PARADISE VALLEY, Ariz. — Late on Monday afternoon, Clemson’s team plane will land in a very familiar place – Phoenix, Arizona.

It will mark the second time in the calendar year the second-ranked Tigers will play a football game here, and for the second time the outcome will have a huge impact on the national championship stage.

On January 11, 2016, the Tigers’ dream season, a year that saw them win 14 straight games while advancing to the national championship game, came to a disappointing end with a 45-40 loss to Alabama.

All year, Clemson’s rallying cry has been to get back to the national championship game and this time leave with “no regrets.”

On Dec. 31, 2016, Clemson will return to the same stadium where it saw the 2015 season come to a close … at The University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. It’s fitting the second-ranked Tigers’ last leg in their quest to return the national championship game will happen here at the Fiesta Bowl where they take on No. 3 Ohio State in the national semifinals.

“Our goal this year was not to just get to the final four. We want to get there and finish the deal,” Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson said. “We came up short last year. We want to finish it and come out on top.”

The Tigers (12-1) made it to the playoff for a second year in a row by winning the ACC for a second straight year. To get there they won six games by seven points or less, something that has not happened at Clemson since Frank Howard’s 1948 team did the same.

To get here, the Tigers had to beat Auburn and Troy to start the season, had to score twice late in the fourth quarter to top Louisville in one of the best games of the college football season, needed a missed field goal to survive NC State, rallied to win at Florida State and then held off Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship Game.

“This is a whole new season. The regular season and all of that stuff is behind us. This is a one-game season right here,” Watson said. “We are going to put all of our energy and focus on this. We will then live with the results and then we will move on.”

Despite all the close calls, Watson says he and his teammate have enjoyed the run and are excited to be back in a position to play for another national championship.

“It has been an enjoyable season,” he said. “We don’t have any problems. No one comes in with a bad attitude. We always come in ready to play and ready to put in the work. It has just been a fun team to play with.

“All of the guys understand what we are about, and what we need to do in order to achieve our goals, and that is what we have been doing each and every day.  I just love all of these guys. There are always smiles on each of their faces. It’s been fun.”