Brent Venables has experienced a lot of things, but being showered with Gatorade isn’t one of them.

As the final seconds wound down in Clemson’s 31-0 shutout of Ohio State last Saturday night in the Fiesta Bowl, Venables was surprised by his defensive players when they turned over a bucket of Gatorade on his head.

Intense as he always is Clemson’s defensive coordinator pushed them and hugged them each because he knew without them this moment would not have been possible. From the outset, Clemson’s defense executed its defensive game plan almost flawlessly. It was as close to perfect as one unit can get.

The tone of the game was set pretty much right from the start. After Deshaun Watson was picked off at his own 33-yard line, it seemed inevitable that the Buckeyes were going to score. But three plays later on third-and-one from the 24, Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrell beat reserved left guard Matthew Burrell off the ball and chased down quarterback J.T. Barrett for a six-yard loss.

Kicker Tyler Durbin then missed his 47-yard field goal attempt to the right.

“They missed those two field goals and we were able to gain some momentum and keep them out of the end zone so those things play a part too,” said Venables as the Tigers now get set to prepare for a rematch with Alabama in the national championship game next Monday night in Tampa, Florida. “I think as the game went on, we got hungrier and hungrier and more determined not to let them in the end zone.”

Following Greg Huegel’s 45-yard field goal on the Tigers’ second possession, the Buckeyes got the ball at the Clemson 42 after Paris Campbell returned Huegel’s kickoff 54 yards. They moved the football to the Clemson 22, but Ferrell busted through again on an Ohio State reverse and threw down running back Curtis Samuel for an 8-yard loss. Three plays later Durbin missed his second field goal from 47 yards and the Buckeyes never came close to scoring the rest of the night.

Ohio State finished the game with just nine first downs, two by penalties, and was just 3-of-14 on third down. Clemson forced six three-and-outs and two other drives ended on just two plays due to turnovers.

“What a performance by our players,” Venables said.

How good was Clemson’s performance? It was the first time an Urban Meyer coached team had been shut out in his 15 years as a head coach, a span of 194 games. It was also the first time an Ohio State team was shut out in a bowl game since the 1920 Rose Bowl, while it marked the first time any Buckeyes’ team was kept off the scoreboard since 1993.

As for Clemson, it marked the Tigers third shutout this season by its defense—the first time that has happened since the 1990 season—and the first in a bowl game since Levon Kirkland and company did the same to Illinois in the 1991 Hall of Fame Bowl.

After the game, Venables and his defense was presented with the game ball by head coach Dabo Swinney.

“They missed a couple of field goals and some turnovers, but we will take it. Some day we will enjoy that game ball,” he said.

And when they do, it will say on it, Ohio State had just 215 total yards, 265 yards below its season average, just 88 yards on the ground—170 below its season average—and was tackled behind the line of scrimmage 11 times. By the way, the Buckeyes were averaging 40.2 points per game coming into the College Football Playoff Semifinal.

“I think every game has its own life. I’m not one for beating my chest,” Venables said. “I’m just honored and humbled to be a part of this group of guys. Every year is different and you have to start over so we really want to embrace this moment with these players because it does not happen without the character, the integrity and the humility they have. They let us coach them hard. They are just good quality people and they are an amazing group of guys.”