Fiesta Bowl Fiasco

      

        

A young, overachieving Buckeye squad proved no match for a tough, experienced Clemson team in the Fiesta Bowl.  It was the first time Ohio State has been shut out in 305 games, dating back to a 28-0 loss to Michigan on November 19, 1993.  It is also the worst margin of defeat since a 35-3 shellacking at the hands of USC on September 17, 2008.

Clemson keyed on hybrid Curtis Samuel and held him in check until he broke a 64-yard run when the game was out of reach. Mike Weber didn’t get a carry until midway through the second quarter and fumbled on his first carry of the second half.
Barrett didn’t complete a pass longer than 21 yards and finished 19 of 33 for 127 yards and two interceptions. Ohio State had only nine first downs.
It didn’t help that freshman left guard Michael Jordan injured his right ankle early and was in and out after that, with Demitrius Knox filling in. The offensive line was overmatched all night and everybody on the offensive side of the ball seemed a step too slow all game long.  The offense managed only 48 total yards in the first quarter, followed by only 40 yards in the second.  All of this despite decent field position thanks once again to the right leg of punter Cameron Johnston, who averaged 50 yards per punt.

The defense did its best to keep the Buckeyes in the game. Safety Malik Hooker ranged far for an interception in the end zone for Ohio State’s second interception, and the Buckeyes were solid early against the run.  But in the second half, a fumble by Weber and a pick thrown by Barrett squandered scoring opportunities and gave big-play guys like Deshaun Watson and Wayne Gallman more chances.  Watson and Gallman took advantage of those chances with Watson scoring twice on the ground, throwing a TD pass, and Gallman getting into the end zone in the fourth quarter for the capper.

A Clemson defense that entered the Fiesta Bowl tied for third in the FBS with 8.6 tackles for loss per game stuffed, stopped and hurried Ohio State’s offense with 11 tackles for loss and while Watson wasn’t mistake-free, he completed 23 of 36 passes for 259 yards and accounted for 57 rushing yards and two touchdowns, the second of which gave Clemson a 24-0 lead late in the third quarter.

For the Buckeyes, there wasn’t much that went right, outside of the picks by Gareon Conley and Malik Hooker and the solid punting by Cameron Johnston.