FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — To say Oklahoma’s offense is feeling a little confident heading into Thursday’s Capital One Orange Bowl against No. 1 Clemson is an understatement.

To hear the Sooners talk, it almost seems as if they were the team that completely dominated the line of scrimmage in last year’s Russell Athletic Bowl. On Monday at the Marriott Renaissance in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Oklahoma offense players expressed how confident they were that they could move the football against the Tigers’ seventh-ranked defense.

Though the Tigers held Oklahoma to 278 total yards and six points in last year’s 40-6 victory, a game in which the Clemson defense pushed around the Sooners all night, running back Samaje Perine said the poor performance was a little more about them than Clemson’s defense.

“We say that it is never going to happen again,” Perine said. “Last year, it looked like we did not want to be there. They were the better team last year and Coach (Bob) Stoops brings that up and tells us that it is a different atmosphere now. Whether we liked our position or not, we still had to show up and we did not show up and they did.

“This year it can’t happen like that and it is not going to happen like that.”

Oklahoma is much improved on offense. New offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley has turned things around. With the help of Heisman Trophy candidate Baker Mayfield at quarterback, the Sooners are averaging 45.8 points and 542.9 yards per game.

Perine, who rushed for 134 yards on Clemson last year with most coming in the fourth quarter when the game was well in hand, said he expects there to be a few creases for he and fellow running back Joe Mixon to run through on Clemson’s defensive line.

“There is always a crease with this offense. There is always a crease somewhere and over the period of time we watched film on them, there was always a crease somewhere that can be exposed and we plan on exposing them,” Perine said.

It’s easy to understand Perine’s confidence in the running game. The Sooners have averaged just at 300 yards a game on the ground over the last seven weeks. He and Mixon, long with Mayfield, have made the running game almost impossible to stop.

“It makes my job easier,” Mayfield said. “Right now we are very balanced, which is good for me. That opens up the play action. (Defenses) have to load up guys in the box to stop our run game so we’re giving defenses fits numbers wise, and what they want to game plan.”

Perine rushed for 1,291 yards and 15 touchdowns this season, while Mixon has 749 yards and seven scores. Perine is more of the power back who can run in between the tackles, while Mixon is the speedster, who can take the ball the distance every time he touches it.

Mixon, like Mayfield, did not play in last year’s bowl game against Clemson.

“I have said it a couple of times, he’s one of the most naturally talented athletes I have ever seen,” Mayfield said. “He’s just very gifted, and we finally found a way to utilize him and Samaje both in our offense because they’re different types of backs, but the fact that we can have them both in there, that’s pretty special.”

And that’s why the Sooners are confident.