When Urban Meyer speaks of "nine units strong" you might be surprised to know special teams aren't included in that mantra however there's no questioning the value he sees in fielding strong special units.
Now that we're down to the Final Four in college football, the games are as much about exploiting matchups as they are about execution.
As such, you've read plenty about if/how Ohio State's secondary can contain Clemson's explosive receivers in addition to deep dives on if/how the Buckeye offensive line can keep Clemson's pass rushers out of J.T. Barrett's face.
Other less sexy but certainly not inconsequential games within the game will occur on special teams where one kickoff, punt or field goal can swing the momentum in a decisive way.
Heading into Saturday's showdown with the Tigers, here's how each team's specialized units stack up.
KICKOFF AND KICK RETURN TEAMS
In Meyer's first four years at Ohio State he put a premium on kickoffs short of the endzone and angled to the corner resulting in touchback rates ranging from 24% (2012) to 32% (2015).
This year, however, Meyer has asked Tyler Durbin to kick it into the endzone more often resulting in a touchback rate of 38%, good for 60th in the country. Also of note, Durbin has kicked the ball out of bounds just four times this year after the previous two seasons saw Jack Willoughby and Kyle Clinton do so seven times each.
With respect to covering those kicks, the 2016 Buckeyes are faring worse than all of Meyer's previous squads in Columbus except the 2012 outfit, giving up 18.9 yards per kickoff return (32nd nationally) leading to an average drive starting at the 24 yard line.
Meanwhile, Clemson's Greg Huegel's kickoffs result in a touchback 42% of the time and the Tiger kickoff coverage squad ranks 35th nationally surrendering 19.1 yards per return.
Speaking of returns, Parris Campbell is averaging 26.6 yards per kickoff return with a long of 91 while Clemson's top return guy, Artavis Scott, is averaging 22.9 per return.
Combined, Ohio State returners rank 14th nationally at 24.09 per attempt which is easily the best rank of the Meyer era (2015: 27th, 2014: 28th, 2013: 36th, 2012: 86th) with Clemson slotted 56th on 21.18 per try.
PUNT AND PUNT RETURN TEAMS
Cameron Johnston is a boss. The End.
#Well actually, I'll go a little deeper but you get the point. Behind Johnston, Ohio State ranks 6th in the nation in punting at 45.3 yards per punt, up from 27th in the nation, or 43.3 yards per punt last season. Conversely, Clemson ranks just 118th in the land at 37.8 yards per punt off the leg of Andy Teasdall.
Looking at punts inside the 20, Johnston has 23 to his credit on 49 attempts (47%) while Teasdall has 18 in 48 tries (38%).
As for returning those punts, Ohio State has been a shitshow this season with 26 returns going for an average of 5.4 yards, good for 102nd in the country. The 5.4 yards per are easily the worst of the Meyer era with the 2013 squad (8.1) the next closest and a high of 13.1 yards per occurring last season.
Dontre Wilson averaged 6.3 yards on 17 tries before his high-wire act resulted in a trip to the bench. Since then, Curtis Samuel has fielded five punts for an average return of four yards.
Clemson's Ray Ray McCloud sounds like a man born to return punts but his 21 tries for an average of 8.4 yards has the Tigers ranked only 61st nationally though Dabo Swinney's squad does slot 9th with five returns of 20-29 yards and 7th with three of 30-39 yards.
Looking at the punt coverage units, Ohio State's 2016 edition is the best of the Meyer era and currently ranks 10th in the nation allowing 3.25 yards per return (12 for 39).
Meanwhile, Clemson's punt coverage team clocks in at 36th nationally allowing 5.50 yards per (8 for 44).
The key here obviously is for Ohio State to lean on Johnston to give Clemson's offense the worst starting field position possible and for Samuel to simply field the ball and avoid disaster which is something the Buckeyes couldn't do in the last matchup when a Philly Brown muff proved fatal.
FIELD GOALS
Ohio State placekicker Tyler Durbin flirted with reputational disaster when he missed a pair of field goals against Michigan but the walk-on has largely been a pleasant surprise for the Buckeyes after highly touted Sean Nuernberger faded into obscurity.
Durbin's only other miss of the year came on a rushed 45-yard attempt Penn State blocked and took to the house but it's hard to pin that one on Fight Club.
On the season, Durbin stands 17 for 20 (85%) including 9/10 from 30-39 yards and 2/3 from 40-49 yards.
For Clemson, Huegel enters the Fiesta Bowl 13/17 for on the season, good for 77%. He's 4/5 from 30-39 and 4/6 from 40-49 and has also had one kicked blocked.
On the season, Clemson's field goal defense has blocked two attempts.
