Deshaun Watson stood out in the second half of the 2015 Orange Bowl to lead the No. 1 Clemson Tigers (14-0) to a 37-17 victory over the No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners (11-2) in the College Football Playoff semifinals Thursday at Sun Life Stadium.
Watson, who finished third in Heisman Trophy voting, accounted for 332 total yards of offense and two touchdowns in the win. The Tigers defense deserves just as much credit for holding the high-powered Sooners to 378 yards.
Baker Mayfield finished with 311 yards through the air for Oklahoma before leaving the game late after taking a knee to the head. The team's rushing attack managed only 67 yards on 33 carries, however, and the defense couldn't get enough stops in the second half to keep the game close.
Here's a look at the quarter-by-quarter scoring recap for the Orange Bowl:
| 2015 Orange Bowl: No. 4 Oklahoma vs. No. 1 Clemson | |||||
| Sooners | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Tigers | 3 | 13 | 14 | 7 | 37 |
| NCAA.com | |||||
Amid all of the talk leading up to the College Football Playoff, perhaps the most fascinating remark came from Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops. When asked about getting his players ready for the big stage, he provided a frank response, per Ivan Maisel of ESPN.com.
"As a coach, I don't want to act like we all can push every button," said Stoops. "In the end, players ask about motivation. I said, 'You know who I motivate? Whoever the heck wants to be motivated.' If you don't want to be motivated, it's not going anywhere."
In other words, there's no secret formula at this point in the season. Every team in the playoff is good, and it comes down to execution, not magical pregame speeches.
Even with their coach's lack of interest in providing any additional hype, the Sooners started the contest in perfect fashion. They marched down the field with a 10-play, 75-yard opening drive to score the game's first touchdown.
Samaje Perine finished the job with a TD plunge from one yard out. It was an uncharacteristically weak drive for the seventh-ranked Clemson defense, as Brian Fremeau of Football Outsiders pointed out:
Brian Fremeau @bcfremeauOklahoma's first possession was only the second 10+ play touchdown drive allowed by Clemson this year.
Bleacher Report's Matt Miller provided some additional analysis about the Tigers' sluggish start:
Matt Miller @nfldraftscoutClemson defenders look amped up. Playing out of control. Venables has to settle them down.
Clemson showed more typical composure on the Sooners' second drive. The quick three-and-out came at a cost, however, as star lineman Shaq Lawson went to the sideline after suffering a knee injury. Marty Smith of ESPN passed along further details of the ailment:
Marty Smith @MartySmithESPNIce currently gone from Shaq Lawson L knee. Keeps flexing it. He's having spirited convo about the OU line w his backup, Austin Bryant.
Still, even without one of their top players, the Tigers slowly started to show more life and then received a spark from an unlikely source.
Punter Andy Teasdall, who attempted an unplanned fake punt in the ACC title game, redeemed himself with an outstanding throw to Christian Wilkins for 31 yards on fourth down. ESPN highlighted the crucial conversion to keep the drive alive:
ESPN @espnFake! @ClemsonFB has taken the lead in the #OrangeBowl after keeping its drive alive with this perfect fake punt:
Two plays later, Watson scampered in for a five-yard touchdown to help give Clemson a 10-7 lead. Houston Texans star receiver and Clemson product DeAndre Hopkins commented on the score:
Deandre Hopkins @DeAndreHopkinsDeshaun Watson ladys an gents
After the teams traded field goals—two by Clemson's Greg Huegel and one by Oklahoma's Austin Seibert—the Sooners regained the lead before halftime.
Mayfield completed four consecutive passes to cover 76 yards in just 43 seconds for the score. Mark Andrews made a nice move to juke a defender in open space before powering into the end zone for the 11-yard touchdown.
Joe Buettner of the Dallas Morning News pointed out it was a milestone TD for the freshman tight end:
Joe Buettner @ByJoeBuettnerMark Andrews sets a OU freshmen record for most TD receptions in a season (7). #Sooners
Clemson had a chance to get back on top before the break. It drove into the red zone, but Watson threw a costly interception on third down. Zack Sanchez made the key play for Oklahoma, which didn't come as a surprise, given the numbers Sooners assistant athletic director Mike Houck spotlighted:
Mike Houck @mhouckOUZack Sanchez's seventh INT of season. Let's keep in mind missed two full games and all but one play of another. #Sooners
Pat Forde of Yahoo Sports stated what most people were probably thinking at the time:
Pat Forde @YahooFordeBrutally bad decision by Watson. Can't do that.
Watson responded by leading a long scoring drive immediately after halftime. Much like Oklahoma to start the game, Clemson efficiently moved the ball down the field, covering 75 yards in just over four minutes to grab a 23-17 edge.
Mark Schlabach of ESPN noted the Tigers mixed up the offense to keep the Sooners defense guessing:
Mark Schlabach @Mark_SchlabachClemson takes opening kick and breaks through for TD in red zone. Really nice drive. Nice mix after so-so play calling in 1st half
Clemson started to pick up steam from there. The defense came up big again with a swarming stop of Perine on fourth down at the Tigers' 30-yard line. ESPN shared a replay of the stand:
ESPN @espnDenied! What a stand by the @ClemsonFB defense at the #OrangeBowl.
The Tigers didn't let the opportunity slip away, either.
Watson led the way again as Clemson added another touchdown to stretch the lead to 13. The score came on a perfectly placed throw to Hunter Renfrow, who beat a defender to the outside and easily trotted into the end zone for a 35-yard score.
Gene Sapakoff of the Charleston Post and Courier joined the chorus discussing Clemson's improved play-calling in the second half:
Gene Sapakoff @SapakoffNice 2nd half adjustments by Tony Elliott on that TD drive, particularly the Renfrow curl. Don't have to look end zone all the time
The Tigers remained in control from that point. Oklahoma could never rediscover the effectiveness on the offensive side that it displayed during the first drive of the game, and Clemson only got stronger as the contest went on.
The success of Clemson's ground game spearheaded the surge as the lead increased to 20 points, as noted by ESPN College Football:
ESPN CollegeFootball @ESPNCFBTouchdown Clemson! The Tigers have now rushed for school bowl record 302 yards in this game. #OrangeBowl
On the flip side, Oklahoma's defense came up short in a bowl game once again, per ESPN Stats and Info:
ESPN Stats & Info @ESPNStatsInfoPoints allowed by Oklahoma in Sooners’ last four bowl games (incl. tonight): 41, 31, 40, 37
The Tigers used their running game to drain the remaining time and secure a berth in the final without any of the late drama that's always popular this time of year.
They celebrated the triumph:
Clemson Football @ClemsonFBSee you in Arizona... #ALLIN
Bleacher Report also spotlighted the win:
Bleacher Report @BleacherReportClemson beats Oklahoma 37-17 to win the CFP Semifinal #OrangeBowl & advance to the National Championship Game!
Clemson will face the winner of the Cotton Bowl between No. 3 Michigan State and No. 2 Alabama for the national championship. Regardless of which team emerges from that matchup, the Tigers can expect a physical, old-school battle in the title game.
While Oklahoma fell short of its ultimate goal, this still represented a key bounce-back campaign after the team went 8-5 and was blown out by the same Tigers in the Russell Athletic Bowl last year. The Sooners will enter the offseason heading in the right direction as they look to take the next step in 2016.
But the Tigers, who found a groove after halftime and started playing the type of football that will be necessary to raise the trophy Jan. 11, will celebrate the new year as national finalists.
Postgame Reaction
ESPN provided comments from Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney as his team moved within one win of a title:
Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports passed along a reaction from Tigers linebacker Ben Boulware:
Bruce Feldman @BruceFeldmanCFB#Clemson LB Ben Boulware: "Y'all can't doubt us now. Y'all can't doubt 14-0!"
Stoops pointed out his team did too many things wrong at inopportune times, according to Joe Schad of ESPN:
Joe Schad @schadjoeBob Stoops: We couldn’t run it consistently. We had penalties and turnovers.
Clemson earned the victory by getting back to the basics. It utilized a complete offensive attack in the second half, and the defense took care of the rest. A 60-minute performance in the final similar to the last 30 minutes against Oklahoma would likely result in a national championship for the Tigers.
