COLUMBUS, Ohio – The consolation prize for the Buckeyes will be a trip to Miami and an Orange Bowl matchup with Clemson.
Ohio State (12-1) fell from No. 2 to No. 7 in the final Bowl Championship Series standings of the season after losing to Michigan State in the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis on Saturday night.
Instead of playing Florida State for the national championship, Carlos Hyde (above) and the Buckeyes will face the 12th-ranked Tigers in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 3 (8:30 p.m./ESPN).
Approximately 17,500 tickets were allotted to OSU and the Department of Athletics has put select blocks on sale, with individual tickets starting at $75.
The Buckeyes’ 24-game winning streak and BCS title hopes ended Saturday with the loss to Michigan State and this will be their first trip to the Orange Bowl since winning the 1977 game.
Clemson (10-2) gets its second Orange Bowl trip in three years, despite not winning its division of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The only previous meeting between Ohio State and Clemson was in the 1978 Gator Bowl, infamous in the memories of Buckeyes fans for being Woody Hayes’s final game as head coach. He was fired after punching a player who intercepted a pass.
The Buckeyes will be making their 43rd official appearance in postseason competition, having last appeared in the 2012 Gator Bowl.
The Buckeyes will be vying to give Urban Meyer his fourth 13-1 season since 2006.
Top-ranked Florida State will take on No. 2 Auburn in the BCS championship game at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 6. Alabama was ranked No. 3 and Rose Bowl opponents Michigan State and Stanford rounded out the BCS top five.