On Christmas Eve, some of the Buckeyes were welcomed to the first formal Fiesta Bowl press availability of the week. From the defensive front, they seem locked in a focused, not doubting the ability of Clemsons offense for one second.
Defensive coordinator Greg Mattison led the tone for Ohio State. “We’re going to have to be on our “A” game. When you get in a game like this, that’s what you do.” said Mattison. He continued by complimenting the Tiger Offense. “They’re the best receivers we’ve played against as a core. But the other thing I keep going back to, you better stop the run because if you let them run the football and then have those three receivers with that quarterback, you’re asking for trouble.”
It’s true, this isn’t a one man show at Clemson, or even a two or there man show. Despite Clemson not having any players inside the top 6 in offensive yardage statistics in the NCAA, they are 3rd in the country in offensive production, averaging 547.7 yards per game, led by quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
“Unbelievable player. You can’t say enough good things about him.” , said Ohio State senior linebacker Tuf Borland of Lawrence. “You guys see him sitting back there and making throws all over the field. He’s also able to extend the play, when he gets out of the pocket and finds some open guys. So he’s an unbelievable player.”
Then on the ground, the Tigers have Travis Etienne, who sits 7th in the country in rushing yards with 1,500 Willis the Tigers 3,288 yards on the ground. Their wideout corps is led by Tee Higgins, with 1,082 of the teams 3,832 receiving yards.
Though, don’t get it twisted, Ohio State has the utmost confidence heading into Saturday’s Semi-Final.
“We didn’t get here by not being able to do that. Our guys know that. Now you’re just having to take another step up the ladder. It is a challenge.” explained Mattison.
Defensively, Ohio State is one of the top three, if not higher, defenses in the country. Nationally, they sit in a tie for 2nd in points allowed (12.5), 2nd in yards allowed (247.6) just behind Clemson, and they lead the Nation in sacks with 51.
Heisman finalist Chase Young leads the Bucks and the Nation with 16.5 sacks, and consider the kid was suspended for two games when you look at that. Then in the secondary, Jeff Okudah leads the team with 3 of their 15 interceptions, a team mark that ranks 9th in the country. All around, they feel pretty confident in what they have defensively.
“It is all position-based really. Those guys are just so talented,” said Borland of the Buckeyes secondary. “They work so well as a unit, Jeff [Okudah] and Damon [Arnette] on the outside. I put them up with any receiver in the country. Those guys are that good. Jordan [Fuller] back there, safety net. Shaun Wade is just so versatile, you can put him anywhere on the field.”
It will truly be a matchup of Titans on Saturday December 28th in the College Football Playoff Semi-Final at the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl inside State Farm Stadium.
Okudah says the Buckeyes are ready to go blow for blow in the bout. “With Clemson, if they’re able to score first, it kind of destroys a teams’ morale. For us, I feel like we never get too high, never get too low. We have an experienced secondary, experienced defense. We’ve been in our share of dog fights. And if they do score first, I feel like records must be broken.”
More to come as kickoff approaches…
Written by Adrian Beecher
