Ohio State redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Wyatt Davis (52) speaking to the press at media day Dec. 26. Credit: Cori Wade | Assistant Photo Editor
It’s a story that dates back to biblical times. David and Goliath: the darling underdog that’s able to best an opponent that, on paper, it should not have.
That’s hardly been the story of Ohio State’s season, as the perennial juggernaut has been the favorite against each opponent it stood against en route to the second 13-0 start in program history.
Yet underdogs the Buckeyes will play against Clemson Saturday, a premise that some players have embraced, while others are trying to ignore.
“Everyone comes out with a new sense of energy. You feel like you’ve been disrespected, and you have something to prove,” freshman wide receiver Garrett Wilson said. “We feel like that either way, but when someone’s doubting you, it’s just a little different. You’re lying if you say you don’t feel a little different about it.”
But senior safety Jordan Fuller said that when looking at Clemson’s film, he sees why people are picking the Tigers to win.
On both sides of the ball this year, Ohio State has been historically good. The Buckeyes are No. 5 in the United States with 531 yards per game on offense, but Clemson’s got them beat by more than 17 yards per contest.
The Buckeyes are allowing the second-fewest yards per game in college football at 247.6. It’s a total defense better than any team in the nation — except the Clemson Tigers.
If it’s respect the Buckeyes are after, favored to lose against the lower-seeded Tigers, head coach Ryan Day laid out a clear road map Thursday.
“If you want respect, go beat the defending national champs who have won 28 straight games,” Day said.
With the dominant success Ohio State has had this year, it could be easy to forget where it began. Redshirt sophomore guard Wyatt Davis has not.
“We love coming in as the underdog,” Davis said. “I feel like that’s been the style of our season. Even preseason, we weren’t supposed to make it here. It feeds our energy, and we’re just looking forward to [showing] the world why.”
Ranked outside the top 4 to begin the season, Ohio State wasn’t favored to win its division. Instead, Michigan was picked to capture a Big Ten title, which Davis said was all he needed to put a chip on his shoulder and play with an underdog mentality against the Wolverines.
But some Buckeyes haven’t been picked to lose a game since their high school days.
For Wilson, it was his final high school game at Lake Travis in Texas in the playoffs for the state championship. It was no Cinderella story, as Wilson’s squad lost 51-10 to the eventual state champion.
“They got it right that time,” Wilson said. “They ain’t getting it right this week though.”
The last time freshman running back Steele Chambers was expected to lose a game, he was facing a familiar foe. Clemson sophomore quarterback Trevor Lawrence led Cartersville to the playoffs in Georgia two years ago, but Chambers and Blessed Trinity Catholic pulled off the upset.
Lawrence hasn’t lost since, and the phenom prospect has been heating up.
The player widely regarded as one of the top quarterback prospects of all time threw for at least three touchdowns in each of Clemson’s past eight games, hasn’t thrown a pick in the past six and completed better than 75 percent of his passes in that period.
“They’re so talented and elite at every position,” Fuller said. “This is going to be our biggest challenge yet, obviously, and we look forward to it.”
Redshirt freshman running back Master Teague said public perception of the matchup only adds fuel to the Buckeyes’ fire, and junior cornerback Jeff Okudah said the message from the coaching staff doesn’t change due to Ohio State’s underdog status.
“It’s just a challenge that we welcome. I think underdog-favorite — the point is when you kick the ball, you gotta play football,” Okudah said. “We’re ready for that, and we’re confident in what we’re gonna be able to do.”
However, Day made sure to remind his team in a pre-practice huddle Wednesday that if they do beat Clemson, the Buckeyes have a chance to be thought of as one of the greatest teams in college football history.
First, though, they’ll have to beat the odds.
