College Football Playoff Semifinal at the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl – #2 Ohio State vs. #3 Clemson

Our 2019 Ohio State vs Clemson pick offers two huge offenses and two massively tight defenses. This Ohio State vs Clemson pick has the Tigers at -2.0 and the over/under 62.0. This is the second of two College Football Playoff Semifinal games being played on Saturday, December 28. The first game, featuring #1 LSU and #4 Oklahoma, starts at 4 pm ET. Played under the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, the game will be held at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia. This College Football Playoff Semifinal at the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl will be played at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona at 8 pm ET.

The #2 Ohio State Buckeyes (13-0) finished first in the Big 10 with a 9-0 conference mark. The Buckeyes won the Big Ten East finishing two games ahead of the second-place Penn State Nittany Lions. OSU beat #8 Wisconsin, who came in first in the West, 34-21 to win the Big Ten Championship. The #3 Clemson Tigers (13-0) recorded an 8-0 ACC record. The Tigers won the Atlantic Division by three games over the Louisville Cardinals. Then They met the Virginia Cavaliers, the winners of the Coastal Division with a 6-2 mark, for the ACC title. Clemson annihilated the Cavaliers 62-17 to take the championship.

2019 Ohio State vs Clemson Pick – Regular Season

During the regular season, Clemson played one top 25 team, the #12 Texas A&M Aggies. That game was on September 7 when the Tigers beat the Aggies 24-10. Big wins against Atlantic Division teams included Florida State 45-14, Louisville 45-10, and Wake Forest 52-3. This season, Ohio State played and beat five top-25 teams. Our 2019 Ohio State vs Clemson pick notes that the Buckeyes has a more rigorous schedule than Clemson. On October 5, OSU beat #25 Michigan State 34-10 and two weeks later, they took down #13 Wisconsin 38-7. Three weeks later, they finished their regular season and took the conference crown with three wins against top 25 clubs, #8 Penn State, #13 Michigan, and #8 Wisconsin.

Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Clemson Tigers – Stats

The Buckeyes are averaging 48.7 PPG. The Tigers are putting 46.5 PPG on the scoreboard. Ohio State is averaging 531.0 offensive yards per game with 272.2 YPG in rushing. OSU is averaging  258.8 passing YPG. Clemson is averaging 547.7 offensive YPG in total. Those yards include 294.8 YPG in the air and 252.9 YPG on the ground.

On defense, both teams are stalwart. OSU is allowing opponents 12.5 PPG. Clemson is giving up just 10.6 PPG. Ohio State is holding opponents to 247.6 total YPG. That total includes 99.5 ground yards and 148.1 air yards. Clemson is giving up 244.7 YPG, which includes 138.5 passing YPG and 106.2 rushing YPG.

Ohio State at Clemson – Players

OSU is exceptionally solid on both sides of the ball. At the same time, the Tigers are a very fine team. We find that the Buckeyes are deeper and a bit better than Clemson. Also, this season, Ohio State seems to be able to meet any challenge.

Ohio State Buckeyes

Sophomore QB Justin Fields is amazingly accurate. He’s thrown 40 TD passes and one INT. Fields is connecting on 67.5% of his passes. He’s thrown for 2,953. Fields has rushed for 471 yards and 10 scores. WRs Chris Olave and K.J Hill have 11 and 10 TD catches respectively. Junior J.K. Dobbins heads the rushing game. Dobbins have 286 carries, 1,829 yards, and 20 touchdowns.

Our 2019 Ohio State vs Clemson pick notes that OSU’s has impressive defensive stats. They come to this semifinal game with 51 sacks, 15 picks, 54 PD, and 13 FF. The D has recovered 10 fumbles. They’ve scored one TD. DE Chase Young is a top player with 16.5 sacks and three PD. Also, corner Jeff Okuhda has accumulated three INTs, seven PD, and two FF, while LB Malik Harrison comes to this game with 69 total tackles and 4.5 sacks.

Clemson Tigers

QB Trevor Lawrence has tossed 34 TD passes and eight INTs. Lawrence has tossed for 3,172 yards and is completing 68.8% of his passes. He’s been sacked a dozen times. Lawrence also has 407 rushing touchdowns, and he’s crossed the goal line seven times. RB Travis Etienne has rushed for 1,500 yards and 17 TDs on 182 carries. He’s averaging 8.2 YPA. Also, RB LYN-J Dixon has rushed for 619 yards on 102 carries while averaging 6.1 YPA. He’s posted six scores. Lawrence has two primary pass catchers. WR Tee Higgins has 1,082 receiving yards 13 TDs on 52 receptions. Justyn Ross top the team with 55 catches. He’s accumulated 742 yards and eight TDs.

Clemson’s defensive numbers are solid, but not as impressive as OSU’s. The Tigers have 37 sacks, 17 INTs, and 45 PD. They also have eight forced and recovered fumbles. The defense has scored three times. LB Isaiah Simmons leads the team with 58 solo tackles and 93 total bring downs. He’s also defended six passes and grabbed two picks. Safety Tanner Muse has four picks and three PD.

Five Keys to the Game

In creating our 2019 Ohio State vs Clemson pick, we find the following are keys to this contest:

1. Will defenses hold up?
2. Both offenses are dynamic
3. OSU QB Fields can overwhelm defenses
4. Tigers’ deep rushing unit can eat up yards and defenses
5. Ohio State’s pass rush and secondary are impressive

Our 2019 Ohio State vs Clemson Pick

Our 2019 Ohio State vs Clemson pick sees that this contest can go one of two ways. As a note, both defenses perform at a high level and keep the offenses in check or the offenses overwhelm the defenses. We think that the latter will happen. As a result, that means we’re taking the over at 62.0. Also, we think that OSU comes to this game with a better offense and defense than Clemson. Thus, we’re going with Ohio State at +2.0. Both teams are undefeated going into this game. At the end of the game, only one club will still have a perfect record.

PlayStation Fiesta Bowl – Ohio State vs Clemson Pick: Summary

Ohio State Buckeyes at +2.0 and over 62.0