Ohio State football meets Clemson in long-awaited playoff rematch
By Charles Post
Ryan Day has lost just one game as head coach of the Ohio State football team and the Buckeyes have had their eyes on avenging it ever since. Ohio State and Clemson are set to face off in a long-awaited rematch in the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Friday, Jan. 1. Clemson comes into the game as 7.5-point favorites.
“It’ll be fun to watch a rematch and I think Ohio State will probably beat them by two touchdowns because of how mad they’ll be and the passion they’ll play with,” Benjamin Gosnell, a 4-star Buckeyes commit, said. “The reason I think they have a really good shot of winning the national championship this year is because they have so many weapons.”
In order for the Buckeyes to beat Clemson, Justin Fields has to be better than he was a year ago. He threw for 320 yards on a 65.2% completion rate but also had two costly interceptions and just 0.9 yards per carry. Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, who combined for 97 yards on nine catches against Clemson last year, will also be ready to go.
“When Ohio State has played, they’ve shown that they’re one of the best. I mean the weeks they don’t play, they’re still practicing really hard,” Gosnell explained. “I talk to the coaches a lot and they go over practices and they prepare for every week like they have a game that Saturday even if they don’t. They’re going to stay prepared.”
On the other side of the ball, the Tigers will attempt to take advantage of an inconsistent Ohio State secondary. Trevor Lawrence has weapons like Amari Rodgers and Cornell Powell, as well as the sure-handed Travis Etienne, who they like to use on screen passes. Sevyn Banks, Marcus Hooker, and Shaun Wade need to be nearly flawless for the Buckeyes.
According to ESPN FPI, Ohio State has a 50.2% chance to win the game despite being underdogs. It should come down to the wire as the two teams have comparable offenses with each averaging 40+ points per game. I think the Buckeyes can win this game if the secondary limits big plays, Fields has a clean pocket, and Trey Sermon has room to work.
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“You really have to prepare for everything with them. With teams like Clemson and Alabama, their defenses are good but it puts them in a bind a lot of times because if they zero in on one player then another player will beat them,” Gosnell told me “I feel like that’s a really good reason Ohio State will probably win it all.”