Hoping to end their respective seasons in strong fashion, No. 7 Ohio State and No. 12 Clemson are set to meet in the 80th annual Discover Orange Bowl. The OSU Buckeyes were in National Championship contention right from the start of the season but after falling to eventual Rose Bowl Game champion Michigan State in the Big 10 title game, OSU's 24-game win streak that dated back to last season ended along with any hopes of raising the final BCS Championship trophy.
Now set to take on an extremely talented Clemson Tigers squad led by the offensive duo of quarterback Tahj Boyd and wide receiver Sammy Watkins, Ohio State and head coach Urban Meyer hope to get back to winning ways heading into the 2014-2015 season. The 80th Orange Bowl will be the fifth BCS game Meyer appears in as a head coach. With a perfect 4-0 record in the previous contests – including the 2006 and 2008 BCS National Championships as head coach of the Florida Gators – Meyer understands that this opportunity against a very good Clemson team serves as a chance for his Buckeyes to earn another win and compete at the highest of levels heading into next season.
“It’s a chance to go compete,” Meyer said recently. “Whether it’s checkers or ping pong, we’re going to try to win the game. Our job every time we keep score is to win. It’s the mentality we try to create within our program. Whether it’s the Orange Bowl, whether it’s the eighth game of the season, we’re trying to win the game.” While Urban Meyer looks to continue his BCS success, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney hopes to rebound from an embarrassing Orange Bowl loss to West Virginia in 2012.
Posting a 21-4 record in the two seasons since the 70-33 drubbing, Swinney is just happy to be back in one of the sports biggest contests and looks forward to a different outcome.
“It was obviously a very disappointed locker room, disappointed coaching staff,” Swinney said. “We were excited to be here, we worked hard, and it just got away. It really got away in about three minutes, just bam, bam, bam. The message in the locker room after the game was that 'It has been 30 years since we have been here, but it is not going to be 30 years until we get back. We will have an opportunity to get back here and play better. That is certainly what we want to do on Friday night.”
Ohio State vs. Clemson: DATE, TIME & VIEWING INFO
DATE: Friday, January 3
TIME: 8:30pm, ET
TV COVERAGE: ESPN
LIVE STREAM: CLICK HERE
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