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Urban Meyer and No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes can't lose to Dabo Swinney and Clemson twice in three years, can they? With a loaded collection of blue chip (four and five-star) recruits on each side of the ball for both teams, the Buckeyes and Tigers look to stage what has all the makings of an instant classic.
Ohio State QB J.T. Barrett's struggles and inconsistency throwing the ball aren't exactly news to Buckeye faithful, but he'll have to be at this best passing the ball to counter one time OSU recruiting target Deshaun Watson. A two-time Heisman Trophy runner up, Watson is one of the few quarterbacks in the country game to match Barrett's productivity on the ground and is even more polished than his counterpart throwing the ball.
With a steady dose of Mike Weber and a game Ohio State defense on the opposing side of the ball led by Raekwon McMillan, if OSU can figure out how to slow down Watson, Wayne Gallman, and company, they could be set to make good on all the advanced statistics projections which peg them as four-point favorites over the Tigers.
How to watch, stream, and listen
TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN. The announces are Chris Fowler, former Ohio State quarterback Kirk Herbstreit, and Samantha Ponder.
Radio: 97.1 The Fan or The Ohio State IMG Radio Network. Also available on ESPN3.
Online streaming: WatchESPN
Spread: Ohio State opened as a 3-point favorite. The line’s stayed pretty static with OSU as much as a 3.5-point favorite at a few books.
Know your enemy: SB Nation’s Shakin’ The Southland covers the Tigers.
Pregame Reading:
1. Preview: No. 3 Ohio State vs. No. 2 Clemson A trip to the College Football Playoff Championship Game is on the line.
2. How Ohio State can beat Clemson Let’s take a closer look at the math.
3. Here’s why Clemson’s Deshaun Watson is so dangerous for Ohio State The Clemson quarterback is good. Really good. And when he’s on, he’s unstoppable.
4. What the Ohio State offense can learn from the Louisville- Clemson game Louisville was able to carve up the Tigers on the ground.