COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Buckeyes already have one South Florida practice session under their belts as they prepare for their Discover Orange Bowl matchup with Clemson.
Two chartered planes taxied under a water cannon salute at Miami/Fort Lauderdale Airport about 10:30 a.m. Sunday and players, coaches and other personnel disembarked to find the sky overcast but the temperatures in the 70’s.
“It’s [the game] really big for us right now because it is a championship series bowl game. We’re going to come in here and try to do what we can do for the Big Ten and for Ohio State and try to get this W,” linebacker Ryan Shazier told reporters at the airport.
After a quick lunch, meetings and taping at the Westin Diplomat, which is serving as team headquarters for the trip, the Buckeyes went through about a 90-minute session at Nova Southeastern University, about 40 minutes away, an athletic department spokesman said.
Team officials confirmed that All-Big Ten Conference defensive end Noah Spence did not make the trip because he was “managing a personal issue” but head coach Urban Meyer said he hoped Spence would rejoin the team by the end of the week.
The 2014 Discover Orange Bowl, featuring the 7th-ranked Buckeyes and 12th-ranked Tigers, kicks off at Sun Life Stadium at 8:30 p.m. on Jan. 3 on ESPN.