GLENDALE, Ariz. — After celebrating with his teammates and receiving his individual award in the aftermath of second-ranked Clemson’s 31-0 win over No. 3 Ohio State on Saturday in the Fiesta Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal, Clelin Ferrell made his way toward the tunnel leading to the locker room, where a crowd of Clemson fans waited to greet him and the others with cheers.

Among the exuberance of the orange-clad faithful, though, the loud utterance of one Ohio State fan stood out.

“Hey 99,” he yelled to Ferrell. “Go beat ‘Bama!”

If Ferrell and Clemson’s defense can repeat the dominance they displayed on Saturday night, the Tigers will be tough to beat in the national championship game against Alabama on Jan. 9.

Led by Ferrell, who was named the game’s Defensive Most Valuable Player, Clemson’s defense recorded three sacks and 11 tackles for loss en route to a rout of the Buckeyes and rematch of last year’s title game with the Crimson Tide.

The Tigers entered the game as a 1.5-point underdog.

“I feel like we come in with a chip on our shoulder for every team because that’s just how we are,” Ferrell said after the game. “We want to be known as a great defensive line. We want to be known as dominant, and I don’t think any of us expected to come out here and shut out The Ohio State. Not being funny or nothing, but that’s just crazy because they’re a great team.

“But I will say this — we put the work in and expected ourselves to play well, definitely.”

Playing in his first College Football Playoff game, Ferrell finished with a sack among his career-high three tackles for loss and was a disruptive force throughout the contest.

The redshirt freshman defensive end set the tone for Clemson’s defense early in the game, sparking a unit that handed Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer his first shutout in 194 games as a head coach.

Ferrell stepped up and made a game-altering play early in the first quarter following an interception by Deshaun Watson on Clemson’s second play from scrimmage. Ohio State’s offense took over at Clemson’s 33-yard line and moved the ball to the 24, but a 6-yard sack by Ferrell on third-and-1 forced a 47-yard field-goal attempt, which kicker Tyler Durbin missed wide right.

Clemson then cracked the scoreboard first on its next possession with a 45-yard field goal by Greg Huegel to take a 3-0 lead it would never relinquish.

Overall, the Tigers allowed just 215 total yards, including 88 rushing. A 64-yard run by Ohio State’s Curtis Samuel in the fourth quarter padded the Buckeyes’ statistics.

It was Clemson’s second shutout in a bowl game ever, with the other being a 30-0 win over Illinois in the 1990 Hall of Fame Bowl.

“I think it started with that first third down and short, and he did a great job not getting hooked,” Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables said of Ferrell. “I think players feed off of that. It’s infectious success, and it builds confidence. You control the line of scrimmage, it’s deflating.

“You get to this stage and this game, the line of scrimmage is where the game’s won.”

Following another fine performance, Ferrell now has 11.5 of Clemson’s 123 tackles for loss on the season, the latter of which is a mark that ranks third in school history. Ferrell also ranks first on the team with nine quarterback hurries, third with six sacks and 10th with 43 total tackles.

After missing his senior season due to a torn ACL and redshirting as a year ago, the situation Ferrell is in and the opportunity the Tigers have seems surreal to him.

“It’s kind of crazy,” Ferrell said. “Last year I was a part of the team but I wasn’t playing. And to see them, those guys like Shaq (Lawson) and Kevin Dodd I look up to as big brothers, having their opportunity and taking advantage of it last year, and then this year when we’re coming in, being a starter, playing against Ohio State, it’s kind of crazy that I got to come out here and perform at a high level.”

Clemson’s victory against Ohio State, which entered the game with a No. 2 ranking by the AP and USA Today coaches poll, marks the highest-ranked team Clemson has beaten in its history.

The Tigers hope to set that mark again with a win over No. 1 Alabama in about a week.

“We just have to come out there and play a good game,” Ferrell said, looking ahead to the rematch with Alabama. “We don’t have to play perfect to have success in the national championship. We just have to come out there and play at a high level, so that’s what we’ll try to do.”