Tag: Clemson football

Ohio State vs. Clemson: Controversial overturn on fumble for TD costs Ohio State

Ohio State had a fumble return for a touchdown overturned in the Fiesta Bowl. To say that it was controversial is an understatement.

Ohio State started very fast against Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl, but couldn’t cash in with touchdowns in the red zone, instead settling for three field goals to lead 16-0. As you knew they would, the Tigers responded and made it a game at the half — seizing momentum that it cashed in for the first touchdown of the second half to secure its first lead of the game 21-16.

Then momentum seemed to turn. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence threw a quick out route to wide receiver Tee Higgins, but it looked for all the world that Higgins caught the pass, then had it knocked free by Jeff Okudah. Jordan Fuller scooped it up and then took it to the house to give Ohio State some much needed momentum, and the lead again.

But the replay official reviewed the play and overturned the fumble. Clemson then punted away and a pivotal score was taken off the board.

You can judge for yourself here thanks to the video posted by ESPN. We’ll reserve judgement for now, but the reaction on Twitter should tell you all you need to know if you just look around.

Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins headed to locker room, currently out of Fiesta Bowl

Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins is dealing with an ankle injury and had been in and out of the locker room at the Fiesta Bowl.

After what can only be described as a dynamic first half, Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins has headed off the field and into the locker room to check out what appears to be an ankle injury. Dobbins suffered the injury late in the first half on a carry in-between the tackles.

Back up running back Master Teague then spelled the new single-season leading rusher in Ohio State history, but Dobbins came out in the second half to try and give it a go with a heavily taped ankle. But he stopped and motioned for the training staff after barely being on the field and headed back to the locker room.

However, he is now back after getting a re-tape we presume.

Clearly Teague is good enough to carry the load, but Dobbins has been a force in this game and his loss will be a key one if he can’t come back and be healthy enough to be effective.

 

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Halftime Report: Ohio State dominates Clemson early yet only leads by 2

It felt like the Ohio State Buckeyes dominated the Clemson Tigers, yet they will enter halftime only leading by two points.

It felt like the Ohio State Buckeyes dominated the Clemson Tigers, yet they will enter halftime only leading by two points thanks to a late surge by the ACC Champions.

It isn’t enough to say the first half of the Fiesta Bowl was entertaining. Going up 16-0 to start the half, Ohio State allowed a few huge plays in which it almost lost the lead to end the half.

However, the biggest play of the first half may not have been a scoring play after all, but a judgement call by the officiating crew.

It was Shaun Wade’s ejection for targeting that turned the tide. It was questionable at best as both Chase Young and Wade collapsed on the Clemson quarterback. Trevor Lawrence went down and stayed down in agony, but lowered his head as Wade came in on the tackle.

The first half was ignited by 60-plus yard runs from both Trevor Lawrence and J.K. Dobbins. With Dobbins totaling 142 yards on nine carries, the junior was almost able to take two more to the house yet failed to secure two catches that could have made the gap even larger.

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Overall, the first half was a thriller, yet for Ohio State, it was brutal ending as they almost put the game away. The Tigers clawed back in the game and now we’re sure to have a tight second half.

Time to fight through the adversity.

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Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion.

We have a forum and message board now. Get in on the conversation about Ohio State athletics by joining the Buckeyes Wire Forum.

Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins torches Clemson as Tigers give up longest run in 3 years

Dobbins also made Ohio State history with two huge runs against Clemson in the first half.

No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Clemson are the two most balanced teams in college football this season, and they entered Saturday’s College Football Playoff semifinal at the Playstation Fiesta Bowl with top-5 offenses and defenses.

It was reasonable to think they’d make big plays on both sides of the ball, but Buckeyes running back J.K. Dobbins exploded with the first monster play of the game.

On 1st-and-10 from Ohio State’s own 32-yard line, Dobbins embarrassed Clemson’s defense with a stunning 68-yard touchdown, giving the Buckeyes an early 10-0 lead. Once he broke through a gap up front, he had nothing but open space in front of him and cruised to the end zone.

Clemson’s defense entered this playoff game No. 1 in the nation with 244.7 defensive yards per game and No. 9 with 106.2 rushing yards allowed per game. Dobbins came in with 1,829 yards on the season, averaging 140.7 per game.

But Dobbins’ run wasn’t just the one of the biggest the Tigers have given up all season. It was also the longest run they’ve allowed since October 2016, per ESPN Stats & Info, when former Florida State running back Dalvin Cook had a 70-yard run in Clemson’s win over the Seminoles.

That play gave Dobbins 75 rushing yards (in the first seven minutes of the game), which allowed him to pass Ezekiel Elliott for the second most rushing yards in a single season at Ohio State. And then with this wild 64-yard play in the final seconds of the first quarter, he passed Eddie George to be at the top of that category.

On 3rd-and-2 from Ohio State’s 28-yard line, Dobbins got the Buckeyes to the eight-yard line, but they had to settle for a field goal and a 13-0 lead.

At halftime, Dobbins had nine carries for 142 yards and one touchdown.

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WATCH: Ohio State RB J.K. Dobbins breaks off 68-yard TD against Clemson

Ohio State running back broke through the Clemson defense for a 68-yard touchdown run that put the Buckeyes up 10-0. Watch it here.

You knew Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins was going to be a key component of the Buckeyes’ attack in the Fiesta Bowl, and he’s already shot the first arrow.

Ohio State was already enjoying a 3-0 lead when Dobbins took a handoff, got through the middle of the Clemson line then made one guy miss before outrunning the rest of the Tigers defense to pay-dirt. It was a ten-point swing because Clemson had just missed a 49-yard field goal right before giving the ball back to the Buckeyes. That’s when Dobbins struck to make it 10-0.

Ohio State will need more of this from the offensive line and Dobbins to keep this thing headed in the right direction. Click on the below and watch the OSU running back work his magic.

WATCH: Lee Corso picks Ohio State to beat Clemson

Watch as ESPN personality Lee Corso puts on the Brutus head gear and picks Ohio State to beat Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl.

It’s a time-honored tradition, sort of. Ever since ESPN’s College Game Day began using Lee Corso to pick the game winner of what the sports programming giant considered the biggest game of the week, it’s taken a life of its own.

In the way only Corso can, he riles up the crowd, often using headgear and other props to make his pick. Of course it’s only opinion, but many tune in and eat it up. Some even cherish it more than anything else in the popular pregame show.

The Game Day crew was at it again Saturday morning, and when it came time for Corso to make his pick against the backdrop of State Farm Stadium, he went against the grain and picked Ohio State to beat Clemson.

“Brutus was my first pick 23 years ago,” said Corso. “I picked them thirty times since then, but it’s the first time I picked them as an underdog. Give me Brutus — go Ohio State.”

You can get a look at his pick and how he did it by clicking on the below thanks that was shared by the official twitter feed of College Game Day.

2021 NFL draft: Battle for No. 1 pick starts with Fiesta Bowl

Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence and Ohio State’s Justin Fields face off in an early preview of the battle for the top pick in the 2021 NFL draft

We’re still more than a year away from the 2021 NFL draft, but this year’s College Football Playoff is giving us an early preview of the top two candidates to go No. 1 overall in that class.

Saturday afternoon, Ohio State and Clemson will battle it out in the Fiesta Bowl for the chance to play for a national title. Leading them will be the two best prospects in the 2021 draft class.

After he torched Alabama in last year’s title game, Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence was immediately crowned a future No. 1 pick, albeit two years before he could even be eligible. He’s experienced his rough patches throughout his sophomore season for the Tigers, but still has a rare skill set that should have him firmly planted in that conversation next offseason.

Once buried behind Jake Fromm at Georgia, Justin Fields transferred to Ohio State, replacing first-rounder Dwayne Haskins and leading the Buckeyes to a Big Ten title and a berth in this year’s playoff. His athleticism and versatility and well-documented, but it’s his prowess as a passer, both inside the pocket and when things break down, that will have him challenging Lawrence for the chance to go No. 1 overall in 2021.

Obviously, plenty can change in a year. Both of these talented passers will have to avoid major injury, and continue their development at their current pace to fend off the other in the race to the top of next year’s draft.

But they both have the talent and potential, along with the coaching staff and supporting cast, to end up at the top of the draft board when April 2021 rolls around.

Don’t miss Saturday’s chance to see them both face off with a trip to the national championship on the line.

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Ohio State vs. Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl: How and where to watch and listen

Ohio State and Clemson are all set to square off in the 2019 Fiesta Bowl. Here’s the television, radio and streaming information.

It’s finally here.

Ohio State shocked most of the media world by taking a first-year head coach and new quarterback and laying waste to every team in its wake. It’s now off to bigger and better things in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

Standing in their way? It’s a familiar face that’s been on top of the college football world, the Clemson Tigers. Both have been in the Phoenix area preparing for the game, and now it’s about to get real in the Playstation Fiesta Bowl

We know you want to watch this titanic matchup between two of college football’s superpowers, and we have all the information you need to find the game whether it be on the television, radio, or streaming device.

Next … television, radio, streaming, game time, and venue

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Ohio State vs. Clemson: 3 Keys for a Buckeyes’ victory

If Ohio State is going to be Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl, it’ll have to follow and execute its game plan. Here are 3 keys to the game.

And here we are on the doorstep of the biggest game Ohio State football has had in three years (sorry Michigan). In fact, it was the last time the Buckeyes matched up with Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl that we had the same type of implications. The desired destination is the College Football Playoff after all. Hopefully though, things end a little better this time around.

There’s no way around it. Beating a Clemson team on top of the college football world right now is going to be a Lord of the Rings type of journey with everyone pulling their weight. But let it be known, despite most of the media-types out there siding with the Tigers in this one, Ohio State has the horses, athletes, and coaching to get it done.

However, there’s certain things that will have to go OSU’s way if it expects to slay the dragon and make it to the next step of the journey in New Orleans. From there, it’ll have the opportunity to win the program’s ninth national championship (depending on what and how you count).

So what exactly is do the Buckeyes have to do for this thing to have confetti falling on them rather than a Clemson team? Here’s three things we think have to happen to make that a possibility.

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Ohio State vs. Clemson: Rayman the orangutan picks Ohio State over Clemson

Rayma the Orangutan picked Ohio State to beat Clemson at the Phoenix Zoo today. Watch the crowd go wild when the OSU t-shirt wins out.

They have a bit of a tradition at the Phoenix Zoo. It has everything to do with animals picking the winners of important football games. For the Fiesta Bowl, Rayma the orangutan got a chance to shine by picking the winner of Satuday’s matchup between Ohio State and Clemson. Rayma was give two t-shirts from each opposing team and then the wait began.

Let it be known that Rayma has chosen the last two Super Bowl winners correctly, so this ape knows a thing or two about breaking down a game apparently. Forget your ESPN and other media talking heads. Our distant, hairy cousin knows the real deal.

So Ohio State fans should be excited then that the t-shirt that was picked was a scarlet one rather than the orange threads of Clemson. You can watch fans go wild as Rayma looks for all the world to begin picking the Tigers shirt, but then makes a last minute switch and grabs the Ohio Sate one and pulls it it on and swashbuckles away.

Take that Clemson.

Click on the below and get a kick out of this prediction. It’s going to be a jungle out there on Saturday night.