Ohio State football: Buckeyes open as underdogs vs. Clemson

The Ohio State football team will be playing Clemson in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on January 1st, and the Buckeyes open as 6.5 point underdogs.

The Ohio State football team gets a chance to get the revenge that they have been waiting for. They get to take on Clemson in a revenge game from last year’s semi-final. It’s a game that many Buckeye fans, including myself, have not been able to watch a second time.

Now they get a shot to right that wrong and beat Clemson on the way to the National Championship. First, they have to actually beat the Tigers though. These are two different teams than a year ago. Clemson opens as 6.5 point favorites over the Buckeyes.

Despite the fact that Ohio State comes into this game undefeated, they don’t get the same respect Clemson does. Perhaps there are reasons for that. Perhaps Justin Fields‘ two performances against IU and Northwestern account for that.

None of those past games matter now though. All that matters is that the Buckeyes get a chance for the revenge that they have been waiting a year to get. They have had last year’s score up at the Woody all season long. The players have been wanting this.

Add the fact that Clemson is favored coming into this game and the Buckeyes should be more motivated than any team in the College Football Playoff. Motivation shouldn’t be a problem. What might be a problem is getting people back healthy before the game.

While the Big Ten did change their COVID policy from a 21-day protocol to a 17-day protocol, that may not be enough. That would mean that players would have had to of testes positive before December 15th in order to be eligible to play in the game.

The biggest player they need back is Chris Olave. If they can get him back, he has a chance to make up for breaking off his route to end last year’s game. If he can come back, the Buckeyes add another huge weapon to their offense. Drue Chrisman would be the other player that would be critical to get back.

Only time will tell if the Buckeyes can get them back in time. Until then, we can’t wait for this matchup!