Fiesta Bowl Preview

Clemson- Josh Engler

Ohio State- Mike Hrynyshyn

The second of two matchups for the College Football Playoffs is between the #3 Clemson Tigers and #2 Ohio State Buckeyes. The winner of the Fiesta Bowl get to take on the winner of the Oklahoma/LSU game in the National Championship game on January 13th.

Clemson Offense

If you want to talk about the Clemson offense, there’s one name that you have to start with, and its Trevor Lawrence. The praised prophet with the golden locks. When you have a quarterback this talent, every defense needs to adjust, and after a rough start to the season, he has turned on the jets and shown out over the back end. He hasn’t thrown an interception since Week 7 again Louisville and has thrown 20 touchdowns in that time. But the reason for his success isn’t solely of his own doing. The offensive line in front of him has done a fantastic job this season of battling in the trenches and protecting the pocket. With four seniors with an insane amount of experience, including Senior Bowl invitees John Simpson and Tremayne Anchrum, as well as Jackson Carman, a former 5* Recruit who passed on Ohio State for Clemson, who has started at Left Tackle this year and is poised to face to Chase Young this Saturday. Together, this OL and Lawrence are going to give the Ohio State defense fits.

But of course, stopping at offensive line and quarterback doesn’t cover arguably the most exciting parts of Clemson’s offense – the skill players. Travis Etienne is one of the fastest players in all of college football, and is the reason why teams need to think twice before leaving the box open. With the offensive line creating holes for him, he can burst through and turn two and three yard gains into 1st downs. Then you look at the wide receivers, and you have another round of pick your poison to keep Ohio State’s defense on lockdown. Tee Higgins, one of the best possession receivers at 6’4”, is over 1000 yards this year and has brought in 13 scores. You also haveJustyn Ross, who is maturing and improving his finesse in his True Sophomore season as well. You add Amari Rodgers and Joseph Ngata, and they have a strong cadre of receivers. Suffice it to say, there is no one way they will beat you – they can slice your defense up in a variety of ways.

Ohio State Offense

The Buckeyes Offense was a freight train this year that was almost impossible to stop. Sophomore phenom Justin Fields brings even more to the table than Dwayne Haskins did last year, as he is always a threat to escape and run, while still possessing the same arm strength. Fields finished the season with an absurd 40:1 touchdown-to-interception ratio and was a Heisman finalist. When Fields isn’t demoralizing your favorite team’s defense, that responsibility falls on junior RB JK Dobbins who had his best season to date, blowing expectations out of the water while also becoming prominent in the team’s passing offense. No single OSU stood out and had a game breaking season, but Fields got them the ball evenly. The offensive line for the Buckeyes is perhaps the lone weak spot on this side of the ball having given up 31 sacks on the season. They don’t have much in terms of draft eligible players, and those that are have been largely underwhelming.

In terms of play style, this is still largely the same scheme that was run under Urban Meyer, as Ryan Day has stuck with the formula that worked from the previous regime, and it paid off as Ohio State averaged 48.7 points per game and in several games this year, the starters were finished by the third quarter.

Clemson Defense

If we started with TLaw on offense, we need to start with Isaiah Simmons on defense. This linebacker – if you want to call him that – plays almost everywhere on the field. His speed, size, and strength are extremely dangerous – and his coverage abilities make him that much more deadly. When you face a defense, you have to prepare for Lines, Linebackers, and Secondary – but with Simmons on the field, you have a real chess piece to contend with. But beyond the players, Brent Venabels is one of – if not the – most brilliant defensive coordinators in college football. From rebuilding his defensive line which had to be entirely replaced from a season again (including three First Rounders), having a Freshman Wide Receiver turn into a Starting, 2nd Team All-ACC Corner, and having both Safeties – Tanner Muse and K’Von Wallace, be serious NFL Prospects. No matter which way you attack this unit, they will find a way to learn, adjust, and ruin your plans. As long as you are facing Clemson, you can’t stick with a static offensive plan – but Ryan Day wouldn’t dare let that happen. This is going to be an exciting battle to watch.

Ohio State Defense

I could just put Chase Young’s name here and move on as he is by far the best player in the game but the defense for Ohio State is much more than a one man show. Let’s start with Young however, the junior Edge Rusher leads the Ohio State pass rush that will be needed for Ohio State on Saturday. Young led the nation in sacks with 16.5, while missing two games due to suspension. The interior of the defensive line is a three-man rotation of Robert Landers, Jashon Cornell, Davon Hamilton, none of them stand out as stars, but they all fill their role within the team perfectly. The same can be said about the OSU linebackers, the 4-man rotation of Tuf Borland, Pete Werner, Baron Browning and Malik Harrison are all traditional linebackers. None of them are freakish athletes however they all have the ability to cover their area of the field and lay out the the opposition. The best unit for this defense is the secondary. The Buckeyes have 4 draftable players and are led by shutdown corners Jeff Okudah and Shaun Wade. Nickel corner Damon Arnette and Jordan Fuller are also nfl caliber players. This unit dominated Big Ten passing attacks the whole season and are crucial to Ohio State’s success on Saturday night.

Clemson 2020 Prospects to Watch

Tee Higgins, WR

You want to talk about a forgotten receiver in this class, Higgins lives in the world behind the Alabama Trio, Ceedee Lamb, and others who work their way into the conversation in front of him. In Higgins, you find the type of receiver who can anchor your teams receiving corps for years and years to come. He may not be the exciting WR1 potential as Jeudy or Lamb, but he is going to be an incredible asset to any team who snatches hm up.

Travis Etienne, RB

Speed kills in the NFL, and Etienne has it in spades. While some are concerned about his vision, the way I would bet that NFL teams view him as a prospect is an upgraded version of Miles Sanders, where his athleticism will overcome any flaws he has. If he declares, I’d expect him to land in the Top 50 picks of the draft, regardless of those who go around him or before him.

John Simpson, OG

In a class which is full of many talented position groups, iOL is one which is severely lacking – and John Simpson is one of the few who stand out as a top heavy member of the 2020 class. His experience, strength, and power are nearly unmatched in this class, and I’d expect his name to be called before Day 2 is over. Teams looking for an instant starter may look higher for this talent, who will also be looking to boost his stock at the Senior Bowl.

Isaiah Simmons, LB

While I’ve said a lot about him already above, it’s just hard to describe how much of a swiss army knife Simmons is. He’s played Single High. He can blitz effectively. His speed allows him to snuff out outside runs from Mike. His combine will blow the rails off of any competition. He’s going to be drafted top half of Round 1, and that’s something I feel very confident about.

K’Von Wallace, S

An overlooked, extremely talented safety. His speed and willingness to tackle and traits you love to see at the position, and his coverage skills are without a question the icing on the cake for his player profile. My prediction is that he has a performance that cement him as a top prospect in this coming draft.

Ohio State Prospects to Watch

I honestly could go on about each individual prospect for Ohio State but that would take too long, instead I’m just going to write about the top 5.

Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

Chase Young, EDGE

The best EDGE rusher we’ve seen since Myles Garrett (and potentially better than Garrett), Young has been a terror for th4e Buckeyes ever since stepping foot on campus. Almost the perfect prospect, there aren’t many visible flaws to his game as at 6’5 and nearly 270 pounds he’s a freak athlete, who is not only blazing fast but can also send your offensive linemen flying. He’s in all likelihood going in the top 2 selections come April.

(AP Photo/Jay LaPrete)

Jeffrey Okudah, CB

Okudah, much like Young, is the best player we’ve seen at their position in a couple of years. I’ve compared him to a combination of Jalen Ramsey and Marshon Lattimore with how effortless it is for him to lock down the opposing teams best receiving threat. Coming into the season, there were questions about his hands as he had 0 career interceptions, however he answered those questions by nabbing three picks. Come April, I don’t see Okudah being picked much later than the top 5 and will almost assuredly be off the board in the top 8 picks.

Shaun Wade, CB

Shaun Wade is the chess piece in the Ohio State defense. The travelling corner who can be used out wide, in the slot or even at safety, Wade is easily the most versatile defensive back on roster, and NFL teams are going to love him. Only a redshirt sophomore, Wade is clearly on the radar of NFL teams and is very likely to declare at season’s end. I’ve compared him to a poor man’s Chris Harris Jr, which is no slight at his game, and I feel like Wade, should he decide to declare for the draft, will be a first-round pick.

JK Dobbins, RB

I wasn’t a fan of JK Dobbins heading into the season, and the staff here at WNS has let me know about it on a persistent basis. Dobbins has bounced back from a very disappointing sophomore season and in 2019 has inserted himself in the conversation for RB1 in the 2020 draft alongside Jonathan Taylor and D’Andre Swift. Dobbins has regained his burst from his freshman season, kept the bulldozing run style from his sophomore season and become a threat in the receiving game. Dobbins likely won’t go round 1 purely based off positional value, but he will likely be off the board in the top 50.

Malik Harrison, LB

Malik Harrison is more a of a throwback linebacker rather than the hybrid athletic freakshows we’ve seen go early in past years. At 6’3 and 245 pounds, Harrison doesn’t have amazing speed or otherworldly agility, but what he does have is upper level football IQ and first-class technique that he uses to always be a force in stopping the run. I don’t know where the NFL will view him, but given the fact he’s a Senior Bowl invite, that should mean the NFL has their eyes on him and it would not surprise me to see him go on Day 2 of the NFL draft.

Keys to Victory for Clemson

1. Contain Chase Young

The best defensive player in the country is guaranteed to find way into the backfield one way or another during the game, but how often he does is up the offensive line, and likely tight end use. Can they stop him without letting other OSU defensive lineman penetrate the backfield? This is the biggest challenge going into the match up.

2. Get Pressure on Justin Fields

We know he’s not 100%, he said so himself, and I know Venables was listening too. Knowing that he has limited mobility should mean that we see the pressure cranked up on him. If he can’t escape the pocket like usual, then Clemson can force the offense off schedule – and they win.

3. Establish the Run

We know Trevor Lawrence is insanely talented. But what I want to see Clemson do is go all in on the run, and get it going efficiently. We touched on Etienne earlier, but Lyn-J Dixon is a near equally-talented back who is averaging over 6 ypc on the ground and close to 10 yards per catch. If they can get both of them rolling, Ohio State will be forced to adjust, and that will make Lawrence’s surgical work even easier.

Ohio State Keys to Victory

1. Slow the Clemson Running Game

Clemson’s offense at its core is predicated on the success of the run game. Travis Etienne as mentioned above is a game breaking running back and Trevor Lawrence can always be a threat in the running game either on scrambles or on designed QB runs. As I mentioned on the B1G Shots Podcast this week, the Ohio State linebackers lack the desired speed in order to shut down the attack purely with athleticism, so the defensive coaching staff will have to scheme ways for them to work against the Clemson offensive gameplan.

2. Do Your Thing on Offense

Ryan Day is not going to be scared of the Clemson defense. As well as the Clemson defense has played this season, they won’t strike fear in the Ohio State playmakers on offense or Ryan Day when devising the scheme. The Buckeyes know that teams know their week to week gameplan, they dare the opposition to stop them, no one has. This game should be no different as Ryan Day will be daring Clemson DC Brent Venables to stop him. If Clemson can’t, expect points in bunches from the Buckeyes.

3. Pressure the Golden Boy

As mentioned earlier, Trevor Lawrence has been a phenom for Clemson the last year and a half. He’s never lost a game and when facing stiff competition, he’s rose to the occasion. He’s never seen Chase Young, however. Young, when the games meant the most played his best, racking up 4 sacks a piece in the games against Wisconsin and Penn State during the regular season and drawing triple teams in the conference championship. If Young gets going early, Trevor Lawrence is going to be in for a long, long day.