Deshaun Watson was not happy with Mike Williams.

On Clemson’s second play of the game in this past Saturday’s Fiesta Bowl win over Ohio State, Watson threw a pass for Williams who was cutting to the sideline. However, Williams slipped when making his cut and Ohio State’s Gareon Conley picked off the pass, giving the Buckeyes the football on the Tigers’ 33-yard line.

Watson and Williams discussed what happened on the sidelines and it was obvious the Clemson quarterback was not happy at the time with what had happened.

“That was on me,” Williams said after the Tigers’ 31-0 victory. “That was my fault.”

However, Watson, like he always does, quickly got over the mistake and moved on. After the defense forced a three-and-out and Ohio State kicker Tyler Durbin missed his 47-yard attempt to the right, Williams walked over to Watson as they were walking back on the field and let him know he would not let him down again, and he didn’t.

Two plays later, with Clemson facing third-and-seven from its own 33, Watson hit Williams in stride on a skinny post and the Tigers’ wideout raced up the middle for 37 yards to the Ohio State 30-yard line, setting up the game’s first points, a 45-yard field goal by kicker Greg Huegel.

From there, Williams dominated Ohio State’s defensive backs. On Clemson’s next drive, Watson found him down the sideline for a 26-yard gain, a play in which went over the top and snared the ball while Ohio State’s Denzel Ward tried to cover.

“My mindset was to dominate the game,” Williams said. “Everybody was talking about the matchup. They had some great corners and this and that. I was looking forward to having a great game, and I did.”

Williams finished the game with six catches for a game-high 96 yards as Clemson put up the most passing yards (265 yards) allowed by the Ohio State defense all year.

“They were showing everything we saw on film,” Williams said. “We were well prepared. Coach (Jeff) Scott put us in a great situation and we made the plays.”

Williams said Ohio State showed a little bit of everything, but he said Scott and fellow co-offensive coordinator Tony Elliott were calling the right plays at the right time.

“If they were playing zone, we were calling this at the right time. If they were calling man, we were calling our shots at the right time,” Williams said. “It was perfect timing for us.”

It also helped that Watson was the guy throwing the passes. Most quarterbacks might falter after having their first pass in a playoff game intercepted, but Watson bounced back to throw for 259 yards on 23 of 36 passing, including a 30-yard touchdown pass to running back C.J. Fuller, while also rushing for another 57 yards and scoring two touchdowns.

“It’s on to the next play,” Williams said. “I slipped on the play, he threw the interception, and I told him it is on me. And it was on to the next play.

“He is still going to throw me the ball. We just can’t sit back and (harp) on what just happened previously. We have to go on to the next play.”

And that’s what they did. Now it’s on to the next game. The Tigers will play top-ranked Alabama in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game on Jan. 9 in Tampa, Florida.

—Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports