Ohio State vs Clemson 1/1/21 - NCAA Football Picks & Predictions

By: Lance |

Last Updated: 01/01/2021 at 8:51 PM ET

The 2021 Allstate Sugar Bowl will feature a rematch of last years’ CFB Semifinal with the Ohio State Buckeyes meeting up with the Clemson Tigers. 

Ohio State, the perennial representative of the Big Ten in the College Football Playoff put together another undefeated season capped off with a 22-10 win over Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship. Clemson lost their first regular-season game in three years when they fell in double-OT to Notre Dame, they avenged that loss with a 34-10 thumping in the ACC Championship to move to 10-1 on the year.

Last year in the Fiesta Bowl, Clemson got the upper hand on Ohio State after a debatable strip-6 was reversed and eventually went on win 29-23. Both of these teams feature excellent offense and stout defenses and the rematch is going to be a battle. Ohio State, led by Justin Fields, is averaging 42.5 points per game ranking 8th in the country in scoring offense. Fields has had a down year (by his extraordinarily high standards)  completing 72.6% of his passes for 1,521 yards and throwing for 15 touchdowns to 5 interceptions. 

What stands out about those five interceptions, besides only throwing three last year in double the attempts, is they came in the Buckeyes biggest games, three against #9 Indiana and two against #14 Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship game. Fields is a dual-threat option, he rushed for 274 yards and 5 touchdowns while the Ohio State rushing attack averaged 6.1 yards per carry on the year. Leading that group, especially at the end of the season was Oklahoma transfer, Trey Sermon. Sermon broke the school record for rushing yards in the Big Ten Championship with 331 and found the endzone twice. 

Clemson is again led by transcendent talent quarterback Trevor Lawrence, he’ll more likely than not be the number #1 pick in the NFL draft come April assuming he declares for the draft and has put together another superb season. After missing two games due to COVID, including Clemson’s only loss Lawrence is completing a career-high 69.2% of his passes, throwing for 2,753 yards and 22 touchdowns to 4 interceptions. He’s also not afraid to use his legs, he scored 7 touchdowns and totaled 211 yards on the ground this year and will likely be utilized in the run game in the CFB playoff.

Clemson has weapons everywhere and is averaging 44.9 points per game this season, the 4th ranked scoring offense in the country. The run game is led by Travis Ettienne, a likely first-round prospect who across his four years at Clemson holds nearly every record. He totaled 1406 yards on the ground and through the air, scoring 15 touchdowns. 

The Buckeyes defense is not the same caliber it was last year, they’re allowing 21 points per game ranking 25th in scoring defense in the country. The Buckeyes were the Big Ten’s worst passing defense allowing 261.3 passing yards per game and could get exposed by Lawrence and Clemson's potent passing attack. 

Clemson heads to the CFB Playoff allowing 17.5 points per game, right outside the Top-10 in scoring defense nationally. As did every team, they had injuries and COVID issues, including against Notre Dame in their initial loss. In the last three weeks since that loss, Clemson is allowing just 12.3 points per game and has tightened up their defense. 

Ohio State snuck into the playoff after getting just six games due to the Big Ten starting the season late and with Clemson rolling through the last three weeks, including avenging their only loss, they continue their reign as college football royalty with a win against the Buckeyes. Clemson’s offense is unstoppable and with the struggles that Ohio State has had against the pass this season, they’re exposed in this game with Lawrence dominating and Ettienne able to run the ball effectively. Final score prediction, Clemson wins and covers ATS 38-24. 

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