Three of Clemson University's football players have been suspended just before the Orange Bowl due to testing positive for drugs. The team will now go on to defend its undefeated title without them.

Clemson’s Deon Cain, Ammon Lakip, and Jay Jay McCullough are going to be suspended from the team’s College Football Playoff Orange Bowl match-up with Oklahoma for a violation of team protocol. All three were sent home after a media event Tuesday morning.

Senior kicker Lakip has already had a three-game suspension this season after a spring arrest for possession of cocaine and a DUI. Freshman wide receiver Cain and junior tight end McCullough has no prior discipline record. Coaches say that Cain may return once he has learned his lesson.

The Clemson Tigers face off with Oklahoma Thursday, December 31 for the Orange Bowl 3 p.m. on ESPN in the Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida.

[Via USAToday]

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