Even though Ohio State did not play for the Big Ten Championship, Urban Meyer's Buckeyes are in the 2016 College Football Playoff. They earned the No. 3 seed in the final set of rankings and are set to face No. 2 Clemson at 7:00 p.m. ET in one national semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl.
Dabo Swinney's Tigers are 12-1 and won the ACC Championship on Saturday night with a 42-35 victory over Virginia Tech in Orlando.
| DATE | OPPONENT | OUTCOME |
|---|---|---|
| 9/3/16 | @ AUBURN | W, 19-13 |
| 9/10/16 | TROY | W, 30-24 |
| 9/17/16 | S. CAROLINA STATE | W, 59-0 |
| 9/22/16 | @ GEORGIA TECH | W, 26-7 |
| 10/1/16 | LOUISVILLE | W, 42-36 |
| 10/7/16 | @ BOSTON COLLEGE | W, 56-10 |
| 10/15/16 | NORTH CAROLINA STATE | W, 24-17 |
| 10/29/16 | @ FLORIDA STATE | W, 37-34 |
| 11/5/16 | SYRACUSE | W, 54-0 |
| 11/12/16 | PITTSBURGH | L, 43-42 |
| 11/19/16 | @ WAKE FOREST | W, 35-13 |
| 11/26/16 | SOUTH CAROLINA | W, 56-7 |
| 12/3/16 | VIRGINIA TECH | W, 42-35 |
Swinney and Clemson handed Meyer one of the five losses in his five-year Ohio State tenure, a 40-35 defeat in the 2013 Orange Bowl when the Buckeyes couldn't stop quarterback Tajh Boyd and wide receiver Sammy Watkins. The Tigers still boast an explosive offense and ball-hawking, opportunistic defense.
Let's learn a little bit more about them.
Offense
Heisman Trophy candidate and quarterback Deshaun Watson runs the show for Swinney, as he has the last two seasons. Watson nearly led the Tigers to a national championship game upset of Alabama a year ago, throwing for 405 yards and four touchdowns while running for 73 more yards against the vaunted Crimson Tide defense in a 45-40 loss.
Watson finished with 4,104 passing yards and 35 touchdowns against just 13 interceptions in 2015. He also ran for 1,105 yards and 12 scores. This season, the star quarterback is running much less (nearly 100 fewer attempts and only 529 yards and six touchdowns) but threw much, much more in his team's first 13 games. Watson already has 3,914 passing yards and 37 touchdowns in addition to 15 interceptions. Against the Hokies on Saturday night, he finished with 288 yards through the air and three touchdowns, plus 85 yards on the ground and two more touchdowns.
To put it simply, Watson is exceptional. There is a reason Meyer wanted him so badly out of Gainesville High School in Gainesville, Georgia—Watson was the top-ranked dual-threat quarterback in the 2014 class. The Buckeyes signed Stephen Collier instead when Watson elected to stay in the south and attend Clemson.
Watson leads one of the nation's best offenses, which averages 505.7 yards per game. Junior running back Wayne Gallman went over 1,000 rushing yards on the season against the Hokies on Saturday night and he has 15 yards on the ground. Three of Watson's pass catchers have more than 30 catches and 600 yards this season—Mike Williams leads all with 84 receptions for 1,171 yards and 10 touchdowns, tight end Jordan Leggett is second at 38 grabs for 637 yards and seven touchdowns and slot receiver Deon Cain has 32 catches for 621 yards and nine scores.
Watson spreads the ball around nicely, however—six players have at least 29 catches and he has thrown a touchdown pass to 10 different players. Imagine matchups on the outside between Williams and Gareon Conley/Marshon Lattimore, over the middle between Leggett and Damon Webb/Malik Hooker and a ton of pressure on Ohio State's linebackers to keep Watson in front of them.
Defense
Statistically, Clemson's defense is second-best in the ACC, led by a terrific secondary. The Tigers allow only 188.2 passing yards per game and recorded 18 interceptions in 13 games, returning two for touchdowns. Clemson also has 46 sacks this season, second-most in the league. However, the Tigers allowed more than 30 points four times this season.
One of those times came against Pittsburgh, the team's only loss this season. In that game, Clemson allowed 464 total yards (308 passing). The Tigers entered the fourth quarter in that game leading 42-34 but allowed a touchdown and the game-winning field goal over the final 5:17. Three interceptions by Deshaun Watson all but negated the 580 passing yards he threw for against the Panthers as the turnovers kept Pat Narduzzi's group in the game.
Additionally, Clemson allowed Virginia Tech to convert 7-of-15 third downs in the ACC Championship Game, including a ridiculous 4-of-5 in the fourth quarter. The Hokies staged a comeback in the latter stages of the game but Watson's brilliance proved to be enough for the Tigers to win. So there are flaws.
Either way, Clemson's defense is ranked ninth in the country in total defense, allowing 313.9 yards per game. The 46 sacks is not only second-most in the ACC but the entire country, one behind Florida State. Its 18 interceptions are tied for fifth-most in the country. Jadar Johnson, Carlos Watkins, Dexter Lawrence and Christian Wilkins are a few names that rule the roost on that side of the ball. Ohio State's offensive line—which struggled in pass protection this year—will have its handful against the Clemson defensive line, which is one of the more athletic and fastest in the country.
Final Word
Clemson goes as far as Deshaun Watson takes it. Dabo Swinney has led the Tigers to 87 victories in his nine seasons and is one of four coaches that beat Urban Meyer since the latter came to Columbus. Swinney's team has at least 10 wins each of the last six seasons. His senior class has 47 wins to its name and an opportunity to win two more.
If Watson and the offense is clicking on all cylinders with a powerful running back in Wayne Gallman and athletic receivers like Mike Williams, Artavis Scott and Hunter Renfrow, they are tough to stop. Jordan Leggett is a matchup problem for anyone and one of the more overlooked 2017 NFL Draft prospects.
The Buckeyes will have their hands full trying to stop Watson but have the athleticism and playmakers to compete. Ohio State's passing game struggled at times this season and Clemson's secondary made opponents pay for mistakes. A telling statistic between the two teams is turnovers—the Buckeyes only have nine this season. Clemson has 24.
The matchup will be analyzed every which way for the next four weeks. It all won't matter once the ball is kicked off on New Year's Eve in Phoenix.
