Fiesta Bowl a familiar destination for Clemson
A travel delay wasn’t about to put a cloud over the head of Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney. The 11year coach was just happy to be back in Arizona for another Fiesta Bowl, a game that has featured his Tigers in three of the past five years.
“We’re just happy to be here,” Swinney said shortly after his team exited a plane at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Sunday. “We’re blessed to have the season we’ve had. Obviously you’ve got to get picked to be here. Everybody always says, ‘Thank you for being here,’ and I’m like, ‘Shoot, thank you for having us.’
“We didn’t really get a choice, so we’re just thankful to be out here in Arizona.”
A crowd of Clemson supporters lined the terminal and cheered as the team’s jet arrived about 45 min
utes after the scheduled arrival. Making their way out of the cabin, some players showed off flashy, holiday-themed suits while others were seemingly all business ahead of their Dec. 28 matchup with No. 2 Ohio State.
And while No. 3 Clemson has certainly made Arizona something like a second home in recent years, defeating the Buckeyes by a 31-0 score in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl, only a few members of the Tigers’ roster participated in the game.
“We came out here in ‘16,” Swinney said, “But we’re a very young team and the majority of our team has not been here. Just our fourth-year juniors and true seniors, but most of our team has not been to Arizona. It’s a great trip and something we’re very excited about . ... I was out here as a player in ‘90 as well.”
Clemson, who has won a nation-best 28 straight games, will have to knock off Ohio State in a battle of unbeaten teams if the Tigers hope to repeat as national champions this season. No. 1 LSU and No. 4 Oklahoma will play in the other semifinal matchup in the Peach Bowl.
The winners of the two games will meet for a chance at the CFP title on Jan. 13 in New Orleans.
For as much recent experience that Clemson has in Arizona, Ohio State has played in more Fiesta Bowls than anyone. Of course, the Buckeyes are led by first-year coach Ryan Day, who was hired by Urban Meyer as the team’s offensive coordinator shortly after Clemson’s 2016 victory.
“Certainly experience is a great teacher,” Swinney said. “But we’ve got very few that have been out here. Still, we’ve been in a lot of big games. All of our true juniors, true sophomores have played in big games. We treat every game as a big game and I think that’s why we’ve been so consistent. We try to play Clemson every week.
“It’s exciting, but obviously it’s a little different being a bowl site and logistics, but hopefully our bowl experience will help us navigate that.”
Richard Morin covers the Coyotes and Diamondbacks for azcentral sports. He can be reached at rmorin@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @ramorin_azc.
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