The 2016 Fiesta Bowl (officially known as the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the 2016 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl for sponsorship reasons) was a college football bowl game played on December 31, 2016, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. It was the 46th playing of the Fiesta Bowl and the second semifinal of the 2016–17 College Football Playoff (CFP), part of the slate of bowl games that concluded the 2016 FBS football season. The game featured two of the four teams chosen by the CFP selection committee: the No. 2 Clemson Tigers from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes from the Big Ten Conference. The winner qualified for the 2017 College Football Playoff National Championship against the winner of the other semifinal, hosted by the Peach Bowl. The game was broadcast on ESPN, ESPN Radio, and ESPN Deportes.

Clemson became just the second team in college football history to shut out Ohio State (11–2) in a bowl game, joining Cal in the 1921 Rose Bowl. The game also marked the first time that Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer was shut out in his career, in about 193 games, and his second major loss to Dabo Swinney in the past four seasons. The game also marked the second consecutive advance to the CFP National Championship game by the Clemson football program.

Teams On Sunday December 4, 2016, the CFP Semifinals was announced with #2 Clemson vs. #3 Ohio State playing in the Fiesta Bowl.

This was the third meeting between the schools, with Clemson having won both of the previous matchups. The most recent meeting was the 2014 Orange Bowl, where the Tigers defeated the Buckeyes by a score of 40–35.Winsipedia – Clemson Tigers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes football series history

Game summary Scoring summary

Statistics

+Team statistical comparisonStatisticOhio StateClemsonFirst downs 9 24First downs rushing 3 12First downs passing 4 12First downs penalty 2 0Third down efficiency 3–14 8–17Fourth down efficiency 0–2 0–1Total plays–net yards 56–215 85–470Rushing attempts–net yards 23–88 48–205Yards per rush 3.8 4.3Yards passing 127 265Pass completions–attempts 19–33 24–37Interceptions thrown 2 2Punt returns–total yards 1–(−1) 2–16Kickoff returns–total yards 5–128 0–0Punts–average yardage 7–49.7 5–41.2Fumbles–lost 2–1 0–0Penalties–yards 8–72 5–60Time of possession 22:47 35:51

+Ohio State statisticsBuckeyes passing J. T. Barrett 19–33 127 0–2Buckeyes rushing Curtis Samuel 6 67 0 Mike Weber 5 24 0 TEAM 1 −1 0 J. T. Barrett 11 −2 0Buckeyes receiving Curtis Samuel 9 43 0 Corey Smith 2 27 0 Binjimen Victor 1 21 0 Noah Brown 2 17 0 K. J. Hill 1 8 0 Terry McLaurin 1 7 0 Mike Weber 3 4 0

+Clemson statisticsTigers passing Deshaun Watson 23–36 259 1–2 Nick Schuessler 1–1 6 0–0Tigers rushing Wayne Gallman 18 85 1 Deshaun Watson 15 57 2 Nick Schuessler 1 19 0 Adam Choice 4 16 0 Tavien Feaster 3 12 0 Artavis Scott 3 8 0 Ray-Ray McCloud 2 8 0 C.J. Fuller 1 3 0 TEAM 1 −3 0Tigers receiving Mike Williams 6 96 0 Hunter Renfrow 5 50 0 C.J. Fuller 3 45 1 Ray-Ray McCloud 4 29 0 Artavis Scott 2 16 0 Wayne Gallman 1 10 0 Deon Cain 1 9 0 Garrett Williams 1 6 0 Jordan Leggett 1 4 0

See also 2019 Fiesta Bowl (December) – Also a CFP Semifinal featuring Clemson and Ohio State, won by Clemson 2021 Sugar Bowl – Also a CFP Semifinal featuring Clemson and Ohio State, featured Ohio State's first overall win against Clemson

References