{"id":600294,"date":"2016-12-27T17:00:10","date_gmt":"2016-12-27T22:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/?p=600294"},"modified":"2016-12-27T17:00:10","modified_gmt":"2016-12-27T22:00:10","slug":"fiesta-bowl-preview-clemson-wrs-vs-osu-dbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/fiesta-bowl-preview-clemson-wrs-vs-osu-dbs\/","title":{"rendered":"Fiesta Bowl Preview Clemson WRs vs OSU DBs"},"content":{"rendered":"
While growing up in Ohio in the 1990\u2019s, professional wrestling was huge. The WCW and WWF eventually grew into a weekly battle between heavyweights in the profession, each trying to out-match and out-big name the other. Names like Sting, The nOw, and The Heartbreak Kid were in every conversation in the halls of high schools all across the great state of Ohio.<\/p>\n
On December 31st<\/sup>, 2016, the world will get to see a revival of sorts. One of the best, if not THE best, set of defensive backs in the long-storied history of Ohio State Football will face off against the most NFL-ready wide receiver in all of college football, along with a fantastic supporting cast.<\/p>\n The 46th<\/sup> edition of the Fiesta Bowl will feature the Clemson Tigers and Ohio State Buckeyes. As we are doing all week here at The Buckeye Battle Cry, we are looking at a couple of the key match-ups that will decide the outcome of the game. Today, we look at the Ohio State Defensive Backs vs the Clemson Passing Offense.<\/p>\n Clemson comes into the Fiesta Bowl ranking in the Top-20 nationally in Total Offense, Scoring Offense, and Passing Offense. The Tigers, lead by Heisman Trophy Runner-up Deshawn Watson, average 506 yards per game on offense. Besides the dynamic, and possibly best overall quarterback in college football this year, the Tigers pack a mighty punch in their passing game. 6\u2019 4\u201d 220 lb redshirt junior wide out Mike Williams is easily the star of the program. Williams is joined by a plethora of quality receiving options in Artavis Scott (5\u2019 11\u201d 190lb junior), Hunter Renfrow (5\u2019 10\u201d 175 lb sophomore), Ray Ray McCloud (5\u2019 10\u201d 180 lb sophomore), and one of the best tight ends in college, Jorden Leggett (6\u2019 5\u201d 260lb senior).<\/p>\n The receiving corps at Clemson consists of 6 players with over 29 catches and over 300 yards this season. The 3 starting wide outs and the tight end all have over 500 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns a piece. The star of the group, Williams, has 84 receptions this season, for 1171 yards (13.9 yards per reception) and 10 touchdowns. When watching Williams, you can see he has the classic wide receiver manta of \u201cIf the ball is up for grabs, I am going to get it and come down with it.\u201d He is an aggressive and talented wide reliever.<\/p>\n But it is not all Williams. Scott, for instance, is just six receptions shy of setting a new Clemson school record for career catches. Renfrow did all his damage in 9 games, missing time with a broken hand suffered in Clemson\u2019s underwhelming win over Troy. The top five receivers all average over 8 yards per reception.<\/p>\n The passing game is clearly the strength of the Clemson offense. Watson has, for the year, completed 2 out of every 3 pass attempts (329 of 487 \u2013 67.7%) for 3914 yards and 37 touchdowns. But for all the good that has come from this attack, the Achilles heel also is born. Watson has thrown 15 interceptions this season.<\/p>\n