It seems like a yearly tradition that Clemson faces Ohio State in the College Football Playoff, and this year’s game will be a semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The No. 2 Tigers (10-1) are 7.5-point favorites against the No. 3 Buckeyes (6-0).
Kickoff from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans is set for 8 p.m. ET Friday and will be televised on ESPN.
Clemson won last year’s semifinal 29-23 and also beat Ohio State in the 2016 semifinals 31-0. Clemson won the 2014 Orange Bowl 40-35 between these teams and also the 1978 Gator Bowl.
The Tigers are 4-0 in the series, the most losses for Ohio State against any team it has never beaten.
Ohio State Run Attack
The last time Ohio State took the field, running back Trey Sermon broke Heisman winner Eddie George’s single-game rushing record with 331 yards against Northwestern. On the season, he has 675 yards at 8.0 yards per carry to go with three touchdowns.
Master Teague has 449 rushing yards and six touchdowns, while quarterback Justin Fields has run for 274 yards and five scores. Overall, the Buckeyes are fifth in the nation with 276 yards per game on the ground and 6.1 yards per carry.
Fields threw two interceptions in the Big Ten Championship Game and completed just 12 of 27 passes for 114 yards as the run game took over. On the season, he has completed 73% of his passes for 1,521 yards, 15 touchdowns and five interceptions.
Fields threw for 320 yards against Clemson last year but was picked off twice and held to 13 rush yards.
Wideout Chris Olave (COVID-19) missed the Big Ten Championship Game but is expected back for the Sugar Bowl. He has 36 catches for 528 yards and five scores on the season, while Garrett Wilson has 38 catches for 621 yards and five touchdowns.
Will Offensive Coordinator Switch Impact Tigers?
The Tigers have been rolling since Heisman finalist Trevor Lawrence returned from COVID-19, but now offensive coordinator Tony Elliott will be gone from the game after a positive test. Under Elliott, the Tigers scored at least 34 points in all 11 games this year and rank top 10 in the nation in scoring (44.9 points per game), passing (343.8 yards per game) and total yards (507.6 yards per game).
Lawrence has 2,753 passing yards in nine games with 22 touchdowns and four interceptions. He also has 211 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
Last year, he threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns against Ohio State while rushing for 107 yards and another score.
Running back Travis Etienne has 882 yards on the season with 13 touchdowns while also catching 44 passes for 524 yards and two scores. Etienne was held to 36 yards on 10 attempts against Ohio State last year but caught three balls for 98 yards and two scores, including the game-winning touchdown.
Lawrence’s top target is Amari Rodgers, who has 69 catches for 966 yards and seven touchdowns on the season. Cornell Powell has 45 catches for 743 yards and five scores, while tight end Davis Allen has four touchdown receptions.
Sugar Bowl Betting Line
The Tigers are 7.5-point favorites, and the game has a total of 66.5 points. The Buckeyes are +240 moneyline underdogs. Ohio State is 3-3 ATS this season while Clemson is 5-6.
The Buckeyes gameplan is likely to keep the ball on the ground as J.K. Dobbins gashed Clemson for 174 yards last year. That strategy also keeps the ball away from Clemson’s quick-strike offense.
But Clemson has allowed less than 100 yards per game on the ground, so if it can stop Sermon and Teague early, this game will get out of hand.
Free Pick: Clemson -7.5 (-110)
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