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NEW ORLEANS – During the Ohio State run to the National Championship in the 2014 season, Ezekiel Elliott took his game to new heights by rushing for 220 yards in the Big Ten Championship Game, 230 yards in the playoff semifinals of college football in the Sugar Bowl and 246 yards in the National Championship game.
In Ohio State’s last two games to bring the Buckeyes into this season’s national championship game, Trey Sermon has taken his game to similar levels of greatness.
After running for a school record 331 yards against Northwestern in the Big Ten championship game two weeks ago, Sermon followed that up by rushing for 193 yards and one touchdown on 31 carries and adding four catches for 61 yards in of Friday night’s 49-28 win. on Clemson in the college football playoff semifinals at the Sugar Bowl.
After a calm start to the season for Sermon, the transfer of Oklahoma graduates became a legitimate star in the most important games of the year, and he certainly made a big impression on his head coach.
“The last two games he’s been excellent. He made a difference, ”said Ryan Day. “It really wasn’t at the start. I think he was sort of finding his way. But wow, I mean, whether it was in the passing game, whether it was in the protection and obviously in the football race, he was special.
Sermon says he has become “extremely comfortable over time” as he has now played seven games in the Ohio State offense.
“Just getting used to how the attack goes and being really in tune with the offensive line, every week I feel like I’m getting better and better,” Sermon said. “I know what I’m doing. I’m confident in my ability. And I just let the game come to me, and I’m just decisive.
Olave obtains his redemption
There might not have been a player more eager for a win over Clemson on Friday night than wide receiver Chris Olave, whose racing error in the last minute of last year’s CFP semi-final against Clemson led to Nolan Turner’s match being sealed. interception that ended the Ohio State season.
In this year’s game against Clemson, Olave achieved redemption, playing a key role in the Buckeyes’ 21-point victory as he led Ohio State with six receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
After Olave tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the Big Ten Championship game, there was doubt as to whether he would be able to play in this week’s game, especially before the Big Ten did. changes his return to play protocol from 21 to 17 days. He couldn’t train much before Friday’s game. But just as he did in many big games during his three years at Ohio State, Olave seized the opportunity against the Tigers, recovering as the Ohio State’s No.1 wide receiver after his presence was clearly missed against Northwestern.
“We were really nervous, when we fell with COVID we weren’t going to get it back,” Day said. “He practiced, didn’t really practice fully. So it was a bit of a risk getting into the week, but he started putting his legs back under him towards the end of the week and then he goes out and plays like he does in a big place.
“One of the most influential players, I think, as a wide receiver in Ohio state football history when you think about it. Wow, what a player he is.
The chance to come back to CFP and make up for his late-season mistake last year has served as fuel for Olave throughout the offseason, and making it happen on Friday has been worth the hard work in. a difficult year.
“It was a difficult year. But I just had to fight in the face of adversity, and luckily I came out and had a huge game today, ”said Olave. “Just being able to beat these guys and having fun with my teammates, I’m just blessed and proud to be here.”
Chris Olave had reason to smile after securing redemption against Clemson.
Three tight touchdowns
The narrative that Ohio state doesn’t use its tight ends in the passing game as much as it could or should be ubiquitous that has surrounded the Buckeyes for years. On Friday, however, tight ends Luke Farrell and Jeremy Ruckert had time to shine on the bigger stage.
Farrell scored Ohio State’s second touchdown of the night when he landed a cover pass from Clemson cornerback Derion Kendrick for 8 yards. Ruckert scored the third and fifth touchdowns for Ohio State of the night, both in the second quarter, on passes from 17 and 12 yards.
Their three touchdowns matched the total number of touchdowns the Ohio State tight ends have had all season so far leading up to Friday’s game, as Ruckert had three touchdowns in the Buckeyes’ first six games while Farrell n ‘had none. All year, however, Farrell and Ruckert never complained about just doing their job and functioning as race blockers – which they’ve been great at, by the way – and on Friday they were awarded the opportunity to make big games into a huge game.
“Everything happens from week to week. Coach Day is one of the best I’ve ever seen to just plot defenses and make sure he finds the game open, ”said Ruckert. “Our tight side has always been able to be a group to lean on, whether it’s in the race match or being able to go out and play, and I think you’ve seen today that no moment is not too important for us.
Luke Farrell scored his first touchdown of all season against Clemson.
Justin Fields was happy to have had the opportunity to throw key passes their way – five in total, as Ruckert had three catches for 55 yards and Farrell had two catches for 11 yards – Friday night – grateful he didn’t hasn’t always done a good enough job in previous games to find them when they’re open.
“I think throughout the year I’ve missed tight ends a lot on a lot of games,” said Fields. “So it was pretty much just going back to basics and seeing what games they were open to and kind of using these guys. These are two of the best tight ends in the country, and I’m just glad we finally got to use them.
Defense intensifies after unstable start
There were tons of questions ahead of Friday’s game about whether the Ohio State defense would be able to do the job against the Trevor Lawrence and Clemson attack, and from the start, these concerns seemed to be validated. The Tigers scored touchdowns on two of their first three possessions of the game, leading 82 yards in their opening streak and 75 yards in their third.
As of that point, however, the state of Ohio only allowed two more touchdowns on 10 other Clemson possessions. The Buckeyes forced three straight punts after Clemson’s second touchdown of the game, won two take-home runs (a Justin Hilliard breakaway recovery on a Tommy Togiai strip and a Sevyn Banks interception) in the second half and also had forced a rollover on declines in the fourth quarter.
The Ohio state passing defense certainly took its bumps against the Tigers again, allowing Lawrence to throw for 400 yards. But the Buckeyes ‘run defense was dominant, holding Clemson to just 44 rushing yards, and more importantly, they did what they had to do to limit the Tigers’ scoreline in the final three quarters of the game, ultimately allowing the Ohio State attack to gain the upper hand. Game.
The Buckeyes knew that Clemson’s offense was going to make some plays on Friday and that it wasn’t going to be realistic to throw a shutout or never give up any play. But the defense reacted appropriately to get the state Ohio continues to win the game by a comfortable margin.
“Look, we knew Clemson was one of the best offenses in the country,” said Ohio state linebacker Tuf Borland. “We couldn’t get down on ourselves. We couldn’t lose confidence in what we were doing. And these guys, all the way through this process, I think it just shows the character of this band, to bounce back like that.
Day said he thinks the Ohio State defensive coaches have come up with a “great” game plan, and he’s proud of the way the players are performing.
“We knew they were going to play. We stayed together, ”Day said. “We didn’t flinch when they got a few touchdowns. We just kept chasing them. Was it perfect? I do not know. But it was brave. And they played really well. And we played complementary football tonight.
“I thought our defense did a good job, they didn’t give up the big game. They kept it in front. They kept making them play one more game, one more game, one more game. And that’s the idea. I think we learned our lesson from that Indiana game over there. And thanks to that, we were able to play like we did and end the game like it should.
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