GLENDALE, Ariz. — Curtis Samuel sat in the chair directly in front of his locker and got straight to the point.
What just happened in the hours prior — Clemson’s 31-0 rout of Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl — the Buckeyes’ talented offensive weapon never saw coming.
“There was no thought in my mind that we could ever lose by that much. Ever. No matter who we’re going against,” Samuel said. “I just didn’t ever expect us to lose like that and I’m upset I didn’t do more.”
And so, Ohio State was served a big slice of humble pie Saturday night.
Urban Meyer is now 61-6 leading the Buckeyes, so losing doesn’t happen often. And losing the way Ohio State did Saturday night had yet to occur during Meyer’s tenure in Columbus. Meyer’s first five losses were by a combined 35 points. The Buckeyes lost by 31 to the Tigers in the Fiesta Bowl.
“Ohio State is not used to this,” Meyer said.
“It’s not like us,” center Pat Elflein added. “That doesn’t happen.”
Clemson deserves a lot of the credit. The Tigers are as talented a team as there is in the country. Their defense dominated, handing Meyer the first shutout loss of his career, and their offense did exactly what it has done all season: rack up a ton of yards and score a bunch of points.
But Ohio State certainly didn’t do itself any favors, either.
The Buckeyes started two of their first three drives in Clemson territory. They gained a total of 15 yards and came away with exactly zero points. Ohio State continuously tried to stretch the Clemson defense horizontally as opposed to running downhill. That didn’t work, as the Tigers’ speed on the outside was apparent from the get-go.
Ohio State was dominated in a way it had never been before under Meyer.
“Everything that could’ve gone wrong,” defensive end Sam Hubbard said, “pretty much did go wrong.”
It was very quiet inside the Buckeyes’ locker room following the game. If not for doors to lockers slamming shut every few minutes, the only noise would have been from players answering questions from reporters.
This was unlike any loss that any of the players ever experienced at the collegiate level.
“This was unexpected and we didn’t see that coming by any means,” Barrett said. “We expected to win the game and that was what happened. We didn’t come to play. Our units were messed up and we were not nine units strong. It’s real simple.”
Ohio State entered Saturday's game against Clemson a confident bunch.
The Buckeyes certainly won't lose that, but now, it's clear there is plenty more work to be done.
