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GLENDALE, Ariz. | It had been in the playbook for a while, but the coaches dusted it off for this game to use at the perfect time.

Trevor Lawrence had run the ball a bunch on this night, even run this precise quarterback power play with blockers in front.

One of those blockers had been Travis Etienne. But this time, on first down from Ohio State's 34-yard line with the offense scorching down the field, Etienne was going to slip past the linebackers who were going after Lawrence.

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It was the perfect call at the perfect time. But Etienne still had to catch the ball after dropping it numerous times during practice leading up to the Fiesta Bowl.

Etienne caught the ball. And so did Nolan Turner.

The lesson from a positively unforgettable final three minutes in this CFP semifinal, from this 29-23 classic that felt like a championship?

Even the most well-conceived plans still have to be carried out. You still have to close the deal, and Clemson is still better than just about everyone at doing that.

If Justin Fields and Chris Olave don't miscommunicate on Ohio State's final play, maybe it's a touchdown and we're spending the next month wondering why Turner was covering Olave.

But Fields and Olave did screw it up. Olave did fall to the turf after breaking off a route that Fields thought was headed inside.

Turner did come down with the interception that sealed Clemson's 29th consecutive win, sealed Clemson's trip to New Orleans to go for back-to-back titles in front of all that purple and yellow.

Dabo Swinney was right when he said it was a shame someone had to lose this game. Because Fields and Ohio State were that good. Because Clemson was that good.

So much of the talk coming in was about what happened inside the same stadium three years ago. That night, Clemson suffocated Ohio State 31-0 on its way to a national title.

This one was nowhere close to that. Matter of fact, this one was more like the game that followed that game three years ago.

There were times in that first half against Alabama in Tampa when you wondered how in the world Clemson was going to stay in it, let alone win it. There were times when you realized that game at Raymond James Stadium was a heavyweight fight and wondered if the Tigers could punch hard enough to stay in it.

This game three years later was more like that. Much more.

No way in hell did anyone in Clemson's locker room think they'd be down 16-0. Swinney's program has a vast catalogue of producing in big moments, but it doesn't have a whole lot of experience being down 16-0 to a team that has won 19 straight games.

And let's be honest: It felt like much more than that. Because when you've been outgained 299-86 and find yourself down 16, you consider yourself extremely fortunate.

But good fortune is not the only reason the Tigers managed to survive that early onslaught. Good defense was a part of it, as Brent Venables' wobbly defense once again managed to pull it together within the shadow of its goalposts.

Ohio State might've moved the ball up and down the field, finishing with 516 yards to Clemson's 416. But you still have to get to the end zone, and the Buckeyes did that just twice.

You ain't going to beat the champs by kicking field goals.

Since the very first game of the season, red-zone stops have been a part of this defense's identity. And sure enough they forced field goals after first-and-goal from the 5 on Ohio State's first drive, first-and-goal from the 8 after a 64-yard run by J.K. Dobbins (who was chased down by Tanner Muse), and first-and-10 from the 11 in the second quarter.

Turner's interception at the end doesn't qualify as a red-zone stop because Ohio State was at the 23-yard line and not inside the 20. But it sure as heck fit the theme of this defense holding on for dear life and coming up with a play when it absolutely had to have it.

Sticking with the heavyweight-fight theme, what is it they say you have to do to beat the champ? You have to land the knockout punch. Ohio State had that opportunity, both early and late.

Fields earned the admiration of a lot of people, including everyone inside Clemson's locker room. He played like a warrior and seemed unfazed by just about everything Venables threw at him.

But the margin for error is thin up here where championships are won. Fields threw one interception over 13 games. He had two Saturday night.

Shaun Wade did almost everything right on the sack that was going to force a Clemson punt and give the ball back to Ohio State as the Buckeyes looked to build on a 16-0 lead and put the dang thing away.

But he lowered his head, drew a targeting penalty and gave Clemson new life even when Lawrence looked like he might be knocked out of the game (Lawrence returned a play later, the Tigers reached the end zone, and everything seemed manageable again).

A popular thought coming in was that Ohio State was battle-tested and Clemson was not. The Buckeyes had to fight through a second-half war at home against Penn State and then were behind big at halftime against Wisconsin before rallying to win.

The Tigers did have that 21-20 survival of North Carolina back in late September, but otherwise it was nothing but blowouts and people wondered how they'd hold up against a heavyweight if things went bad.

Here's what those skeptics were missing: Performing in big moments is just ingrained in the culture of Swinney's program, going back to last year and years before. It's who they are.

The late, heart-stopping drives have ended with touchdowns so much that you almost expect them to happen again -- even when there are 94 yards between Clemson and the go-ahead touchdown last night.

The defense has come up with the stops so often that you can't be surprised when that ball from Fields floats right into the arms of Turner at the end, after the Buckeyes had driven it 52 yards in seven plays.

Clemson's individual rushing stats might be considered a surprise, because it's not every day that you see Lawrence outrush Etienne 107-36.

But the decision to ride Lawrence's legs, basically using Etienne's role as a blocker to create a numerical advantage in the running game, ended up playing right into that perfect play call that seemed drawn up in the dirt.

If Lawrence doesn't rip off that 67-yard touchdown run late in the first half, then maybe Ohio State's linebackers are paying more attention to Etienne in the final minute. As it happened, Malik Harrison and Baron Browning ran right by one of the most dangerous weapons on the field in pursuit of Lawrence.

Etienne slipped right behind them, caught the pass from Lawrence and outran everyone to the end zone.

He caught the ball. He made the play.

A few minutes later, over in the other end zone, Turner made the play.

The ball was Nolan's.

And now it's on to N'awlins.

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