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CUTrevor
2019-12-08 12:06:14
As expected, the Tigers will play Ohio State in the desert, just like 2016 when the Tigers beat the Buckeyes 31-0 en route to the national title. Tigers are 3-0 all-time against Ohio State, Dabo 2-0, all in bowls. Dabo and Clemson are 5-0 against LSU, Ohio State and Oklahoma in bowl games since 2012. I'll have our Sunday Fiesta Bowl Teleconference with Dabo and Ryan Day posted this afternoon!  |
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CUTrevor
2019-12-08 12:11:08
CLEMSON, S.C. — The College Football Playoff and the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl announced today that the third-seeded Clemson Tigers will face the second-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 28. The selection marks Clemson’s fifth consecutive College Football Playoff (CFP) appearance. With the selection, Clemson ties Alabama (five) for the most CFP berths in history. Fans should stay tuned to ClemsonTigers.com/Bowl for more information on tickets, merchandise and more. Fans wishing to learn more about official Clemson travel options for the postseason are encouraged to visitClemsonSportsTravel.com or call 877-373-5060. Fans can also visit the Clemson Tigers Store to get official ACC Championship and College Football Playoff merchandise. Clemson will be making a bowl appearance for the 15th consecutive year, adding to its current school record that began in 2005. In total, it will be Clemson’s 45th bowl appearance, with the Tigers entering their upcoming bowl schedule with an existing 24-20 all-time record in bowl play. The game will be a rematch of Clemson’s only prior Fiesta Bowl appearance in school history. On Dec. 31, 2016, the second-seeded Tigers shut out the third-ranked Buckeyes in a 31-0 victory that sent Clemson to its second straight College Football Playoff National Championship Game. The 31-point victory was the worst margin of defeat in a bowl game in Ohio State history and marked the first time an Urban Meyer-coached team had been shut out in 194 games as well as the first time Ohio State had been shut out since 1993. Though Ohio State enters the bowl season with the second-most all-time wins in FBS history, Clemson holds a 3-0 all-time record against the Buckeyes. The two programs first met in the 1978 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla., a 17-15 Clemson victory that represented Danny Ford’s first game as Clemson head coach and Woody Hayes’ final game as Ohio State head coach. The game is perhaps most notorious for an interception by Clemson’s Charlie Bauman with two minutes left, in which Bauman picked off an Art Schlichter pass and was punched by Hayes upon running out of bounds on the Ohio State sideline. Prior to their most recent meeting in 2016, the teams also met in the 2014 Orange Bowl as Clemson concluded the 2013 season with its first BCS bowl victory. Clemson earned a 40-35 victory, as the Tigers forced four second-half turnovers, including a fumble and interception on the Buckeyes’ last two possessions, to rally from a halftime deficit for the win. Wide receiver Sammy Watkins set Tiger and Orange Bowl records with 16 receptions and 227 receiving yards to garner MVP honors, while quarterback Tajh Boyd accounted for 505 yards of total offense and six touchdowns. |
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CUTrevor
2019-12-08 15:34:34
I just got off the phone with Dabo and Ryan Day. I'll have the audio and transcript for you in a bit! |
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CUTrevor
2019-12-08 20:43:07
Dabo had a lousy connection and kept cutting out when he was answering questions, so a lot of his responses are omitted from the transcript, but it's below. I asked him about Simmons winning the Butkus Award because I asked him a couple weeks ago about Higgins and Etienne being snubbed by the Biletnikoff and Doak Walker Awards, and he was clearly upset by it. Again, his response was in and out, but he sounded very happy about it and said that Isaiah's parents were able to be there for the presentation today from Dick Butkus's son. COACH DAY: Thank you very much. And first off, I just want to say what an honor it is for us to be
going to the Fiesta Bowl, one of the most prestigious bowls in the entire country, and its reputation
precedes itself. And we are really excited about getting to Arizona.
I just want to say congratulations to Coach Swinney and Clemson for an unbelievable season. And I
have the utmost -- and we have the utmost respect for what they've done, not only winning national
championships, but then continuing that excellence. It's very hard when you are the top dog, and
everyone is giving you the best shot to continue to do what they've done. So nothing but, again,
utmost respect for those guys and looking forward to a big challenge. Not only are they talented, but
they're very well-coached.
Our team is excited about this challenge. We are excited to have an opportunity to play in the
playoffs, and been working hard towards this goal. I thought we finished the season strong,
especially the last three games. And we are looking forward to preparing for this game, getting out to
Arizona. COACH SWINNEY: I would say a lot of the same. Just super excited to come back out to Arizona.
It's a wonderful experience out there at the Fiesta Bowl. They just do a great job. And obviously it's a
huge game for both teams, but it's still been a great bowl-type experience out there in Arizona. And
again, looking forward to coming out.
And congratulations to Coach Day and the Buckeyes. They've been unbelievable. Just one of the
most dominant teams every week all year long. And that's an unbelievable accomplishment. Talented
on both sides of the ball. Just two great programs that I know that will have great will to win, and it's going to be an awesome environment and a great game. No doubt about it. It's a blessing to be a
part of it. We're thankful. And just really looking forward to the whole experience out there. So
appreciate everyone being on today. With that, we'll take whatever questions you have. SCOTT LEIGHTMAN: Thank you, Coaches. Just a couple of quick notes here. Clemson has a
28-game winning streak, which is the longest winning active streak in FBS; followed by Ohio State,
who has won 19 in a row dating back to last year. So the top two winning streaks will go head to
head here. This is only the second game of the 2019 season that will feature two of the top three
ranked teams facing each other. The other one was LSU and Alabama on November 9th. Q. Coach Swinney, you've been so dominant in the ACC this year. This question is about what
Ohio State had to face, what happens when you're in a close game? What would you say
about that? And people have criticized the ACC this year. What would you say about that?
How strong is the league? COACH SWINNEY: Well, we did have one close game against North Carolina and had to battle
ourselves off to find a way to win. So we have had one close game. But at the end of the day, this is
a new season. And both teams have earned their way here. It's not easy to win. There's only three
undefeated teams out there. There's a lot of leagues. There's no undefeated MAC or Sun Belt or
Conference USA or any other league. I don't care what league you're in, it's incredibly difficult to win,
to win them all.
And our league has got 10 bowl teams, has been very competitive. We've got a track record over the
last nine years that kind of speaks for itself. And I think our team, in particular, has shown up with
great focus and preparation each week with great respect for every opponent and have found a way
to win. So you can only play the schedule that you got, and that's what we've done. And we've
earned the right to get into postseason. And we know at this point, you're playing the best of the best.
It doesn't really matter if you are ranked first, second, third, or fourth. This is the four best teams that
has played throughout the season.
And these games are usually just a few plays. We know that the margin for error is very small and it's
going to take 60 minutes of great football to have a chance. Q. How much have you seen Ohio State this year? COACH SWINNEY: I have seen them several times, actually. I think they played a lot of noon games
this year. I have had a chance to see them several times with the way our schedule has been. And
it's just impressive. I mean, impressive. Just built in the trenches. They're good up front on both
sides. They've got as good a players there is in college football coming off the edge. Their
quarterback has been amazing. They've got great skill outside and great backs that can run the ball.
So this is a very complete team, very well-coached. And it's going to be a challenge. Q. Dabo, maybe just a formality, I wanted to confirm is Braden Galloway available for the postseason and will you plan to use him, if so? COACH SWINNEY: Yeah, still waiting on just confirmation of his clearance. So hopefully we'll get
that and if he's available, we'll use him. Q. Dabo, wanted to ask you, you mentioned the game against North Carolina. What do you
think it is that your team learned in that game, and in the first month of the season in general,
that has allowed you guys to be as dominant as you were for the last two months? COACH SWINNEY: Well, we were dominant those first four games, too -- every game by a big
margin. And then we had the one close game at North Carolina. We know the things that we
affirmed, that is if you lose the turnover margin, and you don't make the plays that are there, and the
other team is playing at a high level, you know you're going to get everybody's best. You give up a
couple of big plays. You don't do the little things right, hit your gas, tackle, anybody can beat you.
And for us, we were having too many turnovers, that's the one thing, the first five games of the
season. But really the first four, we really played extremely well -- very, very well. And then the North
Carolina game, we had a rough day. But we overcame and it was actually encouraging to see our
guys respond. Q. With what your program has done, Coach Swinney, obviously the wins you guys have had
in recent years, when you think about that 2016 Semifinal against Ohio State, winning that
game didn't win you a national title. But how would you fit that 31-0 win into this era of
Clemson football and maybe did it play any kind of important role in you guys proving to
yourselves what kind of program Clemson could be? COACH SWINNEY: I think we already knew who we were. We had a lot of success prior to
2015 -- or 2016. Obviously in 2016 played for the national championship out there in Arizona. We
were able to take the next step in the playoff and get back to the national championship game to
have a chance to beat Alabama.
But we made big plays. We were able to capitalize with a few big plays. That game just got us back
to the national championship for back-to-back years. Q. There's always a lot of talk this time of year of this playoff possibly one day getting bigger.
I'm wondering what you think of the idea, if you were in a position now where you might have
to play three more games, how do you think -- including one two weeks from now, how do you
think your team would be able to handle that? COACH DAY: I think it's definitely something we should consider, not that it would be easy to play
three more games. But I definitely think that we should consider taking the conference champs in the
Power 5 programs. I just think that's a cleaner way to do it. I know there's certain issues we would
have to work through, not that now is the time to focus on those type of questions and thoughts. It's now time to just get ready for the game.
In the off-season, I think it's definitely something we should continue to talk about. Q. This question is for Coach Day. I'm curious, Coach Swinney gave us a pretty good
scouting report of your squad. I'm curious what you've seen when you watch Clemson. COACH DAY: Well, first off, you see a tremendous amount of talent. On the offensive side, Trevor
Lawrence is as good a quarterback as there is in the country, and he's been on the biggest stages
and obviously one of the winningest quarterbacks that will go down in the history of college football
when it's all said and done. Etienne is as good a running back as there is in the country. And then
those receivers, Higgins and Ross and those guys are just dynamic on the perimeter. And they
stretch you out a lot of different ways on offense, and they do a great job of it. They're sound, but
they also stretch you out by making you defend the entire field.
And then on defense, very, very difficult to prepare for multiple fronts, multiple blitzes. I think Brent
Venables does as good as anybody in the country. Again, very talented, but he's schematically very
sound and they get those guys to play really, really hard. Q. Coach, of the two squads, you guys have had the more difficult schedule. How does
big-game experience factor in? How do you imagine that will help you going forward? COACH DAY: Well, I think both teams played in big games. You don't go to Ohio State or Clemson
without playing in big games. That's just kind of how it goes. So I don't think the stage will be too big
for either side. And our guys and certainly Clemson's guys have played in this arena before. So I
don't think that will factor in. Q. For Dabo, have you seen emphasis in the past where experience in the postseason has
been a benefit for either individual players or, I guess, for the program as a whole when you
go into the next year's postseason? COACH SWINNEY: It worked out pretty good for us. I think it just comes down to who plays the best. Q. This message is for Coach Swinney. I noticed last night Amari [Rodgers] didn't play just as
much as we are used to seeing him and Justyn [Ross] after maybe the first half had a big cut
on the sideline. I'm assuming it was precautionary for both players and they will be fine going
forward, but just wanted to check with you. COACH SWINNEY: Those guys are (indiscernible). Q. Coach Day, for you, what areas of growth did you see in your team over this three-game
stretch where you were playing top 15 opponents week in and week out? COACH DAY: I think the way that the season played out early in the season, our guys really -- we
found ourselves in lopsided games where they didn't really play much in the second half other than
the Wisconsin game. And even then, we had our 2s in there the last couple drives. So as we got into
those three games at the end of the season, we found out what our team was made of. And we had
to change the momentum swing in that Penn State game. I thought we handled the environment
great up north. It obviously went down in this game last night and then had to rally. And we
responded in a big way in that third quarter.
So you want to know how your team handles adversity when things don't go well, it's easy when
things are going good and guys can get out in front of things. But when things don't go well, how do
you respond? I think that shows your character, and I think that was on display last night. Q. You used the phrase. If you had to put it into words, what is your team made of? COACH DAY: Well, I think you're talking about a team who has a lot of love for each other, a lot of
great leadership, a lot of maturity, discipline. And it goes back to toughness and love. And those are
the two things that we hang our hat on. And I think the chemistry and these guys pulling for each
other in the end makes a difference, it makes us each special. Q. A couple of weeks ago, I asked you about Tee Higgins and Travis Etienne being snubbed by the
national award list, how good was it to see Simmons get the recognition he deserves today
winning the Butkus Award? COACH SWINNEY: First time we have had a Butkus winner here. He's certainly very deserving. And
it was pretty cool to be able to announce it today and have Dick Butkus' son there to present it, and
for his family to come down from Charlotte and be there as well. Really great moment and just made
the day even more special. Q. Ryan, you mentioned today Brendon White missed the game yesterday for personal
reasons. What are his chances of coming back for the playoff game? COACH DAY: I don't know. We'll kind of get that figured out this week. We'll sit down, have a
conversation, kind of go from there. But I don't really have an update right now. Q. Dabo, just going back a week to your win over South Carolina, you seem to take aim at the
current system a little bit or maybe the rankings, I don't know which. You're 13-0 again.
28-game winning streak, defending national champs. Yet you're seeded No. 3. Have you
considered just as recently as six years ago the previous system that matched two teams,
that you might be left out of the whole deal? COACH SWINNEY: I don't sit here and think about it. Yeah -- (audio difficulty).
You don't control it now and you didn't control it then. We have the opportunity, I think. We have been in a playoff game every week for 13 weeks at Clemson. So it's been great. Q. This is the first time it's happened, but how strange is it to be in this playoff and your alma
mater's not in it? COACH SWINNEY: Don't feel bad. They will be back real soon. They will be fine. They are an
unbelievable team. Coach [Nick] Saban's track record speaks for itself. It didn't work out for them this
year. But I'll guarantee you, they'll be back. No doubt. |
