![Photos by Micah Green / The Sumter Item ABOVE: Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, left, and Ohio State head coach Ryan Day shake hands on Friday during the final press conference before Saturday's Fiesta Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal game. BELOW: A Clemson helmet sits on display during the press conference.]()
Superpower semifinal Ohio State, Clemson meet in Fiesta Bowl for spot in national championship
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Clemson coach Dabo Swinney grew up an Alabama fan, when crowning a champion in college football was all about polls and bowls and the best teams often never got a chance to settle it on the field.
"It'd be pretty cool to go …
![Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott, above, and Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley have been working to get their teams ready for Saturday’s College Football Playoff semifinal game against each other while trying to fill their roles as new head coaches at other programs. Scott is now the South Florida head coach, while Hafley is now head coach at Boston College.]()
Clemson's Scott and OSU's Hafley pulling double duty
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Jeff Scott likes watching and listening to introductory news conferences, in part so he can map out what he'll say when his time to become a head coach arrives.
When it finally did and …
![THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LSU quarterback Joe Burrow (9) will lead the Tigers against fellow quarterback Jalen Hurts and the Oklahoma Sooners in the Peach Bowl College Football Playoff semifinal game in Atlanta on Saturday.]()
Burrow vs. Hurts: A tantalizing matchup at the Peach Bowl
By PAUL NEWBERRY
AP Sports Writer
ATLANTA - Joe Burrow needed a year under his belt, along with a coaching change and a new wide-open offense, to really find his way at LSU.
Jalen Hurts didn't have even that long to adjust, which makes his …
![PHIL KORNBLUT]()
Clemson, USC still have work to do after dead period
We've hit the pause button on the football recruiting scene until the middle of January. With the early signing period ending last Friday, the dead period gives coaches and unsigned recruits a bit of a breather before things go live again on Jan. …
![File-This Sept. 7, 2019, file photo shows Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence dropping back to pass with blocking help from Jackson Carman (79) during the second half of an NCAA college football game in Clemson, S.C. Carman is one of the few recent five-star recruits from Ohio who didn't end up at Ohio State. Now the two schools meet in the CFP semifinals, where Carman will be matched up against Ohio State's star defensive lineman Chase Young.]()
Clemson's Carman vs. OSU's Young an intriguing battle
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Jackson Carman had a few good options when deciding where to play college football, including Ohio State.
Unlike many highly-rated recruits from Ohio, the offensive lineman decided to leave the Buckeye State.
Now Carman's …
![Clemson took a gamble when they promoted Dabo Swinney from wide receivers coach to head coach, but that gamble has more than paid off with two national championships and five straight trips to the College Football Playoff.]()
Perfect fit: Playoff teams' in-house hires getting it done
Former Clemson athletic director Terry Don Phillips made a deal with Dabo Swinney when he decided to make him the Tigers head football coach.
"There were people that were very skeptical of that hire," Phillips recently recalled. "I said, 'Dabo, …
![Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) will see a familiar face on the opposing sideline when the Tigers face Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday. Lawrence and Buckeye quarterback Justin Fields were both top recruits coming out of the Atlanta area and worked with the same quarterback coach in high school.]()
Finally, Fields vs. Lawrence: 'This is the future of the NFL'
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Justin Fields and Trevor Lawrence went to high school about 20 miles from each other in the suburbs northwest of Atlanta.
They have worked out since middle school with the same quarterback trainer, a former Pac-12 QB and …
![Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields (1) runs with the ball past Wisconsin defensive end Isaiahh Loudermilk during the first half of the Big Ten championship NCAA college football game, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019, in Indianapolis.]()
Lingering knee issue still bothering Ohio State's Fields
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields may not be fully healthy when the second-ranked Buckeyes face No. 3 Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl.
Fields said Tuesday his left knee is only 80 to 85% heading into Saturday's College Football …
![Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) and the Tigers face off against against Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl as they ssek their second straight College Football National Championship game.]()
Clemson keys on Young; OU slowdown vs LSU
The four College Football Playoff teams rank in the top five nationally in points per game and yards per game.
For defenses to determine who wins this championship, there might be a turnover here, a sack there and a couple of clutch red-zone …
![Clemson forward Hunter Tyson dunks the ball during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against the Mississippi State in the Never Forget Tribute Classic Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018, in Newark, N.J.]()
Atkinson's 20 leads Yale to 54-45 win over Clemson
CLEMSON (AP) - Yale coach James Jones didn't think his team would crumble this year simply because it lost four starters off last season's NCAA Tournament squad.
The Bulldogs showed that at Clemson on Sunday with a 54-45 victory.
Paul Atkinson …
