Dabo, Ryan Day providing bulletin board material, and other top Sugar Bowl storylines
For the second consecutive season, Clemson and Ohio State will meet in the College Football Playoff with a spot in the national championship game on the line.
The Buckeyes have waited a year for another shot at the Tigers after Clemson held on for a 29-23 win over Ohio State in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.
On the other side, Clemson has waited a year for its shot to get back to the national championship game. The Tigers lost to LSU in New Orleans to end last season.
Here are five early storylines to watch as Clemson and Ohio State meet in New Orleans on New Year’s Day:
1. Bulletin board material
These teams don’t need extra motivation going into a College Football Playoff semifinal game, but both coaches have provided some anyway. An expletive-laden video leaked of Buckeyes coach Ryan Day in the locker room after the Big Ten championship game saying OSU would beat Clemson, Alabama or Notre Dame in the playoff. Meanwhile, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney voted Ohio State No. 11 in his final USA Today Coaches Poll of the season.
Swinney’s vote and the video of Day have fans from both teams fired up on social media, and they’ve surely been mentioned in team meetings as well. It might not end up meaning anything on the scoreboard, but it’s fun to talk about leading up to the game.
2. Unusual Sugar Bowl prep schedule
Clemson had 21 days to prepare for the Fiesta Bowl last season. This year the Tigers have 13 to get ready for the Sugar Bowl. As Swinney pointed out, Clemson had more time to prepare for the ACC championship game against Notre Dame than it does for its bowl game. That is causing bowl prep to be a little different this year, including Clemson spending less time than it normally would on developing younger players.
“I love bowl prep. I love the opportunity to develop your team during that time. We always have JV practices and things for next year’s team. And it’s always fun,” Swinney said. “It’s basically an open date. That’s how you have to look at it. But you’ve got Christmas sandwiched in there as well, so it’s a unique dynamic that we haven’t dealt with in the past. But it is what it is.”
3. Clemson getting healthy
The Tigers have been hit hard by the injury bug this season, particularly at receiver. Justyn Ross is out for the year after undergoing surgery for a congenital fusion in his spine, while Joseph Ngata and Frank Ladson have been unable to stay on the field consistently. Ladson and Ngata were competing for starting spots before injuries took their toll.
Ladson had a limited role in the ACC title game, while Ngata was out. The hope is that both will be ready for the College Football Playoff. Clemson is healthy overall at this point, but reserve defensive end Xavier Thomas did miss the ACC championship game for an undisclosed reason. His status is unknown moving forward. Thomas missed the first half of the season as he battled back from COVID-19 and strep throat.
“If you’d have told me back in March that we weren’t going to have Xavier Thomas, Justin Foster, Ladson, Ngata and Justyn Ross for most of the year, and at all for some of those guys ... to be where we are is amazing,” Swinney said.
OSU hasn’t been bothered as much by injuries but did have several players miss Saturday’s Big Ten championship game due to COVID-19 issues, including star receiver Chris Olave and linebacker Baron Browning. It remains to be seen if they will be available against Clemson.
4. Nolan Turner will miss first half of bowl
Clemson free safety Nolan Turner will miss the first half of the Sugar Bowl after being ejected for targeting in the second half of the ACC championship. Ohio State fans should be familiar with Turner. He picked off Justin Fields in the end zone in last year’s Fiesta Bowl to clinch Clemson’s win.
Turner was named second-team All-ACC on Tuesday. He is currently second on the team in tackles with 61, including six tackles for loss. Turner also has a team-high three interceptions. He has started all 11 games this season. With Turner out in the first half, Joseph Charleston will likely get the start. The sophomore has played in 10 games this season, starting five. He is third on the team in tackles with 47.
5. Lawrence and Fields take center stage
The two quarterbacks and Georgia natives who have been linked since high school will face off in the College Football Playoff one final time. Lawrence was ranked No. 1 in the class of 2018, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, while Fields was ranked No. 2. They are expected to be top 10 picks in the 2021 NFL Draft, with Lawrence expected to go No. 1 overall.
Lawrence got the best of Fields in last year’s Fiesta Bowl. Lawrence was 18-of-33 passing for 259 yards, with two touchdowns last year. He also rushed for 107 yards and a score. Fields was 30-of-46 passing for 320 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions.
When is the Clemson vs Ohio State football game?
Here’s the College Football Playoff schedule:
Rose Bowl in Arlington, Texas, No. 1 Alabama (11-0) vs. No. 4 Notre Dame (10-1), 4 p.m. Jan. 1 on ESPN
Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, No. 2 Clemson (10-1) vs. No. 3 Ohio State (6-0), 8 p.m. Jan. 1 on ESPN
