wins while Oklahoma is looking to build towards next season. Losing Watson does hurt Clemson’s chances, but its defense and rushing attack will help offset the losses.
