Clemson’s Watson, Oklahoma’s Mayfield to face off in Orange Bowl showdown of top QBs

The Clemson defense has not watched any film of last year’s 40-6 drubbing of Oklahoma in the Russell Athletic Bowl, and according to Tigers defensive coordinator Brent Venables, there is no reason to.

The fourth-ranked Sooners (11-1) will rely on several of the same playmakers in Thursday’s rematch, this time with a spot in the national championship game on the line. But the one big exception is at quarterback, where Oklahoma is now led by All-American Baker Mayfield.

The former Texas Tech walk-on, with the help of offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley, has completely revitalized the Sooners offense. Entering the postseason, Oklahoma is averaging nearly 10 points and 78 yards per game more than last year’s squad.

“It’s just a different animal,” Venables said.

Mayfield, who finished fourth in Heisman Trophy voting, leads an Oklahoma offense that scored 52 points or more in four of its final six games – all wins. The Sooners faced No. 4 Baylor, No. 11 TCU and No. 9 Oklahoma State down the stretch and averaged 44 points per game in those three contests, including a dominant 58-23 win at Oklahoma State to finish off the regular season.

“He completely changes that team 100 percent. It’s a complete 180 turnaround,” Clemson linebacker Ben Boulware said. “He’s a Heisman contender. You can see by his stats he’s a great player. He’s probably one of the top best players in the nation. You definitely can see that on film.”

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney has compared Mayfield to former Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel. He has thrown for nearly 3,400 yards with 35 touchdowns and five interceptions, and has rushed for 420 yards and seven scores. The junior has the ability to not only extend plays, but also make strong, accurate throws on the run.

“The quarterback, he’s something serious, something that we’ve really got to take into consideration,” Clemson junior defensive end Kevin Dodd said. “He’s a great player. He has all the skill sets to dominate this game, and if we take him for granted, this game could get out of hand early, so we’ve definitely got to handle this quarterback.”

Of course, No. 1 Clemson (12-0) has its own dynamic quarterback that the Sooners will have to defend, and like Mayfield, Heisman Trophy finalist Deshaun Watson missed last year’s game as well.

While Mayfield had to sit out as a transfer, Watson missed the game with an injury. Even though Oklahoma’s defense has never faced Watson, the Sooners and defensive coordinator Mike Stoops are very familiar with what the sophomore is capable of.

Stoops said Watson is special because he can hurt you both with his arm and his legs.

“I think he puts stress on you because you have to account for him (running). You can’t every play, but you know that they want to feature him when they need to. When things aren’t going well, that’s the one guy that can make a play for them,” Stoops said. “And then it stresses your defense even more, and you’re out there single covered. That’s where they’re good in getting the ball vertically down the field. They’re going to take their shots.”

More times than not, Watson has taken advantage of his opportunities in the passing game. He has thrown for more than 3,500 yards and 30 touchdowns with 11 interceptions, and also has 887 rushing yards and 11 scores.

Still, Oklahoma defenders believe they can limit Watson’s success. They respect the Hesiman Trophy finalist, but also feel that playing against Big 12 offenses has prepared them to face Clemson’s explosive attack.

“In the Big 12, we see those kind of offenses with those kind of quarterbacks all the time,” Sooners defensive end Charles Tapper said. “You have Trevone Boykin, you have Baker Mayfield, guys like that you see them all the time, so we didn’t really change any gameplans, make up any special things because we see those type of mobile quarterbacks. If you’re running zone read, which is a hard play to defend, who can scramble at any time, call a QB draw or a QB carry, those are things that are hard to deal with.”

This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 2:22 PM with the headline "Clemson’s Watson, Oklahoma’s Mayfield to face off in Orange Bowl showdown of top QBs."