Ohio State Loss Has Tigers on Mission
As a competitor, being on the wrong end of a one-sided loss can be a hard pill to swallow.
For the second consecutive season, the Clemson Tigers saw its season ended in a blowout loss. And on the games biggest stage, in the College Football Playoff.
Clemson's 49-28 loss to Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl was even more disheartening that the Tigers loss to LSU in the national title game a year earlier. Clemson was dominated on the line of scrimmage, on both sides of the ball, and sophomore linebacker Trenton Simpson said it's something the linebackers are reminded about each and every day.
"It's within the locker room, especially our linebacker corps," Simpson said. "(James) Skalski won't let it go by, he's gonna remind us to every day. We gotta play like it's the last game, so we got to come out and prepare everyday at that practice that this is game reps versus whoever... to be ready to play as hard as you can."
"We are reminded constantly how the last outcome was and we won't forget about it. So every day we're starting practice off tougher, trying to set a mindset for the rest of the spring and all the way up until September 4, you know, to be ready. And to be more physically ready in the trenches, D-Line, the linebackers, to the back seven, everywhere."
Simpson said that feeling of disappointment he had coming off the field after the loss to the Buckeyes is something he isn't interested in experiencing again.
"Just a bad feeling of just walking off the field knowing that we didn't win it all," Simpson said. "And this was a lot of seniors on that team that I'm definitely sure they wanted to leave with a ring so I definitely feel like I let my people down and I know that's how everybody feels. So I think we'll get it together next season for sure."
According to Simpson, the Tigers entered the spring with an all-new mindset and they are determined to be the most physical team every time they step onto the field.
"It's going to be a whole different mindset," Simpson said. "We're gonna be the team on the other side of the line of scrimmage every play. Just by the way we're practicing and the mindset we're having in the meeting room, in the weight room... because it all starts in the weight room. I definitely feel like everybody's working harder, a lot harder, pushing themselves to get more reps, everything, to make sure that that won't happen again."
Simpson said head coach Dabo Swinney has always maintained that if you want to play physical, you have to practice physical, and that is something that has really resonated with him over the offseason.
"That that starts in practice," Simpson said. "Like Coach Swinney says, if you don't practice physical, you can't expect to play physical. So everyday coming to practice and playing as physical as you can will translate to the game."
