Ohio State Football: 3 keys to victory in 2019 Fiesta Bowl vs. Clemson

2. Rush defense must be great on the road

As mentioned, Clemson runs a balanced attack. If Trevor Lawrence and the receivers are not beating you, running back Travis Etienne will be. The Buckeyes need to be stout up front.

Ohio State has been Jekyll and Hyde this season in regards to their rush defense. In Columbus, the Buckeyes have been a brick wall, only giving up 73.4 yards on the ground over seven home games. This includes stymieing Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor, who had his worst performance of the season at Ohio State with only 52 yards on 20 carries and zero touchdowns.

On the road has been a different story. Away from the comforts of home, the defense has given up over 130 yards on the ground. While this is nothing terrible, there is a stark difference. In the Big Ten championship game, Taylor’s second crack against the Buckeyes was better with 148 yards and a touchdown. The Badgers as a team had 200 yards on the ground.

Travis Etienne is a well rounded, experienced back. This season he had eight 100 yard games including two where he topped the 200 yard mark. He has 1,500 rushing yards on the year with 17 touchdowns and leads the nation with 8.2 yards per carry.

Buckeye defensive line coach Larry Johnson will have his work cut out for him. Johnson is the only coach Ryan Day retained when taking over for Urban Meyer and going back to his days at Penn State, Johnson is a fantastic coach. He will just need his guys ready to face a very talented and experience Clemson running attack.