Ohio State falls to Clemson 40-35 in the Orange Bowl

Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller answered with a long touchdown run of his own — a 34-yarder on the Buckeyes' first drive.

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Tajh Boyd threw for 378 yards and five touchdowns, Sammy Watkins had a record-setting night with 16 catches for 227 yards, and No. 12 Clemson rallied to beat No. 7 Ohio State 40-35 in the Orange Bowl on Friday night.

Boyd’s 5-yard pass to Stanton Seckinger with 6:16 remaining put the Tigers (11-2) ahead to stay. Watkins caught two touchdown passes, plus became Clemson’s career receptions leader and set an Orange Bowl record for yardage.

Martavis Bryant caught two more TD passes for the Tigers, who won their first Orange Bowl in 32 years.

Braxton Miller threw for 234 yards and Carlos Hyde ran for 113 more for Ohio State (12-2), which wasted a nine-point second-half lead. Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer lost for the first time in five career trips to the Bowl Championship Series.

For the second time in three years, Clemson fell apart at the Orange Bowl.

Only this time, the Tigers found a way to recover. And thanks to Tajh Boyd, Sammy Watkins and plenty of others, the end result was Clemson’s biggest win in a generation.

Boyd threw for 378 yards and five touchdowns, Watkins had a record-setting night with 16 catches for 227 yards, and No. 12 Clemson rallied to beat No. 7 Ohio State 40-35 on Friday for the school’s first Orange Bowl win in 32 years.

Boyd’s 5-yard pass to Stanton Seckinger with 6:16 remaining put the Tigers (11-2) ahead to stay on a night when they allowed 20 unanswered points in wasting an early 11-point lead. Watkins caught two scoring passes, plus became Clemson’s career receptions leader and set an Orange Bowl record for yardage.

Martavis Bryant caught two more TD passes for the Tigers, who posted consecutive 11-win seasons for the first time in school history.

Braxton Miller threw for 234 yards and Carlos Hyde ran for 113 more for Ohio State (12-2), which led 29-20 in the second half but wound up losing its second straight game — after having won each of its previous 24 under coach Urban Meyer, whose record in Bowl Championship Series games fell to 4-1. Corey Brown had 116 yards receiving for the Buckeyes.

Miller was intercepted twice in the final 3:12, dooming the Buckeyes. Boyd threw an interception to give Ohio State the ball back, but Miller was picked again — Stephone Anthony made the play for the Tigers — and Clemson ran out the clock.

The Buckeyes had a 29-20 lead in the third after Hyde picked up 31 yards on 4th-and-inches, then went airborne to break the plane of the goal line on the next play.

Then the mistakes started coming in bunches by Ohio State. A fumbled punt return and an interception led to touchdown grabs by Watkins and Bryant, putting the Tigers up entering the fourth.

Hyde caught a 14-yard scoring pass from Miller with 11:35 left, giving the Buckeyes a one-point lead, but Clemson and Boyd went on one last scoring march to give the Tigers the BCS win they’ve been seeking for years.

When Clemson played in the Orange Bowl two years ago, the Tigers gave up 21 points in the final 2:29 of the first half, letting a close game get blown wide open on the way to a 70-33 loss to West Virginia.

End-of-half mistakes cost Clemson again.

Boyd’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Bryant had Ohio State facing a 20-9 deficit, but two scores in a 3½-minute span gave the Buckeyes a 22-20 halftime lead. Clemson left Jeff Heuerman wide open down the middle for a 57-yard touchdown pass from Miller, making it a one-score game. And on a drive aided by a 15-yard penalty against Clemson’s Darius Robinson, Miller ran in from 3 yards with 12 seconds left to give the Buckeyes their first lead.

And Ohio State had to feel fortunate.

Boyd went 48 yards untouched — his longest career run — for a touchdown that opened the scoring. The Buckeyes tied it on the ensuing drive, catching a break when a third-down sack by Vic Beasley that would have forced a punt was rendered moot by his unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Heuerman pulled off a fake punt later in the drive, and Miller eventually rumbled 33 yards to tie the game.

Boyd found Watkins for a 34-yard score to put Clemson back on top. Ohio State answered with a safety, sacking Boyd one play after Armani Reeves brilliantly downed a punt at the 1, putting the ball on the turf with his left hand as his right hand was touching the orange paint in the Clemson end zone.

THIRD QUARTER

Clemson turned a pair of Ohio State turnovers into scores to take a 34-29 lead after the third quarter of tonight's Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium.

The Buckeyes led 29-20 late in the third quarter before the night took a wild turn. OSU receiver Corey Brown's drop of a punt gave way to a 30-yard touchdown pass from Tajh Boyd to Sammy Watkins while an interception by quarterback Braxton Miller on the ensuing drive led to the Tigers' go-ahead score — a three-yard touchdown catch by Martavis Bryant.

HALFTIME

Ohio State has rallied past Clemson to take a 22-20 lead into halftime of tonight's Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium.

Trailing 20-9 late in the second quarter, the Buckeyes answered with a pair of touchdowns in the half's final four minutes. Braxton Miller threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to an open Jeff Heuerman, then ran for his second score of the game — a three-yard rush — with 12 seconds left.

Clemson has outgained OSU 362-252.

FIRST QUARTER

Ohio State trails Clemson 14-9 after the first quarter of a budding shootout at tonight's Orange Bowl.

Clemson sliced through the seventh-ranked Buckeyes' defense on its first two drives, with quarterback Tajh Boyd running for a 49-yard touchdown — the longest rush of his career — and later connecting with receiver Sammy Watkins for a 34-yard TD.

Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller answered with a long touchdown run of his own — a 34-yarder on the Buckeyes' first drive. OSU punted on its second possession but pinned the Tigers at the 1-yard line and forced a safety on the ensuing play.