CLEMSON GETS ANOTHER SHOT AT ALABAMA
FIESTA BOWL: CLEMSON 31, OHIO STATE 0 Clemson rolls into rematch with defending champion Alabama for national title.
After the top-ranked Crimson Tide hammers Washington 24-7, Clemson crushes Ohio State 31-0 to set up a rematch for college football’s national championship.
glendale, ariz.» In a return trip to the desert, Clemson found redemption in utter domination.
Part I of the make-good tour is done. Now comes the really hard part: A rematch against Alabama in the College Football Playoff’s national championship game.
Deshaun Watson ran for two touchdowns and threw for another TD as No. 3 Clemson crushed No. 2 Ohio State 31-0 in the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday night.
Tigers coach Dabo Swinney had sold his players on getting to celebrate at the same site where they lost to Alabama in the national title game last season. This time they got the confetti shower and the trophy.
With that taken care of, it is on to Tampa, Fla., for the Tigers, where they will face the topranked Crimson Tide on Jan. 9. The teams that started the season ranked No. 1 and No. 2 will most certainly end it that way too.
“If you’re going to be the best, you’ve got to beat them,” Swinney said.
In what figures to be Watson’s final college game, he will try to lead Clemson to its first national title since 1981. The junior and Heisman Trophy runner-up passed for 259 yards and ran for 57 yards against the Buckeyes (11-2), who could not keep Clemson’s big and quick defensive line out of their backfield.
Freshman Clelin Ferrell had a sack among his three tackles for loss and Clemson allowed only 215 yards and nine first downs. The Buckeyes were shut out for the first time since 1993 against Michigan, and Urban Meyer had one of his teams held scoreless for the first time in 194 games as a head coach.
“I’m not used to it. We’re not used it. It’s not going to happen again,” Meyer said.
Watson made it 24-0 with 2:06 left in the third quarter when he faked a pitch, cut through a hole and into the end zone from 7 yards out. He hopped through the back of the end zone and did a little dance in front of the Ohio State section.
The rest was a formality.
Much the way Alabama’s defense suffocated Washington 24-7 in the day’s first semifinal, Clemson gave Ohio State no options. The Buckeyes came in averaging 258 yards rushing per game and finished with only 88. Star QB J.T. Barrett threw for 127 yards and was intercepted twice.
The sellout crowd of 71,279 at University of Phoenix Stadium had far more Ohio State scarlet than Clemson orange at kickoff, but by the halfway point in the fourth quarter Tigers fans mostly had the place to themselves.
Ohio State, in a rebuilding season with only six returning starters, reached the playoff. Hard to call that a disappointment, but Ohio State’s issues on the offensive line and limitations in the passing game were badly exposed by a Clemson defensive line that features future NFL players.
The Tigers seemed to spend much of the season trying to explain why they were not running roughshod over opponents.
Expectations were so high after last season ended with a stinging 45-40 loss in a classic national championship game against Alabama. Who: Alabama vs. Clemson What: Rematch of last year’s game When: Monday, Jan. 9, 6 p.m. Where: Tampa, Fla. TV: ESPN Records: Alabama (14-0), Clemson (13-1) About the game: Alabama will be trying to defend last year’s title and also will be going for its fifth national title in eight years. Clemson gets a chance to avenge last year’s 45-40 loss, which happened despite quarterback Deshaun Watson passing for 405 yards and four touchdowns.