Tag: 2019 Fiesta Bowl

WATCH: Ohio State head coach Ryan Day gets jokingly swarmed by his offensive line

Ohio State is preparing for Clemson, but it’s also having fun out in the desert. Get a look of the offensive line swarming Ryan Day.

If you’ve been wondering what the mood of the Ohio State football team is out in Phoenix, wonder no more. Of course the team is down to business and focused on preparing to install a game plan to slow down defending champion Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl, but the team also seems to be finding ways to stay loose and have fun out in the desert.

Take the video shared by the Playstation Fiesta Bowl for example.

Ryan Day is out welcoming the offensive line, joking with some resistance with a tackling pad, when a training apparatus is removed to allow the entire offensive line group to begin going after him like free tacos have just been offered up.

Click on the below to watch the humor of the team having fun at the expense of Ryan Day. Of course, it’s all in good fun.

We can only wonder if the team would have done this to Urban Meyer under the same circumstances.

Ohio State vs. Clemson: Colin Cowherd makes his pick while trashing the Big Ten

Colin Cowherd has made his pick for Ohio State vs. Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl. He did it while trashing the big ten.

The narrative continues to be set. Clemson is just too much for this Ohio State team. More and more media members are giving the Buckeyes no shot at hanging with the Tigers because of their speed, coaching and athleticism.

And now you can count FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd in that crowd. While appearing on his morning sports talk show, the sports personality sided with the Clemson Tigers in the Fiesta Bowl matchup set to take place Saturday.

“Clemson minus two, I like Clemson to win by a touchdown,” said Cowherd. “I thought the number was low, I think we’re undervaluing Clemson. I think we look at their conference and say they didn’t play anybody, and that is a huge benefit. They are healthy, they got a ton of depth, and I believe when you don’t know who’s going to win, you go with the coaching staff in college, and I think Clemson has the best coaching staff by a wide margin. They have three current head coaches, capable guys that could run programs. Dabo is just the No. 1 guy. I’m going to take Clemson here.”

Cowherd then went on to talk about Trevor Lawrence and Clemson’s defense.

“First of all, Trevor Lawrence since week nine — good luck. Ohio State’s defense gets the credit, I could argue Clemson’s is actually better — first in the country in multiple categories. Trevor Lawrence since week nine has been unstoppable.”

But Cowherd didn’t stop there. He went on to trash the entire Big Ten.

“I don’t think the ACC is great, but who who in the Big Ten is amazing outside of Ohio State,” Cowherd said. “Michigan? Lost to all the good teams they played. Wisconsin? Well-coached certainly, not a ton of great NFL players. Who else you selling me in that conference? Iowa? Okay, not special. Listen, right now Ohio State’s defense is good, but in the last four games, they’re allowing 21 (points) a game. That’s against Big Ten defenses (meant to say offenses we’re sure). Clemson — NFL back, NFL quarterback, NFL offensive line, NFL tight end, NFL receivers. I think Clemson is going to win 36-30, I’m not sure it will feel that close, but I think this is the type of speed Ohio State has not seen anything close to, and Clemson has. They’re 5-0 in the last two years against SEC speed and they’ve blown most of those SEC teams like Alabama out.”

You can catch the entire segment below thanks to it being shared by his radio show.

Okay. There are so many things we could point out with this horrible and lazy analysis. Are we really still on the SEC speed thing despite Ohio State being one of the fastest teams in the country over the last few years. We’ve seen wide receivers, DBs, and other defensive players translate very well to the NFL, and scouts and metrics would tell you that this team is even more talented. That doesn’t mean OSU will win the game, but that’s a lazy and uneducated argument.

Also, to say Ohio State will struggle because Clemson will have more speed than anyone the Buckeyes have faced is the same argument you could make for what the Tigers will face. Cancel that out. You can’t use past history as experience and anyone should know that in college football. This year’s Clemson team has a totally different defense than what it’s had over the last couple of years.

Lastly, any analyst (besides Cowherd apparently) would take playing against Michigan, Wisconsin, (OSU didn’t play Iowa by the way), or Penn State, who Cowherd didn’t even mention, over the likes of what Clemson has faced. In fact, the Big Ten has three teams going to New Year’s six bowls. That’s tied with the SEC for the most of any conference.

Look, I know Cowherd gets paid to say things and it’s tough to come up with stuff when teams are pretty equal in the talent department, but none of these reasons make a bit of sense. After all, remember, this is the same guy that didn’t know Joe Burrow played for Ohio State originally.

Ohio State vs. Clemson: 5 reasons the Buckeyes win the Fiesta Bowl

Ohio State is finishing up its preparations for a matchup with Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl. Here’s five reasons the Buckeyes win.

We’ve said it before, but now there’s no doubt. The Ohio State football team is about to face its greatest opponent of the season to date, maybe of the year no matter what, when it plays defending national champion Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl.

We’ve heard about talent equated games, but this is the first time that it’s really true. Unless, that is, you believe teams like Penn State, Wisconsin and Michigan have the same NFL-types on their team as the Buckeye do.

We’ll wait on that answer and raise you winning by double digits in all four of those matchups this year.

Clemson has talent to match what’s on Ryan Day’s sideline, so it’s going to come down to key matchups, preparation, and execution. On that note, here’s five reasons Ohio State beats Clemson in the 2019 Fiesta Bowl Saturday night.

Next … The defensive backs on Ohio State

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Mark May come out of the shadows to troll Ohio State fans with Fiesta Bowl pick

Former Ohio State nemesis Mark May came out of hiding to troll Buckeye fans with his prediction for the Fiesta Bowl.

He’s back.

Gone from ESPN, and gone from college football mainstream in general, former Ohio State media nemesis Mark May has come out of hiding just in time for the 2019 Fiesta Bowl.

You remember May. He was famous for sticking it to Ohio State no matter what the situation, whenever given a chance. Whether it was picking against the Buckeyes in seemingly every big spotlight game, or simply nagging OSU fans at every corner, he literally made a career out of loving to hate anything scarlet and gray.

Well then. Dave Briggs of the Toledo Blade caught up with May out in Arizona and got him on camera providing his prediction for the Fiesta Bowl between Ohio State and Clemson. Yeah, you know how this is going to turn out.

“Buckeye fans, deep down you know I loved you forever and ever through the years — I was just toying and playing with you guys,” May told Briggs. “Nah … that wasn’t true. You know I was sticking it to you, and I’ll stick it to you again. I’m not done yet, I’ll be back.”

May then was asked to give his prediction on the game Saturday. I’m sure you can figure out how that went.

“You know what, to tell you the truth, I think Dabo Swinney and Clemson are going to rock the house,” May said. “Remember the last time you face Dabo? Huh, did you score a point? Are you going to score a point this time? I got Clemson winning again 38 — I’ll give you a point — 38 to 7.”

Listen to May yourself and watch him revel in tweaking Ohio State fans one more time thanks to Dave Briggs.

The more things change, the more they stay the same apparently when it comes to Mark May and his love affair with Ohio State fans.

Ohio State’s Mattison, Young, Borland and Okudah preview matchup with Clemson in Fiesta Bowl

Select players and coaches from Ohio State and Clemson met with the media today. Here’s what the OSU defense said about facing the Tigers.

While you were getting ready for Christmas and whatever shenanigans and celebrations you’ll be a part of tonight and tomorrow, the Fiesta Bowl set up a little media event for select Ohio State and Clemson players and coaches.

Normally we bring you some coaches and player comments postgame, but since the fine folks in the desert made this magic happen, we’ve got everything all the players and coaches that were present said.

We’ve already looked at what the Clemson offensive and defensive members said about facing Ohio State. We also provided what some from the Buckeyes’ offensive side of the ball said. And now, it’s time to turn to the defensive sideline and get perspective from there.

So, here we go, with the comments of co-defensive coordinator Greg Mattison, as well as Chase Young, Tuf Borland, and running Jeff Okudah.

Next … Quotes from Ohio State defensive end Chase Young

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Ohio State’s Kevin Wilson, Justin Fields, J.K. Dobbins preview matchup with Clemson in Fiesta Bowl

Ohio State’s Kevin Wilson, along with quarterback Justin Fields and running back J.K. Dobbins preview Fiesta Bowl vs. Clemson.

While you were getting ready for Christmas and whatever shenanigans and celebrations you’ll be a part of tonight and tomorrow, the Fiesta Bowl set up a little media event for select Ohio State and Clemson players and coaches.

Normally we bring you some coaches and player comments postgame, but since the fine folks in the desert made this magic happen, we’ve got everything all the players and coaches that were present said.

We’ve already looked at what the Clemson offensive and defensive members said about facing Ohio State, and now we’re bringing you what the select Buckeye players and coaches said.

So, here we go, with the comments of offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson, as well as QB Justin Fields and running back J.K. Dobbins.

Next … Quotes from Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields

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Find out what select members of Clemson’s defense said about Ohio State

Ohio State and Clemson were both made available to the media today. Find out what select members of Clemson’s defense said about Ohio State.

While you were getting ready for Christmas and whatever shenanigans and celebrations you’ll be a part of tonight and tomorrow, the Fiesta Bowl set up a little media event for select Ohio State and Clemson players and coaches.

We normally bring you the comments of the other team after an Ohio State game, but in this case we have a ton of quotes from a few of the most notable players and coaches getting ready to suit up for the defending national champion Tigers.

We had defensive and offensive players and coaches to speak on what they saw on both sides of the ball for the Buckeyes and we’re bringing them all to you.

We brought you the offensive players and coaches, and next up is the defensive side of the ball.

Next … Quotes from Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables

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Find out what select members of Clemson’s offense said about Ohio State

Both teams met with the media today at the Fiesta Bowl. Find out what select members of Clemson’s offense said about Ohio State.

While you were getting ready for Christmas and whatever shenanigans and celebrations you’ll be a part of tonight and tomorrow, the Fiesta Bowl set up a little media event for select Ohio State and Clemson players and coaches.

We normally bring you the comments of the other team after an Ohio State game, but in this case we have a ton of quotes from a few of the most notable players and coaches getting ready to suit up for the defending national champion Tigers.

We had defensive and offensive players and coaches to speak on what they saw on both sides of the ball for the Buckeyes and we’re bringing them all to you.

So, here we go, with the offensive players and coaches up first.

Next … Quotes from Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence

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Ohio State vs. Clemson enemy territory Fiesta Bowl preview. Get to know the Tigers

Ohio State is ready to match up with the national champion Clemson Tigers in the Fiesta Bowl. Here’s the scouting report on the Tigers.

Before every game, we provide a preview of Ohio State football’s opponent for the upcoming week. It was a twelve game slate to the regular season, then the Big Ten Championship game, and now the College Football Playoff semifinal in the Fiesta Bowl.

The Buckeyes are taking on the ACC Champion and defending national champion Clemson Tigers. It’ll be a daunting task, but one the Buckeyes are hopefully up to. We’re here to give you all you need to know about a Clemson team on top of the college football world right now.

So, if you want to impress your friends while watching the game, we’ve got your cheat code right here. We do the research, you drop nuggets. You win on Saturdays. It’s as simple as that.

This is as big as it gets, so let’s roll on the scouting report on the No. 3 Clemson Tigers.

Next … Clemson all-time vitals

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Ohio State vs. Clemson: Campus Lore breaks down the defenses in the Fiesta Bowl

Campus Lore analyst Aaron Murray takes a look at whether Ohio State or Clemson has the defensive edge in the 2019 Fiesta Bowl.

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We are now inside of a week before the big College Football Playoff semifinal between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl. There’s so many storylines and angles on this matchup, but one that will play a critical role obviously is how each defense fares.

Both are a top five unit, and both have the ability to make game-changing momentum plays. It might be via the turnover, sack, tackle for loss, or a big third down stop. Either way, the team that can stymie the explosive offense on the other side has the best chance to dictate pace of the game and move on to New Orleans.

Former Georgia quarterback and Campus Lore analyst Aaron Murray took some time to break down both defenses, and if you’re an Ohio State fan, you might be happy to listen to what he has to say.

When asked about which defense he’s leaning towards, Murray first sounded hesitant.

“I really don’t know,” said Murray. “I mean you look at these defenses, and they’re both very talented. Obviously we know about Chase Young on the outside — he’s an absolute terror over there. And Clemson, they’re really good defensively. They lost a ton of guys to the NFL last year, but they just find a way to reload on that side of the football.”

But then Murray seemed to hone in on an advantage for the Buckeye defense.

“But when you look at both defenses, you look at both teams overall, who has Clemson faced,” Murray said. “I mean they played great defense and we can say this is an elite team on both sides, and an elite defense based on what we’ve seen, but what offense have they gone against where you can say ‘look, they stopped that elite offense, or they stopped that offense.’ There is no one on their schedule that probably really should have been close to beating them. And no one really was besides North Carolina in that one scary game early in the season.”

Then Murray shifted to Ohio State.

“Ohio State is tested,” said Murray. “They’ve played great defenses — they’ve played great offenses. They’ve played teams that run the ball like Wisconsin. They’ve played teams that want to throw the football. I mean, they have done it all. I think that gives Ohio State a little bit more confidence headed into this game both offensively and defensively.”

Well, we’re soon to find out when these two go at it in the desert night on Saturday.