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

Ohio State vs. Clemson: Buckeye QB Justin Fields, “I can’t move like I want to”

Ohio State’s Justin Fields, leading up the Fiesta Bowl, gave an unfortunate update on his MCL, saying “I can’t move like I want to.”

The story of Justin Fields’ first year at Ohio State has been a magical one. He’s transcended the program as a transfer from Georgia, and led the Buckeyes to both an undefeated regular season, and a Big Ten Championship.

The 6-foot-3 sophomore quarterback totaled 40 passing touchdowns and just one interception. A 40:1 ratio is rare, and it’s something that probably should’ve earned Fields a bit more love as a Heisman finalist.

However, that is now behind him, as the star QB is in Arizona preparing for the Fiesta Bowl in which his Buckeyes will take on the undefeated ACC Champs and defensing national champions, Clemson Tigers.

He may not be at full strength though despite having a few weeks off to heal. Fields, leading up the Fiesta Bowl, said he can’t move like he wants to, having dealt with an MCL sprain ever since the Penn State.

When speaking to reporters in Scottsdale, Fields was asked about his health.

“I can’t move like I want to,” said Fields.

Fields has been dealing with a banged up knee and re-aggravated it at least once. It might be that it won’t have the time to fully heal until the off-season. That said, let’s pray that Fields’ health won’t be a deciding factor in one of college football’s premier games.

He’s been praised for his toughness, and he’ll have to battle through another game or two if the storybook he wants comes to fruition.

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day Fiesta Bowl arrival press conference

The Ohio State football team has arrived in Phoenix to begin prep for the Fiesta Bowl. Head coach Ryan Day spoke to the media upon arrival.

The Ohio State football team has arrived in Phoenix to begin preparations for the Fiesta Bowl Saturday against Clemson. Well, more or less. Some players have to fly from home and will be arriving later today. But head coach Ryan Day has definitely stepped off the plane at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport.

After the team disembarked, coach Day and players Davon Hamilton and Josh Myers held a brief press conference to field questions from media member on hand to cover the arrival.

We don’t have the video, but we do have the complete transcript of all of Day’s comments. He discussed his team’s preparation, the health of everyone, what it means to be in the Fiesta Bowl, and more.

NEXT … Complete Ryan Day Fiesta Bowl arrival transcript

Fox College Football Crew predicts Ohio State vs. Clemson in Fiesta Bowl

Former Ohio State head coach and his FOX College Football crew including each picked the winner of Clemson and OSU in the Fiesta Bowl.

We’re now less than a week away from the Fiesta Bowl that’ll showcase No. 2 Ohio State against No. 3 Clemson. And of course, as we get closer, you’re going to run into more and more predictions. We’re not immune to it, and in fact — we’ve already put together ours.

But guess what crew also did? How about the one that’s seen more than half of the Ohio State games this year — the FOX College Football crew. Brady Quinn wasn’t a part of it, but Matt Leinart, Joel Klatt, and of course Urban Meyer gave their thoughts individually on who wins the titanic clash in the desert.

You can probably guess who Meyer went with, but click on the below and see what the three individuals said, and ultimately decided to go with to move on to New Orleans.

Ohio State vs. Clemson 2019 Fiesta Bowl Preview: Get to know the Tigers’ five best players

What players on Clemson could make life difficult on Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl CFP Semifinal? Here are the Tigers’ five best players.

We’re less than two weeks away from the College Football Semifinal matchup in the Fiesta Bowl between Ohio State and Clemson. As a Buckeye fan, we know you’ve been up at night thinking about this matchup and what to be aware of. So, we’ll be bringing you things leading up to the game, and first up is a cliff notes version of the best five players on this Tigers’ squad.

It’s not Clemson is the great unknown opponent. You don’t win a couple of national titles over the last three years and go under the radar, but still, with the schedule and lack of coverage of the ACC Champion’s year, you may not be completely up to speed on who has been the biggest playmakers for Dabo Swinney’s club.

Here’s the Clemson Tigers five best players of 2019 so far, and ones that the Ohio State coaching staff will no doubt have to have an answer for.

Next … No. 5

Here’s everything Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said about Ohio State upon selection to the Fiesta Bowl

Dabo Swinney and Ryan Day held a press-conference upon selection to the Fiesta Bowl. Here’s what the Clemson head man said about Ohio State.

Ohio State and Clemson will be facing off in the Fiesta Bowl as one of the two semifinal matchups of the College Football Playoff. Neither team is a stranger to all the playoff fun that was started just a few years ago. Ohio State won the inaugural event at the end of the 2014 season, and has been selected three out of the six years.

Clemson on the other hand, has won two national championships out of four tries, and is the reigning national champions from the 2018 season.

Needless to say, it’s two of the programs that have been on top of the college football world, and only one of them will be moving on after the titanic struggle in the desert night on December 28.

To whet your appetite, the two head coaches held a joint press conference earlier in the week to provide an initial preview of the event. Both Ohio State head coach Ryan Day and Clemson head man Dabo Swinney had the utmost respect for each program and was very complimentary in their comments toward the other.

In case you missed all that was said, we have the complete transcript for you thanks to what the Fiesta Bowl put together after the press conference was over. The comments appear in their entirety in the following. Click through and enjoy.

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Next … Ryan Day and Dabo Swinney opening remarks

Clemson favored by -2 over Ohio State per BetMGM

In the early odds put out by BetMGM, Clemson is favored by -2 over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.

The titanic matchup is set. Ohio State, the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff is set to face off with No. 3 Clemson out in a place familiar to Buckeye fans, the Fiesta Bowl.

The Tigers are the defending national champions and will no doubt present the biggest challenge to date for a Buckeye team that has won every single game by double digits. It should be a whale of a game, and anyone’s to win really. 

In fact, according to the early line by BetMGM, Clemson is actually favored by -2 points over Ohio State, the first time the Buckeyes will be an underdog if the line holds all the way until kickoff December 28.

*Odds via BetMGM. Access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Tuesday at 10:00 p.m. ET. 

What do you think, can Ohio State take down Clemson?

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Justin Fields says he hopes to be out of knee brace by Fiesta Bowl

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields has been nursing a sprained MCL, but he says he hopes to be out of the knee brace for the Fiesta Bowl.

We all knew Justin Fields was a little banged up coming into the Big Ten Championship Game. He seemed somewhat like superman in Ann Arbor after a lineman rolled up on his knee in the second half only to come back a few plays later and roll out for a 30 yard touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson.

However, Fields didn’t seem all that comfortable Saturday against Wisconsin. Although, he finished the game with 299 yards passing on 19 completions and three touchdowns, the OSU quarterback wasn’t on his game in the first half missing some throws he typically makes. Fields was only 7-14 in the first half with no touchdowns and a costly fumble, but righted the ship in the second half going 12-17 with the three scoring strikes.

I had the chance to ask Justin if the knee was bothering him during the game and if it had an affect on the passing game. Here’s what he said:

“I feel like it did, but I’m not making excuses for the missed throws of course. But I definitely feel like it did, so hopefully next game I won’t have to wear that knee brace.”

Justin Fields

It seems like Fields is pretty confident he’ll be 100 percent going into the Fiesta Bowl against Clemson. Let’s hope he’s right and a few weeks of rest will give the sprained MCL time to heal.

He and the team will need it against the undefeated, and No. 3 seeded defending national champion Clemson Tigers.