No doubt: Clemson earns playoff spot, bowl showdown with Ohio State
Clemson has been waiting all season for an opportunity to showcase how it stacks up against the other top teams in college football. The Tigers are less than three weeks away from getting their shot.
Clemson has earned a berth in the College Football Playoff for the fifth consecutive season, it was announced Sunday, as the Tigers are the No. 3 seed entering the semifinals. Clemson is matched up with No. 2 seed Ohio State and will play the Buckeyes in Phoenix, Arizona in the Fiesta Bowl on Dec. 28. The game will kickoff at 8 p.m.
LSU is the No. 1 seed and will play No. 4 seed Oklahoma that same day in Atlanta in the Peach Bowl at 4 p.m.
The Tigers have faced some criticism in 2019 for their weak schedule, despite winning two of the past three national titles. Clemson did not face a team currently ranked in the top 25 all season until it blasted No. 23 Virginia 62-17 in Saturday’s ACC title game. But Tigers coach Dabo Swinney has urged outsiders to look at how Clemson plays, not who it plays.
“We’re just excited to be in it,” Swinney told ESPN after the playoff announcement. “We’re glad to have an opportunity to go back out to Arizona and play a great opponent in Ohio State, man. What an unbelievable season they’ve had. But we’re just glad to be in it.”
The Tigers have been absolutely dominant the past eight games, winning all eight by at least 31 points. Clemson’s offense is averaging 46.5 points per game on the season, led by quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who has thrown for 3,172 yards with 34 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The sophomore has 20 touchdowns and no interceptions the past six games.
Defensively, Clemson did not allow an opponent to reach 300 yards of offense the entire regular season. Virginia became the first team to cross that threshold, finishing with 387 yards in the ACC title game.
“We need everyone to buy some tickets and travel to wherever we’re going,” Swinney said after Saturday’s win.
The game features plenty of star power as Lawrence and Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields are two of the top QBs in the country. Both players played high school football in Georgia. Lawrence was rated as the No. 1 overall player in the country, while Fields was No. 2.
“Two great young men, obviously, from down in Georgia. Two unbelievable prospects coming out of high school. So really not surprising at all to see what Justin’s done with his opportunity and what Trevor’s done with his opportunity,” Swinney told ESPN. “It’s kind of crazy that you’ve got these two kids right here from Georgia, and we’ve got to go all the way out to Arizona to play the game. But it’ll be exciting.”
It’s not the first time this decade that Clemson is facing Ohio State in the postseason. The Tigers beat OSU 40-35 in the Orange Bowl to end the 2013 season, before blasting the Buckeyes 31-0 in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl on their way to a national title.
Swinney believes this Ohio State team is better than the previous two Clemson faced.
“I’ve seen Ohio State a few times. They’re unbelievable,” he said. “We’ve played them a couple times, and this is easily the most talented and most complete Ohio State team that we’ve played those previous couple of times over the last several years. Unbelievable defense, and what they’ve done offensively has been special to watch, led by Justin.”
Clemson CFP history
2015
Beat Oklahoma 37-17 in the Orange Bowl
Lost to Alabama 45-40 in the national title game
2016
Beat Ohio State 31-0 in Fiesta Bowl
Beat Alabama 35-31 in national title game
2017
Lost to Alabama 24-6 in Sugar Bowl
2018
Beat Notre Dame 30-3 in Cotton Bowl
Beat Alabama 44-16 in national title game
Next
Who: Clemson (13-0) vs. Ohio State (13-0)
Where: PlayStation Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix
When: Saturday, Dec. 28
Early line: Clemson by 1.5
Series history: Clemson holds a 3-0 all-time record against the Buckeyes
Last meeting: On Dec. 31, 2016, also in the Fiesta Bowl, the second-seeded Tigers shut out the third-ranked Buckeyes in a 31-0 victory that sent Clemson to its second straight College Football Playoff national championship game.
This story was originally published December 8, 2019 at 12:23 PM.
