College Football Playoff Semifinal Orange Bowl No 1 Clemson Tigers vs No 4 Oklahoma Sooners

Written by Charlie Beuttel

Twitter: @charlie_cds3

It’s been a wild season in college football as teams from all conferences have battled for a chance to play for the National Championship. However only four teams, Clemson, Alabama, Michigan State, and Oklahoma earned the right for a berth into the College Football Playoffs. The two semifinal games have pitted the No. 1 seeded Clemson Tigers against the No. 4 seed Oklahoma Sooners and the No. 2 seed Alabama Crimson Tide against the No. 3 seed Michigan State Spartans with both games being played on Dec. 31.

The first semifinal will feature undefeated Clemson (13-0) and Oklahoma (11-1). Both these teams have had amazing seasons and will put it all on the line for a chance to play for the National Championship on Jan. 11.

Clemson finished without a loss but had several close games this year including a 20-17 win on the road against Louisville on Sept. 17, a 24-22 win at home over then- No. 6 Notre Dame on Oct. 3, a 37-32 win on the road at South Carolina on Nov. 28, and a 45-37 win over No. 10 North Carolina in the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 5.

The Tigers score on average 38.5 points a game and have been led all year by sophomore quarterback Deshaun Watson. The 6’2”, 205 pound, playmaker has thrown for 3,512 yards and 30 touchdowns while running for 887 yard and 11 more scores. The leading rusher for Clemson is sophomore Wayne Gallman who has ran for 1,332 yards and 10 touchdowns. Sophomore Artavis Scott has caught 84 passes and leads the team with 805 receiving yards. Scott has also had five receiving touchdown passes.

Clemson only gives up on average 20 points a game and have held seven of their 13 opponents to under 20 points. Senior linebacker B.J. Goodson is the leading tackler for the Tigers with 91 including 14 for a loss and 5.5 sacks. Junior defensive ends Shaq Lawson and Kevin Dodd play a big role on the defensive line as Lawson has 55 total tackles including 22.5 for a loss and 9.5 sacks while Dodd has 51 total tackles including 15 for a loss and eight sacks. Junior cornerback Cordrea Tankersley leads Clemson with five interceptions and has 39 total tackles.

Oklahoma opened the season with four straight wins including a double-overtime victory at Tennessee (31-24). On Oct. 10, the Sooners suffered their only loss of the year against a struggling Texas Longhorns team (24-17) in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. Oklahoma then finished the regular season on a seven-game winning streak including wins at No. 6 Baylor (44-34), against No. 18 TCU (30-29), and on the road in their rivalry game against No. 11 Oklahoma State (58-23).

The Sooners score an astounding 46 points per game on average and have used their explosive offense to blowout teams all year long. Junior quarterback Baker Mayfield has thrown for 3,389 yards and 35 touchdowns with 420 yards on the ground and seven rushing touchdowns. Sophomore Samaje Perine was the leading rusher for Oklahoma with 1,291 yards and 15 touchdowns. Senior wide receiver Sterling Shepard caught 79 passes for 1,201 with 11 touchdowns. Another player to watch is freshman running back Joe Mixon who ran for 749 yards and seven touchdowns.

The Sooners have only given up on average 21 points a game and have only let two teams, Tulsa and Baylor, score over 30 points against them. The leading tackler on the team is junior linebacker Dominique Alexander who has 91 total tackles including seven for a loss and 1.5 sacks. Senior linebacker Eric Striker has 61 total tackles and leads the team with 16 tackles for a loss and 7.5 sacks. Junior cornerback Zack Sanchez leads the team with six interceptions and has 44 total tackles.

Key Matchups

Oklahoma’s Passing Attack vs Clemson Passing Defense

The Sooners have a great passing game which averages 307.9 yards a game led by quarterback Baker Mayfield. Not only has Mayfield thrown for over 3,000 yards and 35 touchdowns but also completes 68.6 percent of his passes. Along with Shepard, their leading receiver, Dede Westbrook and Durron Neal, play a big role in the passing game. While both players have caught 42 passes, Westbrook has 674 receiving yards and four scores and Neal has 527 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

Clemson on the other hand only gives up 166.9 passing yards a game. Along with Cordrea Tankersley who leads the Tigers with five interceptions, defensive backs Mackensie Alexander and Jayron Kearse will be for the challenge of limiting the Sooners passing attack.

Can Oklahoma slow down Clemson’s Deshaun Watson?

Clemson Quarterback Deshaun Watson has had a great year leading the Tigers. Watson not only threw for 3,512 yards and 30 touchdowns but averages 270.2 passing yards a game and completes 69.5 percent of his passes. His 887 rushing yards are second on the team and averages 68.2 rushing yards a game including averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Watson gets on average 338 yards of total offense a game.

If Watson wants to lead Clemson to the title game, he will have to put up another great performance against Oklahoma. The Sooners defensive front seven, led by Alexander and Striker, will need to do a great job of limiting Watson’s damage if Oklahoma is to win this game.

Final Analysis

Both teams have the ability to put big numbers as Oklahoma averages just over 45 points a game and Clemson just over 38. However, whoever wants to win this game and play for a national title will need their defense to step up, create turnovers, and make big plays.

Oklahoma has forced 26 turnovers this year and Clemson has forced 23. If both offenses are clicking and moving the ball well this game could potentially become a shootout going down to the wire. If this is the case, watch out for the playmakers like Mayfield and Shepard on Oklahoma to answer the call and lead their team to victory.

These two teams match up well across the board so this should be an exciting game as they are fighting for a chance to play for a national title on Jan. 11.

Prediction: Oklahoma 34, Clemson 31

Game Info

Kickoff: 4:00 p.m. ET

Coverage: ESPN

Location: Sun Life Stadium, Miami Florida

Line: Oklahoma -3.5

Photo credit: gettyimages.com; Oklahoma QB Baker Mayfield