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Ohio State Football: 3 reasons to watch 2019 Fiesta Bowl vs. Clemson

By Oliver Hodgkinson

GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 31: The Ohio State Buckeyes marching band performs before the Playstation Fiesta Bowl against the Clemson Tigers at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 31, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. The Tigers defeated the Buckeyes 31-0. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
GLENDALE, AZ - DECEMBER 31: The Ohio State Buckeyes marching band performs before the Playstation Fiesta Bowl against the Clemson Tigers at University of Phoenix Stadium on December 31, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. The Tigers defeated the Buckeyes 31-0. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – DECEMBER 07: J.K. Dobbins #2 of the Ohio State Buckeyes runs with the ball in the BIG Ten Football Championship Game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 07, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA – DECEMBER 07: J.K. Dobbins #2 of the Ohio State Buckeyes runs with the ball in the BIG Ten Football Championship Game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 07, 2019 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

3. Running back battle

Do you enjoy watching running backs go over 100 yards in a game? Do you get excited when you see a running back break a tackle at the line of scrimmage and burst into the open field?

If so, this game is for you.

There will be a lot of focus on Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields in the build up to this game, and rightly so. However, the key to victory could be in the hands of the two top quality runners.

Let’s start with Clemson and Travis Etienne.

With 1,500 yards, Etienne is the 6th ranked running back in College Football in 2019. His 17 touchdowns see him ranked 8th in the nation. Coming off the back of a 2018 campaign where he led the nation in touchdowns, it almost seems like a disappointment.

He isn’t done yet.

Since the game against UNC, Etienne has had 100 rushing yards in every game bar one. He’s averaging a whopping 8.2 yards per carry, a career high. In a tough spot, Clemson lean on Etienne to win.

Then there’s J.K. Dobbins for Ohio State.

Rewind two weeks to the game against Michigan. The Wolverines had been trampled by Jonathan Taylor earlier in the season. The Buckeyes saw that blueprint for victory and executed it perfectly by unleashing Dobbins for a career day.

That 211 yards, four touchdown performance will stand as the highlight of Dobbin’s 2019 campaign. In reality, the junior running back has been performing lights out all season. With 1829 yards, he is just 80 yards shy of Wisconsin’s Taylor, who sits just behind Chuba Hubbard as the nation’s leading rusher.

In a tight Fiesta Bowl, one of these two can strap their team on their back and rush them into the National Championship.

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