Former running back for the Ohio State football team J.K. Dobbins thinks the Buckeyes would have defeated Clemson if he’d had been healthy.
J.K. Dobbins met with the media on Wednesday at the 2020 NFL Combine and the Ohio State football team’s loss to Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl was brought up during the presser. Dobbins ultimately said that the Buckeyes would have won that game if he had not suffered an ankle injury, according to Lettermen Row.
I think he is right.
During the Buckeyes’ loss to Clemson – their only loss of the season – Dobbins only carried the ball 18 times for 174 rushing yards, averaging 9.7 yards per carry.
If you remember, the Buckeyes had three straight very big games leading up to the College Football Playoff matchup against Penn State, Michigan and Wisconsin and they won each of those games. Compared to only 18 carries against Clemson, Dobbins carried it 33 times in the win over Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game, 31 times against Michigan, and 36 times against Penn State. He was the focal point of the Ohio State offense in those games.
Looking at his stats against Clemson, he could have had a monster game had he been healthy and had been the focal point in that game. Averaging 9.7 yards per carry, Dobbins was on pace for 291 rushing yards had he carried it 30 times against the Tigers, which is still a lesser amount of carries than the games against Penn State, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Does anyone truly think Clemson still would have won had Dobbins run for nearly 300 rushing yards against them? If they do, they’re crazy.
Dobbins is preparing for the 2020 NFL Draft as he is not returning to school for his senior season, and the Ohio State football team is preparing for the 2020 college football season. However, no one is over that Clemson loss yet. That 2019 team was a generational team and should have went to the national championship. They would have been there too had Dobbins been healthy.