Clemson football using Ohio State loss as motivation heading in 2021

The 2021 Clemson football team hasn’t forgotten in the slightest what happened the last time they took the field in the CFB Playoff this past January.

Though the Tigers were considered a slight favorite over Ohio State in Sugar Bowl when the two teams matched up in the CFB Playoff semifinals, it was the Buckeyes who came out well ahead.

Ohio State absolutely dominated the Tiger defense, both up-front and in the secondary, and that ultimately led them to a 49-28 victory over Clemson in a game that, honestly, might not have even been that close.

When media members talked to the Clemson football coaching staff earlier this summer, one thing was made clear: The loss to Ohio State placed a bad taste in the mouths of the entire team.

Defensive Line coach Todd Bates said the loss led to a chip being placed on the shoulder of the defense. C.H.I.P. stands for ‘compete how I practice,’ according to Bates.

"“It always starts up front. It’s up front and then inside-out and our guys have taken that approach,” Bates said via Tigernet. “We had a sour taste in our mouth coming off that last game we played against Ohio State. And our guys, they’ve owned it and focused on getting more physical and reestablishing that defensive line, and that line of scrimmage. So that’s been fun to watch and those guys are working their tails off.”"

When Defensive Backs coach Mike Reed was asked about the Ohio State game, he said his secondary took it upon themselves to make sure they came back stronger than ever.

"“We got totally dominated,” Reed said via Tigernet. “It is what it is. It wasn’t anything mysterious. They saw it as much as I saw it. It’s one of those things that left a bad taste in their mouth.”"

This 2021 Clemson football season is shaping up to be something special

One thing that was noticeable about the 2020 Clemson football season was the fact that things never seemed to fall in the Tigers’ favor, especially when it came to focusing on the task at hand.

Between the offseason attacks on Dabo Swinney, the questions about if there would be a season at all, the youth of the defense, and the injuries that mounted throughout the season, everything simply never came together.

Could that be different this time around?

It’s clear that this team is focused and they’ve got a great stable of veteran leadership that will help push them to reach their potential.

Losing to Ohio State in embarrassing fashion on national television is something that is going to be a motivating factor for this team as they make their run to the CFB Playoff and they’re going to play that up behind-the-scenes more than we know as they prepare for the season.