No. 3 Buckeyes to play Clemson in Fiesta Bowl

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State Buckeyes are in the College Football Playoff and will play Clemson in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl Dec. 31. in Glendale, Arizona.

Ohio State is the first non-conference champion to make the playoff, earning the No. 3 ranking. Unbeaten Alabama picked up the top seed, ACC champion Clemson landed in second and Pac-12 champion Washington nabbed the fourth and final spot, ousting No. 5 Penn State and No. 6 Michigan.

The Big Ten champion Nittany Lions are packing their bags for the Rose Bowl despite taking down Wisconsin in a thriller Saturday night and upsetting Ohio State in Happy Valley on Oct. 22. Penn State’s losses came to Pittsburgh (42-39) and Michigan (49-10).

Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines were pushed away from a spot in the Big Ten championship game after falling to the Buckeyes for the fifth straight year in a double overtime thriller.  Michigan’s first loss of the season came to four-loss Iowa on Nov. 12, which negated quality wins over Colorado and Penn State.

The Buckeyes’ strength of schedule helped them defy the odds of making the playoff without winning the conference crown. Ohio State routed Oklahoma in Norman, edged Wisconsin at Camp Randall and annihilated Nebraska at The Shoe before taking down the Maize and Blue.

The Scarlet and Gray’s focus now turns to Clemson, whose lone defeat of the season came to four-loss Pittsburgh on Nov. 12. Among the Tigers’ top wins are victories over Louisville, Florida State and Virginia Tech.

The PlayStation Fiesta Bowl will be played at University of Phoenix Stadium, while Alabama and Washington will square off in the Chik-fli-A Peach Bowl at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on the same night.

The winners will meet for the national championship on Jan. 9.