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In the days leading up to the Sugar Bowl, there was a lot of talk about Clemson coach Dabo Swinney ranking Ohio State No.11 in its latest coaching ballot.
It seems the Buckeyes were paying attention.
Quarterback Justin Fields threw for 385 yards and six touchdowns as No.3 Ohio State beat No.2 Clemson, 49-28, at the Sugar Bowl on Friday night. The Buckeyes will advance to the college football playoff national championship game to face number one Alabama on Monday, Jan.11.
Chuck Cook / USA TODAY Sports
The two teams each scored 14 points in a first-quarter back and forth before Ohio State took control in the second. The Buckeyes scored touchdowns on all three of their possessions during the quarter, with each practice ending with a Fields touchdown pass.
A key moment came with just over six minutes left in the first half when Fields was punched hard in the back by Clemson linebacker James Skalski. Skalski was kicked out for targeting, as Fields lay on the ground in pain. He left the game but came back a game later to throw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Chris Olave.
Fields added another touchdown pass on a 12-yard strike to tight end Jeremy Ruckert with 11 seconds left before halftime to extend the lead to 35-14. It was Ruckert’s second touchdown of the half after having had just nine catches all season before the game.
The 21-point margin was Clemson’s biggest halftime deficit since the 2012 Orange Bowl, when the Tigers fell behind West Virginia, 49-20. West Virginia was victorious, 70-33.
Clemson reduced the Buckeyes’ lead to 35-21 midway through the third quarter when Trevor Lawrence found Cornell Powell on a 10-yard touchdown pass. But the state of Ohio reacted in his 91-yard practice, topped by a 56-yard bomb from Fields to Olave.
Fields’ fifth touchdown pass of the night set a new Sugar Bowl record, as well as an Ohio State School record for most touchdown passes in any bowl game.
Clemson fumbled in his next practice, then went three times on his subsequent possession to allow Ohio State to deliver the knockout blow. Fields connected on another deep throw, this time a 45-yard touchdown to Jameson Williams for his sixth-best career touchdown pass.
Fields finished the night 22 for 28 with 385 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. Running back Trey Sermon had 193 yards and one touchdown on 31 carries.
As Ohio State couldn’t stop scoring, their defense rose to the challenge against a vaunted Clemson attack. After the first quarter, the Ohio State defense held Clemson scoreless on five of his next six possessions (excluding the kneeling Tigers’ halftime end). The Buckeyes’ defensive front pressured Lawrence all night – especially in the second half – and limited running back Travis Etienne to just 32 yards on 10 carries.
The loss likely ends a notable college career for Lawrence, who went 34-2 during his career as a Clemson starter. Both losses were in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, the first being last year’s loss to LSU in the national title match. Lawrence is generally expected to be taken first in the 2021 NFL Draft.
Lawrence finished the game completing 33 of 48 attempted passes for 400 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
The win sees Ohio State face off against Alabama for the national championship, as Crimson Tide strives to become the nation’s No.1 team. The last meeting between the two teams was the 2015 Sugar Bowl in the first season in the current playoff format. So no. Ohio State knocked down Alabama number one, 42-35, behind quarterback Cardale Jones.
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