Senior safeties Michael Hamlin and Chris Clemons make a ton of plays. The defensive tackles get into the backfield and disrupt timing. As a whole, the Tigers are as athletic as anyone the Cornhuskers have faced.

The caveat — not to mention the compelling matchup in Thursday’s Gator Bowl — is that Clemson’s highly-ranked defense hasn’t faced an offense as prolific as Nebraska’s.

“Another thing that’s glaring is a lot of ACC offenses aren’t run like ours,” Peterson said.

“It’s kind of been built up that there is no defense in the Big 12, and we’re going to find out if we have a good defense or (have) been playing sloppy defenses.”

Clemson possesses the nation’s 10th-ranked passing defense (167.3 yards per game) and ninth-ranked scoring defense (16.6 points), numbers aided by not facing a passing offense ranked among the current top 50.

Nebraska will act as a credibility check for the Tigers’ defense, which held nine consecutive opponents under 200 passing yards before USC amassed 212 in the regular-season finale.

The Cornhuskers have hit the 200-yard passing mark the past 17 games.

The Huskers average 36.2 points, have reached 30 points in all but two of their past 15 games and have topped 400 offensive yards the past seven games.

“Statistically it proves out that, if this isn’t the best offense we’ve played all year, it’s one of the top two or three,” interim co-defensive coordinator David Blackwell said.

It has been a while since the Tigers faced an opponent with both an attacking passing game and a respectable running game that plays off it.

This also will be the first game Clemson’s plan will not have been devised by former coordinator Vic Koenning, who resigned earlier this month when it became apparent he would not be retained.

Blackwell said Florida State probably offered the most comparable blend of skill and philosophy, although the Seminoles’ decent quarterback play has only developed down the stretch.

Nebraska focuses its offense around senior quarterback Joe Ganz, whose numbers have been buried in a league crowded with Heisman Trophy contenders such as Oklahoma’s Sam Bradford, Texas’ Colt McCoy and Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell.

Ganz, who is 6-foot-1, is most dangerous on the move, as the Cornhuskers like to use play-action passes to roll him outside of the pocket and take advantage of his accuracy on the run.

He has thrown 23 touchdowns, and the only knock on him is that his risk-taking (10 interceptions) is both a gift and an occasional curse.

“Their quarterback is the key to the deal,” Blackwell said. “He runs everything and is good at it. He’s a senior, been through the wars, he protects the football. The few times he has not are the games they have struggled in. He’s played well, and the challenge is to disrupt him.”