MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Clemson wins 37-17 to advance to the National Championship Game.
Clemson extended its lead to 37-17 with 10:48 to play in the game. Wayne Gallman ran the football in from four yards to cap a nine-play, 50-yard drive.
Gallman has 139 yards and two touchdown on 22 carries. Clemson has 302 yards on the ground.
Clemson extended its lead to 30-17 with 4:07 to play in the third quarter as Hunter Renfrow hauled in a 35-yard touchdown pass from Dehaun Watson.
The scoring drive was 70 yards and it took four plays to get into the end zone.
Clemson retook the lead on the opening drive of the second half when Wayne Gallman went in from a yard out to cap a 12-play, 75-yard drive with 10:51 to play in the third quarter.
Clemson trails Oklahoma, 17-16, at halftime. The Tigers had an opportunity to take the lead just before halftime, but Deshaun Watson threw an interception in the end zone with 13 seconds left in the half.
It was a big blow for the Tigers who racked up 258 total yards in the second quarter. Clemson has 305 yards overall, including 159 yards rushing.
On third down and eight from the OU 15-yard line, Watson felt pressure coming from the back side so he rolled right where he saw Jordan Leggett being covered by a much smaller Zack Sanchez. But Watson did not get enough on the ball. Leggett tried to tip the ball away from Sanchez but the cornerback made the interception.
The Sooners took the lead after Mark Andrews caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Baker Mayfield to take a 17-16 lead with 1:34 to play in the half. Mayfield finished the first half 17 of 23 for 226 yards as he out performed Watson who threw for 115 yards on 9 of 22 passing. However, Watson ran for 119 yards of 15 carries, including a 5-yard run that gave the Tigers a 10-7 lead with 12:45 to play in the half.
Greg Huegel added three field goals for Clemson. He had a 26-yard field goal, a 36-yard field goal and a 43-yard kick. He set a new Clemson single-season record for field goals.
Running back Wayne Gallman also became the Tigers’ all-time leader for a single season with 39 yards on seven carries.
Oklahoma got one-yard touchdown from Samaje Perine on its opening possession to take a 7-0 lead with 11:16 to play in the first quarter. Kicker Austin Seibert added a 22-yard field goal in the second quarter.
Clemson struggled moving the ball in the first quarter. It had just 47 total yards, but on a second quarter drive, Dabo Swinney called for a fake punt and punter Andy Teasdall threw a perfect pass down the sideline to defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. The play covered 31 yards and set up Watson’s five-yard run moments later.
The play also got the Tigers offense going.
Clemson extended its lead to 16-10 on a 43-yard Greg Huegel field goal.
Oklahoma answered Clemson’s field goal with one of its own — a 22-yard field goal by Austin Seibert with 4:41 to play in the opening half.
Clemson extended its lead to 13-7 with 7:05 left to play in the first half as Greg Huegel connected on a 36-yard field goal.
The field goal capped a 62 yard drive that covered 10-plays.
What went right: Clemson again went on another long scoring drive and this time they mixed things up with the run and the pass. Watson completed four passes on the drive for 38 yards. He also rushed for 14 yards.
What went wrong: On third down and three from Oklahoma 12, the Tigers ran a trick play that resulted in an intentional grounding call. Huegel came on and was true from 36 yards.
Clemson drove the ball 96 yards on seven plays as Deshuan Watson went in from five yards out to give the Tigers a 10-7 lead with 12:45 to play in the second quarter.
What went right: A 300-pound defensive tackle, Christian Wilkins, caught a 31-yard pass on a fake punt from punter Andy Teasdall. The play set Watson’s five-yard touchdown moments later. Also, Watson had a 46-yard run on the drives first play to get things going for the Clemson offense.
What went wrong: Tight end Jordan Leggett dropped what would have been a first down on the play before the fake.
Clemson used Oklahoma’s bad punt and went 19 yards on nine plays which resulted in a 26-yard Greg Huegel field goal with 3:45 to play in the first quarter.
What went right: Clemson was able to run the ball with Watson and Gallman. The Tigers took over at the Oklahoma 28-yard line after the bad punt.
What went wrong: After getting a first and goal at the six yard line, Watson was tackled for a three-yard loss on second down and then his third down pass was almost intercepted.
Injury note: Shaq Lawson appears to be done. He is on the bench with his left knee being iced. The trainers have taken his helmet from him.
Oklahoma took the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards for a touchdown as Samaje Perine scored from a yard out to take a 7-0 lead with 11:16 to go in the first quarter.
What went right for Clemson on the drive: The Tigers opened the game by sacking quarterback Baker Mayfield for six yards.
What went wrong: The Sooners were 2-for-2 on third down, and were aided by a pass interference call that was clearly uncatchable. Perine had five carries for 33 yards on the opening drive.
It’s finally here. After weeks of interviews and press conferences and breaking it down every which that you can, top-ranked Clemson is just a little while from playing No. 4 Oklahoma in the Capital One Orange Bowl here at Sun Life Stadium .
It has been an eventful week leading up to the Orange Bowl as Oklahoma and Clemson have participated in a little bit of back-and-forth trash talking at the podium and on at Wednesday’s Coaches Luncheon.
I spoke with a couple of sources that were at the Orange Bowl Coaches Luncheon at Jungle Island on Wednesday. There were some rumors and reports early Thursday morning that said there were a little pushing and shoving after the event.
One rumor said Shaq Lawson jumped on the Oklahoma bus and started talking trash. A source told me that is not true. I was told first off there was no pushing or shoving or anything like that. The players were just talking trash. Lawson did not get on OU’s bus. I was told it was the OU players that started the trash talking and Lawson responded.
During stretching routines Lawson and a group of Oklahoma players exchanged some words, but a few coaches came and pushed Lawson back to the Clemson side. This should make things quite interesting today.
Oklahoma defensive tackle Charles Walker, who is listed as a co-starter, will not play today due to a concussion. Walker had 36 tackles this year, including 10 tackles for loss and six sacks. His tackles for loss rank tied for second on the team and his sack total ranks third.
As we know from Wednesday, Clemson has suspended wide receiver Deon Cain, kicker Ammon Lakip and reserve tight end Jay Jay McCullough for failing a drug test.
About Clemson: Clemson has won 16 straight games and is ranked No. 1 in the country in all three major bowls. Clemson has had its finest season since 1981 and in some ways its best season in history. The Tigers are the No. 1 team in the nation in the two traditional polls (AP and USA Today) and in each of the six College Football Playoff Polls. Clemson’s 13-0 record is already a school standard for wins in a season and the streak of six straight weeks ranked No. 1 in at least one poll is also a school best.
About Clemson’s offense: Clemson has one of the most balanced attacks in the nation with an average of 222 yards per game on the ground and 288.5 yards a game through the air. In 10 of the 13 games Clemson has gained at least 500 yards total offense, including a streak of nine in a row heading into the bowl season. Clemson never had a streak of more than four games in a row with 500 yards prior to this season.
About Clemson’s defense: This year’s defense finished seventh in the nation in total defense, fifth in tackles for loss, fifth in pass defense, 12th in sacks and 18th in scoring defense. The most impressive defensive data point was a No. 1 national ranking in pass completion percentage defense. The Tigers have allowed opponents to complete passes just 46.1 percent of the time, the best by any FBS team since at least 2007.
About Oklahoma: The Sooners are the Big 12 Champions and have won seven straight games. In those seven wins, they have won by an average score of 52-20. This year’s Big 12 title was the school’s ninth under head coach Bob Stoops. They have won seven straight games, the fifth longest active streak in the country. This is their longest winning streak during a single-season since winning eight straight in 2006.
Oklahoma’s offense: Oklahoma is the highest scoring football program of all-time, and only two Sooner teams have ever averaged more points than the 45.8 this year’s squad is averaging. Over the past seven games, OU has kicked it up a couple notches, averaging 52.0 points per contest. The Sooners have accounted for more than 500 yards of offense in each of the last seven games, and three of the top five single-game yardage totals of the 17-year Stoops era have been recorded this year, including the top figure of 773 (vs. Tulsa).
Oklahoma’s defense: The Sooners leads the Big 12 in scoring defense (20.8 ppg), total defense (350.7 ypg), rushing defense (149.2 ypg), passing defense (201.5 ypg) and pass efficiency defense (108.0). In the 19 years of the Big 12, no team has ever finished the season as the league’s leader in all of those categories.
Records: Clemson 13-0; Oklahoma 11-1
Series record: The series is tied 2-2
Games in bowl games: Clemson leads 2-0
First meeting: Oklahoma won 31-14 in 1963
Last Meeting: Clemson won 40-6 in the 2014 Russell Athletic Bowl
Last Oklahoma win: 52-3 in 1972
Streak: Clemson has won 2 straight