In his two years at Clemson, Christian Wilkins has helped his team win two ACC Championships and appear in two College Football Playoffs, all the while experiencing just two losses.

But it’s one of those losses, the defeat to Alabama in last season’s national championship game, which still drives Wilkins. And it’s the loss that helps him keep perspective on the success he has had with Clemson early in his career and helps him appreciate the opportunity at hand in this year’s College Football Playoff even more.

“I definitely won’t take it for granted because we went last year and we came up short,” Wilkins said this week of returning to the playoff. “And that still goes with me every day. I just think about it, so now that we’re back in it, hopefully we’ll get the job done this time and finish it right.”

Wilkins’ mentality is showing up in the way he is approaching second-ranked Clemson’s semifinal matchup against No. 3 Ohio State at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz., on New Year’s Eve.

The All-American defensive end is taking advantage of the time before the game, doing everything he can to prepare himself for it.

“It is really important because you have so much time until you play a game, and you have to put yourself in the best position to be successful on the 31st,” Wilkins said. “You really have to stay focused and stay locked in, do the right things and eat right — cut down your body weight a little bit if you’re too heavy or bulk up a little bit.

“You just have so much time to do whatever you need. You can treat it like you’re in camp, like you’re coming into a whole new season because it really is a new one-game season.”

His teammates are treating bowl prep the same way. Wilkins said there has been a camp-like atmosphere in practice in the way the Tigers are working.

“It’s really like a mini-camp because you’re going so hard,” he said. “You’re getting scout looks for Ohio State and everything, but we’re going good-on-good and grinding. We’re coming back each and every day going as hard as we can, full pads and things like that, so we’re really getting after it and grinding. And that’s what you need going forward, getting ready to prepare for a good opponent in Ohio State.”

Wilkins, who was named a finalist for the Nagurski Award that is given annually to the nation’s top defensive player, credited that type of practice environment for helping him become a better player in his second season.

The native of Springfield, Mass., leads Clemson in tackles for loss with 12 and is second on the team with 17 quarterback pressures.

“That’s all a result of the coaching and the guys around me pushing me to be my best,” Wilkins said. “The coaches are doing a great job of believing in me and teaching technique and having trust and faith in me to get the job done.”

For Wilkins and Clemson, it’s win or go home, and after coming so close to winning the closer in Arizona last season, Wilkins is as hungry as ever to get a win in the desert and move on to the national championship game again.

“Back in the desert, obviously last year we didn’t get the result we wanted, which we were definitely in a position to do,” Wilkins. “But now it’s going to be fun to go back and get the win.”