Unless he has a lousy Sugar Bowl, Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield will break the single-season FBS passer rating record. He sits at 197.8 in 2016, way ahead of Russell Wilson’s 191.8 in 2011. Mayfield has been brilliant in 11 of OU’s 12 games.
Ohio State’s defense will be Deshaun Watson’s toughest test yet ... this season
Watson almost beat Alabama. Now he plays the best secondary he’s seen since then.
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
In the other one, he was bad. Ohio State is the team that solved Mayfield.
In a 45-24 win in Norman, the Buckeyes held Mayfield to 17-of-32 passing for two touchdowns, two picks, and 226 yards. Mayfield’s 120.6 rating that night was 54 points lower than his next-worst game all year. His 7.1 yards per throw stat was a full two yards off the next lowest.
Now the Buckeyes have another elite challenge. In the Fiesta Bowl Playoff semifinal on Saturday (7 p.m. ET, ESPN), they’ll face Clemson’s two-time Heisman finalist and two-time Davey O’Brien Award–winning QB Deshaun Watson. It’ll be best on best.
Watson hasn’t had a flawless year. He’s been intercepted 15 times, and some have been ugly. But he’ll almost surely go over 4,000 yards during the Fiesta, and he has 37 touchdowns and led Clemson to an ACC title and the Playoff. He’s as good as college quarterbacks get.
Watson against the Ohio State secondary is a whale of a matchup.
The good news, if you’re Clemson: You have an offensive line that’s produced the No. 4 adjusted sack rate allowed in the country, and you’re playing a defense that ranks 92nd in that stat. The Buckeyes aren’t great at getting pressure.
The bad news, if you’re Clemson: Ohio State might have the best secondary in the country, so even if Watson has all the time in the world, success won’t be easy. If Clemson’s receivers can’t get open, the Tigers will have to run the ball on Ohio State’s front, and that hardly seems like a roadmap to victory.
Ohio State defensive coordinators Greg Schiano and Luke Fickell have some advantages. Starting cornerbacks Marshon Lattimore and Gareon Conley are both studs. One of the safeties, Malik Hooker, was a unanimous All-American. The Ohio State defense is fifth nationally against the pass by S&P+, despite not getting sacks and replacing seven of 11 starters after last year.
It’s worked because everyone’s a ball hawk. Ohio State’s starting DBs had 14 interceptions and 24 breakups out of 19 and 49, respectively, for the team. The Buckeyes had six pick-sixes this year.
Conley and Lattimore have both spent time on opposing No. 1 receivers. Third cornerback Denzel Ward will probably see a lot of Clemson slot receiver Hunter Renfrow, as should Will linebacker Jerome Baker. Someone has to cover speedster Artavis Scott and tight end Jordan Leggett.
Watson has experience thriving against elite teams, of course.
He didn’t beat Alabama in last year’s title game, but he came close. Watson was 30-of-47 that night for 405 yards, four touchdowns, and one pick. His 8.6 yards per throw were the most anyone has dropped on Bama in the last two years, outside of Ole Miss’s Chad Kelly. Watson figured out Alabama and gave the Tigers a chance, which is all anyone can ever have against Bama.
Watson hasn’t faced an Ohio State in 2016. He has inflicted varying degrees of hurt on good defenses for Auburn, Louisville, Boston College, NC State, Florida State, Wake Forest, and Virginia Tech.
He just hasn’t seen what he’ll see on Saturday since last year, when he faced down Bama. He’ll be back in the same stadium, gunning for an encore with a different ending.
See More:
