When you are in the press box covering a game, you can miss a lot of things. The game seems a little different when you are watching it in person as opposed to on television.

After a big scrimmage or even a game, you always here coaches say “I have to go back and watch it on tape” before they will give a true opinion on what they saw. Well, that kind of works the same way for what I do as well.

As dominant as Clemson looked in beating Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl this past Saturday night, it looked even better when I went back and watched the game after getting home from Phoenix, Arizona last night. It looked like Ohio State—one of the best teams and programs in the country—had no business being on the same field as the Tigers.

Clemson was better at just about every position on the field. I know Buckeyes’ head coach Urban Meyer was disappointed with the way his team played, especially with the way they executed, but when going back and watching the game, except for a few plays here and there, I don’t think that would have mattered.

The reason Ohio State could not execute, especially on the offensive end, was because of Clemson. Clemson’s dudes were better than Ohio State’s dudes, and it was not even close.

If you go back and watch a lot of the individual matchups, Clemson won almost every single time. As expected, the Tigers’ defensive front owned the Buckeyes’ offensive line. They lived in the backfield all night for the most part.

People want to say Ohio State abandoned its running game, its bread and butter, if you will. But that’s not true. Meyer and company knew coming into the game they could not run the football, not with that offensive line going up against that defensive front.

He knew the only chance they had to win the game was to use the pass to set up the run. Brent Venables knew that too, which is why, especially in the first half, he played a lot more zone, sometimes rushing just three and dropping eight. That kept quarterback J.T. Barrett in the pocket and forced him to have to make tough throws, which we all knew, especially Jadar Johnson, he could not do on a consistent basis.

Clemson’s dominance did not just show up on the field, but on the stat sheet as well. The Buckeyes had just 215 total yards and 88 rushing yards. They came into the Fiesta Bowl averaging 40.2 points and 480 yards per game. Their rushing total was 170 yards below their season average. They had just 25 yards before Curtis Samuel broke off that 64-yard run midway through the fourth quarter when the outcome was all but over.

The Tigers (13-1) finished the game with 11 tackles for loss, including three sacks. The defensive front also batted down three passes at the line of scrimmage, two by defensive tackle Carlos Watkins. The official number on how many quarterback pressures the Tigers got was not recorded, but trust me, it’s also high.

Defensive end Clelin Ferrell owned the left side of the Buckeyes’ offensive line. And yes, left guard Michael Jordan’s injury did not help, but it would not have mattered, Ferrell would have owned him too. The game’s defensive MVP lived in the Ohio State backfield the entire game and if he did not make the tackle or sack, he was disrupting the play.

By the way, on the inside, Watkins, Scott Pagano and Dexter Lawrence dominated Remington Award winner and consensus All-American center Pat Elflein and All-American right guard Billy Price. They had no answer for those three.

Like I thought, Clemson’s offense and Ohio State’s defense would cancel each other out in a lot of ways, but also, like I thought, Ohio State’s defense had not faced a set of receivers and a quarterback like Clemson’s either.

The Tigers won that battle against the Buckeyes’ secondary for much of the night. Though they are still the best Clemson has faced, in my opinion. I thought Deshaun Watson, with the exception of the one interception by safety Malik Hooker, played smart all night and made good decisions.

The interception on the second offensive play of the game for the Tigers was on Mike Williams because the play was there for him to make if he does not slip. I feel, by the way Williams owned the Ohio State cornerbacks all night, he would have made that play or at least broke it up. He finished the game with six catches for 96 yards.

By the way, Clemson’s 265 passing yards were the most the Buckeyes’ top-five defense has given up all year. Watson’s 259 yards were the most they allowed to any one quarterback, and his 63.9 percent completion percentage tied for the best as well.

Watson completed at least one pass to nine different targets.

The Tigers were just the third team to run for more than 200 yards on Ohio State’s defense, and the three rushing touchdowns were a season-high for rushing touchdowns allowed. Prior to the Fiesta Bowl, the Buckeyes had allowed just five rushing touchdowns all season and no more than one in any game.

Clemson averaged 4.3 yards per carry. Ohio State allowed just 3.4 all season.

So when I went back and watched the game last night, I came away with this assumption. Clemson’s dudes were just better than Ohio State’s dudes, and that is why it won 31-0.

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