Bowl Season Continues On:

Boomer Sooner. None of us picked the Sooners to defeat Alabama but Bob Stoops backed up his jabs at the SEC. So here are the standings through January 2nd, 2014:

1) Matty D: 18 – 12

2) G-Man: 17 – 13

T3) Ariel Glassberg, Jake Goldberg, and JSB: 16 – 14

ORANGE BOWL

#7 Ohio State Buckeyes (12-1, 8-0 Big Ten) vs. #12 Clemson Tigers (10-2, 7-1 ACC) at 8:30 on ESPN

STADIUM:

Sun Life Stadium will be the host of the 2014 Orange Bowl

Ohio State Offense vs. Clemson Defense

Points Per Game: 46.3 (3rd in the Nation) vs. 21.2 Edge: Ohio State

Rush Yards Per Game: 317.5 (3rd) vs. 152.6 Edge: Ohio State

Passing Yards Per Game: 200.9 vs. 198.6 Edge: Clemson

The Buckeyes have an offense that ranks 7th with 518.4 total yards per game. The reason for that is Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year, Braxton Miller. The Buckeyes QB has almost 2,900 all purpose yards with 32 touchdowns between the air and ground. He and running back Carlos Hyde have made the Buckeye’s running game third-best in all the land. Recently, the Tigers have had trouble against the run but have great against the pass. Over their last four games, Clemson allowed 169.5 rushing yards per game and 132.3 passing yards and only two passing touchdowns. Ohio State Offense edges out Clemson Defense.

Clemson Offense vs. Ohio State Defense

Points Per Game: 40.2 (9th in Nation) vs. 21.3 Edge: Clemson

Rush Yards Per Game: 172.7 vs. 102.6 (10th) Edge: Ohio State

Passing Yards Per Game: 329.3 (13th) vs. 259.5 Edge: Clemson

Tahj Boyd is ready for a piece of the Buckeyes. Boyd passed for 3473 yards, 29 touchdowns, 9 picks and rushed for 273 yards, and nine touchdowns. He has a pair of receivers in Sammy Watkins and Martavis Bryant who have combined to receive over 2,000 yards and caught 15 of Boyd’s 29 touchdown passes. Watkins led the ACC in yards (1,237) and catches (85) while Bryant’s 20.5 yards per catch is one of the highest averages in the nation. The Buckeyes have struggled against the pass having allowed opposing quaterbacks to complete 63.7 percent of their passes, an average of 340.8 yards, and 11 TDs over their last four games. Boyd is ready to exploit that. Clemson Offense edges out Ohio State Defense

This a battle between two of favorite conferences: the ACC and the Big Ten. Ohio State wants to prove themselves and the Big Ten after the criticism of a weak schedule and then having their unbeaten streak being upended by Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship. Clemson has struggled in big games going 1-2: losing to Florida State at home and then losing their regular season finale to South Carolina but defeating Georgia in their season opener. We have a split decision for this game: JSB is going with Ohio State while Matty D and myself are going with Clemson.