Clemson arrives for Fiesta Bowl. 5 storylines to watch as Tigers prep for Ohio State
Clemson arrived in Phoenix for the Fiesta Bowl on Sunday evening, six days before the Tigers face Ohio State with a spot in the national title game on the line.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney spoke shortly after the Tigers landed in Phoenix and announced that the entire team made the trip and is ready to go for the College Football Playoff semifinal game. Last year when the Tigers landed in Dallas for the Cotton Bowl, Swinney announced that three players were suspended after failing drug tests. There’s no such drama this year.
Clemson held its first practice in Arizona on Monday as the Tigers continue to prepare for the Buckeyes. Here are five storylines to watch this week leading up to Saturday’s game:
1. Jeff Scott back with the Tigers
Clemson’s co-offensive coordinator, at least for the next week, was at USF for about 10 days earlier this month after being named the head coach at South Florida on Dec. 9. Scott stayed in Tampa through signing day last Wednesday, before rejoining the Tigers for the Fiesta Bowl. How much was Scott involved in game planning while he was away and what was it like for Scott trying to balance his time? We’ll find out soon.
2. Will the different schedule have an impact?
Swinney told reporters Sunday that he starts planning Clemson’s schedule in May each year. When he got to the December portion of planning the 2019 season and saw the dates for the ACC Championship game and College Football Playoff semifinals, his response was, “Wait a minute, this can’t be right.” But it was right. The conference title games were moved back a week, meaning teams lost a week of preparation in between conference title games and the start of the CFP. Swinney sat down with his seniors and mapped out a schedule for bowl prep. It included having Thursday to Saturday off this past week.
“We had a good balance of mental prep, conditioning, working on Clemson, fundamentals, technique, and then game plan for Ohio State and a little bit of good-on-good. Just enough full pads work, I think, to keep us sharp.”
3. Why might this year’s Clemson-OSU game be different?
Clemson is 3-0 all-time against Ohio State, including a 31-0 beatdown of the Buckeyes when the two teams met in the Fiesta Bowl three years ago. Will this year’s matchup produce a similar result? Both teams have much different rosters now, and Swinney has said this Ohio State team is much better than the one the Tigers dominated. Still, Clemson’s coaching staff is mostly the same and the Tigers have to feel confident going in.
4. How will Ohio State try to slow down Tee Higgins?
The junior receiver wasn’t a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award that honors the best at the position, but he’s played very well this season, particularly as of late. Higgins had nine catches for 182 yards and three touchdowns in the ACC title game against Virginia and has 1,082 yards and 13 touchdowns on the year. Ohio State has a potential top 10 pick in cornerback Jeff Okudah. Will the Buckeyes trust Okudah to cover Higgins one-on-one? Will Okudah shadow Higgins around the field no matter where he lines up? Will there be safety help over the top? All questions to keep an eye on.
5. How will Clemson’s defensive front hold up?
Overall, the Tigers are having a better year defensively than they did a season ago. But the defensive line has taken a step back. That was to be expected after Clemson lost all four starters up front, including three first-round NFL Draft picks. Still, the drop-off has been pretty drastic. Clemson led the nation in sacks and tackles-for-loss last year and is currently 15th and eighth. Those numbers aren’t bad, but they don’t tell the whole story. Clemson’s defensive line has only recorded 17.5 of Clemson’s 38 sacks as the rest have been by the back seven. Teams haven’t been able to expose the Tigers blitzing more yet, but the Buckeyes might have the talent to do so.
Next
Who: Clemson (13-0) vs. Ohio State (13-0)
Where: PlayStation Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix
When: 8 p.m. Saturday
TV: ESPN
Early line: Clemson by 2
This story was originally published December 23, 2019 at 3:07 PM.
