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What QB do you prefer to have in the playoffs in college football: Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama) or Trevor Lawrence (Clemson)?
Manie Robinson and Scott Keepfer, The Greenville News

CLEMSON – The best news about Clemson wearing his orange "championship" pants for the first time this season on Saturday night is that Christian Wilkins will put them on instead of taking them off.

Or at least his teammates hope.

Wilkins, who has sometimes lost clothes, is expected to adhere to the right decor when the No. 2 Tigers play at No. 17 Boston College in front of several of his friends and family members.

"These are all business," said Wilkins.

MORE: Clemson remains No. 2 in the college football playoff rankings

Wilkins, a native of Springfield, Mass., Grew up and became a big fan of all Boston teams, including Boston College, and would like to leave a lasting impression.

"It's so much more special to me personally that I have a new chance to play in front of my audience and all the rest," he said.

And perhaps helping the undefeated Tigers to win their fourth consecutive Atlantic Division title, making Clemson the first team to achieve this goal since the adoption of the divisional game of the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2005.

"It's that time of year when we feel like every week from now on we'll be wearing orange pants," Wilkins said.

The "orange pants" policy was implemented when Dabo Swinney became the Tigers coach ten years ago.

MORE: Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence already a veteran to keep his cool

"He wanted a little consistency with our uniform policy, if you will," said Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott. "I think in the past it was a bit like seniors voting for what they wanted to wear, et cetera, et cetera, and coach Swinney wanted some consistency."

Quarterback rookie Trevor Lawrence will be wearing the orange "big boy britches" for the first time, but he is aware of their importance.

MORE: How to watch the football game between Clemson and Boston College, start time, TV channel, etc.

"It represents where we are in our season and the work we're doing to get where we are," said Lawrence. "We always control our own destiny. It does not really mean anything, we will continue to play as we do, but that means we are nearing the end of the season. And it's going to be cool to wear different pants because we wear white pants every week. "
A division title would be Clemson's sixth title since 2005, equivalent to Virginia Tech for most ACC programs in both divisions. A victory would also be the 50th by Clemson's senior class since 2015, which would tie both school records and victory records equal to senior class victories, while winning an eighth consecutive season with at least 10 wins .

"It's always exciting to put on orange pants, a championship game," said Wilkins. "The bigger the game, the more you have to make it small. It's something I learned as a young man. It's just another game, really. You prepare in the same way. You do not try to be a hero or something like that. "

However, Wilkins expects the alumni environment to be swamped. The match was announced as the 37th match in stadium history earlier this week – the first since last September against Notre Dame.

The match also marks the first time Boston College has played a match as a ranked team against a ranked opponent since the 2007 ACC Championship match.

"I know that if you give Boston fans something that makes them happy, they will cheer them on, be excited and rowdy, then it will be a great environment and something to look forward to," said Wilkins. "We will have to go with the right state of mind and whatever adversity we face, keep playing and everything will be fine.