CHARLOTTE – While Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables was soaking in the third-ranked Tigers’ 62-17 win over No. 23 Virginia in the ACC Championship Game on Saturday, Venables was also starting to think about the challenge that lies ahead for his unit.

Clemson will likely remain the No. 3 team in the final College Football Playoff rankings that are set to be released at noon today, meaning the Tigers would face the No. 2 seed, which figures to be either Ohio State or LSU.

Ohio State is No. 1 nationally in scoring offense at 48.7 points per game, while LSU ranks No. 3 at 47.8 points per game.

According to Venables, Clemson’s staff has already begun preparations for potential CFP opponents.

“We’ve been working a little bit,” he said. “I haven’t, personally, but our staff has. So, yeah man, all week I’ll just go in a depression watching tape and looking at cards and looking at what the scouting reports say — guys averaging 10 yards a carry on the lead (draw) or the quarterback keep or receivers averaging 25 yards a catch. That’s going to happen, it’s getting ready to happen, so we’ll address that when it comes. But just thankful for our guys and their heart, love and appreciation for each other. And again, just to be a part of it, man, it’s been a lot of fun.”

Venables says he has no preference whether Clemson plays LSU or Ohio State, nor has he thought about any CFP scenarios.

“I don’t even know how it works,” he said. “I didn’t even know who was No. 1 last week. Somebody’s having to tell me who was 1. Guys are having this big to-do about who’s going to be 1 … So, I don’t care. It doesn’t matter what I think, so I didn’t put no time into thinking, having any emotions about it.”

LSU is led by Heisman Trophy frontrunner Joe Burrow, and Ohio State features star signal-caller Justin Fields.

Burrow has thrown for 4,715 yards and 48 touchdowns with six interceptions and has also rushed for 289 yards and three touchdowns. Fields, meanwhile, has 2,953 passing yards and 40 passing touchdowns with one interception to go with 471 rushing yards and 10 scores on the ground.

Whichever quarterback Clemson ends up facing, Venables knows it will be difficult to scheme against a quarterback that can damage a game plan with both his arm and legs.

“Those guys that can do both are hard – Fields and Burrow and Jalen Hurts – those guys are hard to defend,” he said.

Venables, though, knows that going up against great offenses comes with the territory of going to the playoff.

“You play in the playoffs, you play in a New Year’s Day bowl game, you play in the playoffs, you play good people. You’re not going to slop around and have a chance to win,” he said. “So, we’re going to again enjoy this for the next 24 hours or so and give our guys a few days off, and we’ll put our heart into it. That’s what we asked of our guys, just put your heart into it – put your heart into the finish line here and let’s see where things fall. But there are going to be a bunch of champions and a bunch of unbelievable players and coaches and schemes. That’s playoff football, so that’s to be expected.”

Venables has seen bits and pieces of Ohio State and LSU on TV throughout the season and had a chance to watch some of Saturday’s SEC Championship Game.

“I always watch (ESPN’s College Football) Final. I watch that,” he said. “Occasionally see a little bit here and there. I saw a few series of the Georgia-LSU game. That was, oh man, yeah … I’m like turn the TV off. I saw Ohio State play a few times this year. They’re unbelievable. So, these are some amazing teams, particularly offensively. You look at teams I think might be in there — Ohio State, LSU, Oklahoma — they all know how to win. They’ve got great leadership, great quarterback play, great incredible skill, good defenses, great coaches… So, it will be fun.”

The Clemson Tigers ares ACC champions for the fifth year in a row. Get the latest official Clemson ACC Championship gear from Fanatics.