Ohio State advanced 49-28 Friday night to the national championship game of college football with Clemson in the Sugar Bowl and the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. The state of Ohio will play Alabama.
Buckeyes quarterback Justin Fields had an epic performance. He finished with six strokes at 22 for 28 passing 385 yards.
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Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields is warming up ahead of the Sugar Bowl NCAA football game against Clemson on Friday, January 1, 2021 in New Orleans. (Associated Press)
Fields twice passed to Chris Olave and Jeremy Ruckert. He each had one for Jameson Williams and Luke Farrell. Olave led the Ohio receivers with six catches for 132 yards.
The full-back also survived an apparent back injury when he was tackled by Clemson full-back James Skalski. The defender was leading with his helmet when he tackled Fields.
The state of Ohio once again put in a good performance from Trey Sermon. The running rugby had 193 runs and scored the victory.
It was most likely the last game of Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence’s last game with the Tigers. He led the game by 400 runs and twice, ending his collegiate career with two losses as a starter – one for Fields and Ohio State and the other for Joe Burrow and LSU.
PURPOSE AGAINST CLEMSON THAT JUSTIN FIELDS OF THE OHIO STATE LEFT OBJECTED IRKS FANS
Cornell Powell had eight catches for 139 yards and two touchdowns for Clemson.
Clemson’s defense allowed 35 points in the first half, and the offense could not capitalize on Ohio’s errors. Clemson was 5-for-12 on the third down and 0-for-2 on the fourth down. The team allowed 639 yards total offense in the loss.
The Buckeyes have only played six games in the regular season after the Big Ten Conference started the season late due to fears of the coronavirus. The Buckeyes canceled a game due to their own coronavirus outbreak during the regular season, and the conference had to bend the rules to allow the team to participate in the Big Ten title game against Northwestern.
Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence is tackled by Ohio State defensive end Tyreke Smith during the second half of the Sugar Bowl NCAA football game Friday, January 1, 2021 in New Orleans. (Associated Press)
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney was adamant about the teams that played only six games, which were banned from the College Football Playoffs. Swinney added the material to the notice board as he ranked State 11 in Ohio in his last coach’s poll.
Clemson beat Ohio State in the College Football Playoff last season, only to lose LSU in the national title.
This is the second time the state of Ohio has played in the national championship game since the era for College Football Playoff began. The last time the team was in the title game was after the 2014 season. The Buckeyes won the game against Oregon.
This will be the first national championship for Buckeyes coach Ryan Day, who took over the helm for Urban Meyer during the 2018 season. Meyer has retired 11 games this past season.
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The state of Ohio and Alabama play for the title on January 11 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.