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. 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 1:35 of each other, to pull within 2 before 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. With the loss, Ohio State fell to 0–4 against Clemson, which it had last played in 2016, losing 31–0 in a shutout. Teams This was the fourth meeting between Clemson and Ohio State. The Tigers had won each of the prior three matchups, most recently the 2016 Fiesta Bowl. Ohio State Buckeyes Ohio State entered the 2019 season led by first year head coach Ryan Day following the retirement of head coach Urban Meyer. The Buckeyes would roll through their schedule with ease winning every game by double digits and defeated Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game to move to a 13–0 record. This was Ohio State's third College Football Playoff (CFP) semifinal game. The Buckeyes were 1–1 in prior CFP semifinals, their most recent appearance being a loss to Clemson in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl. Overall, Ohio State was 2–1 in prior CFP games, including their win over Oregon in the 2015 CFP National Championship. This was Ohio State's ninth appearance in the Fiesta Bowl; the Buckeyes were 5–3