2019 Fiesta Bowl (December)
The 2019 Fiesta Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 28, 2019, played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, and was broadcast by ESPN. It was the 49th edition of the Fiesta Bowl, and was one of the 2019–20 bowl games concluding the 2019 FBS football season. The Fiesta Bowl was one of two College Football Playoff semifinal games, the game featured two of the four teams selected by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee—Clemson from the ACC, and Ohio State from the Big Ten, with the winner advancing to the 2020 College Football Playoff National Championship. Sponsored by Sony Interactive Entertainment via its PlayStation brand, the game was officially known as the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.
| 2019 PlayStation Fiesta Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| College Football Playoff Semifinal 49th Fiesta Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ohio State on offense in the 1st quarter | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 28, 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2019 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | State Farm Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Glendale, Arizona | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Trevor Lawrence (QB, Clemson) Chad Smith (LB, Clemson) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Clemson by 2.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National anthem | The dancing Class of lafayette academy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Ken Williamson (SEC) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | Clemson University Tiger Band Ohio State University Marching Band | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 71,330 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$6,000,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN and ESPN Radio | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | ESPN: Chris Fowler (play-by-play) Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) Maria Taylor and Tom Rinaldi (sideline) ESPN Radio: Sean Kelley, Barrett Jones, Ian Fitzsimmons | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 11.1 (21.2 million viewers) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN Deportes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ohio State raced to a 16–0 lead with 7 minutes remaining in the first half, having three long drives to the red zone that were stopped by the Clemson defense. Clemson added two quick scores, within 95 seconds of each other, to cut the lead to 16-14 at halftime. The teams exchanged the lead three times throughout the second half. After Clemson scored to make it 29–23, Ohio State had one last chance to take the lead. quarterback Justin Fields led his team to the Clemson 23-yard line, but a pass meant for Chris Olave was intercepted in the endzone by Nolan Turner after a miscommunication, sealing the victory for Clemson.
With the win, Clemson advanced to the CFP National Championship where they would lose to LSU by a score of 42-25, while Ohio State's season came to an end.