Sunday Look Ahead: Ohio State vs. Clemson
12/22/2019 3:07:04 PM | Football
THE BASICS
No. 2 Ohio State vs. No. 3 Clemson • Saturday, Dec. 28 • 8 p.m. • State Farm Stadium; Glendale, AZ
TV: ESPN • Play-by-Play: Chris Fowler • Analyst: Kirk Herbstreit • Sidelines: Tom Rinaldi and Maria Taylor
OHIO STATE AND CLEMSON MEET IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SEMIFINAL
The programs with the nation’s two longest winning streaks meet with a berth in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on the line as Ohio State and Clemson do battle in this year’s PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.
Ohio State, Big Ten champions for the third straight year, bring in a 19-game winning streak while defending national champion Clemson has won 28 straight. Both teams have been impressive on both sides of the ball this year: the Buckeyes and Tigers are the only two teams that rank in the top 10 nationally in scoring offense, scoring defense, total offense and total defense.
The Buckeyes are in the College Football Playoff for the third time in the last six years while Clemson is making its fifth consecutive appearance.
KNOW THY OPPONENT
• Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2017 semester, the university enrolled a total of 19,402 undergraduate students and 4,985 graduate students.
• Thomas Green Clemson, the university’s founder, came to the foothills of South Carolina in 1838, when he married Anna Maria Calhoun, daughter of John C. Calhoun, a South Carolina statesman and seventh U.S. Vice President. Clemson died in 1888 and left most of his estate to establish what is now Clemson University.
• The Tiger paw became the official logo for Clemson University in 1970, in place of the previous tiger logo.
• In 1963, Clemson admitted its first African-American student, Harvey Gantt, who later was elected as mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina.
• The Clemson Experimental Forest covers 17,500 acres and has nearly 50 miles of maintained roads and more than 100 miles of multi-use recreational trails.
• The Ohio State and Clemson programs have combined to rank among the Top 5 nationally in 21 major NCAA statistical rankings.
• Ohio State has allowed just seven passing touchdowns this season, which is tied with Kentucky for the fewest in the country. No team has thrown more than one touchdown pass in any single game this season.
• The Buckeyes’ Fiesta Bowl roster will include 23 student-athletes who have earned their undergraduate
degrees. Thirteen of them graduated at Ohio State’s autumn commencement.
• J.K. Dobbins needs 99 yards to set Ohio State’s single-season rushing record. The mark is currently held
by Heisman Trophy winner Eddie George, who had 1,927 yards in the 1995 season.
• The 633 points scored this year by Ohio State is the third most in program history and 39 behind the 2014 team’s single-season record.
