MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - One of the biggest nights in college football is set to kick off at the 89th Capital One Orange Bowl, and as players get ready, fans of both teams have made their way to South Florida, and police made preparations of their own.
About 65,000 fans were expected to cheer on No. 6 Tennessee Volunteers and the No. 7 Clemson Tigers at Hard Rock Stadium, Friday night.
This is the most orange Orange Bowl in the game’s storied history.
Friday afternoon, 7News cameras captured fans outside the stadium.
“Let’s go, Tigers. We’re in,” said a Clemson fan.
“Happy to be here for the Orange Bowl,” said a Tennessee fan.
Tennessee fans drove hours from Knoxville to attend the game.
“[We left] yesterday morning, well, midnight, and it took us 16 hours, and we made the drive,” said Tennessee fan Jason Mathis.
When asked why it was important for him to come all this way, Tennessee fan Ryan Steward replied, “It’s for our team, obviously. We were going to fly, but the flight got canceled, so we got a rental car at the last minute, and we just drove up.”
But loyal Clemson fans were also on hand outside the stadium in full force after driving down from South Carolina.
“We drove down yesterday,” said Clemson fan Jim Wyatt, who made the 10-and-a-half-hour drive to South Florida.
Friday morning, the Miami-Dade Police Department conducted a security check around the area as a safety measure ahead of the game.
Both teams were looking to end the year on a high note; Clemson was named the Atlantic Coast Conference champion after they beat North Carolina on Dec. 3, while Tennessee was ranked sixth in the country.
MDPD carried out a security sweep of the stadium, which included using K-9s to search the bleachers, team locker rooms, and club-level suites. Authorities also screened the vehicles of all vendors entering the stadium.
All these measures were taken to ensure the night goes smoothly.
“As you saw here, we have our K-9 unit, which is one of the many assets we use,” said MDPD Lt. Jeff Schmidinger. “We have several local, federal, and state assets here. The K-9 guys have been out here all day. They started early and will be here until after the game.”
Schmidinger said they use the dogs as another layer of protection.
“We’re looking for explosives, to make sure no one brings in any type of explosives, firearms, or anything that might hurt someone,” he said. “We make sure to check the interior of the stadium as well as any deliveries coming into the stadium.”
Police said there were roughly 300 law enforcement officers present during the game, which started at 8 p.m., to make sure everyone is safe.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.