Clemson vs. Ohio State: Justin Fields has 6 TD passes as Buckeyes win
The Clemson Tigers and Ohio State Buckeyes battled in the College Football Playoff with the winner advancing to the national championship game.
FINAL SCORE: Ohio State 49, Clemson 28
Trevor Lawrence adds a fourth-quarter TD pass to Cornell Powell, but Ohio State wins and advances to the national title game Jan. 11 against Alabama.
Justin Fields 6 TD passes: Ohio State 49, Clemson 21
Justin Fields throws his sixth touchdown of the night, a 45-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams. The two play, 59-yard yard drive lasted all of 49 seconds. Fields has 385 yards passing, and Ohio State has 611 yards of offense.
Olave TD: Ohio State 42, Clemson 21
Ohio State answers with a 56-yard touchdown pass from Justin Fields to Chris Olave. The scoring drive was seven plays, 91 yards and lasted three minutes exactly. The Buckeyes have 548 yards of offense including 329 yards passing from Fields.
Powell TD: Ohio State 35, Clemson 21
The Tigers capped a nine play, 80-yard, 3:49 drive with a 10-yard touchdown from Trevor Lawrence to Cornell Powell. The drive started after Clemson’s Mike Jones Jr. intercepted Justin Fields in the end zone. Powell has five catches for 87 yards and a score.
Halftime: Ohio State 35, Clemson 14
Despite playing through obvious pain after taking a hard hit from James Skalski, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields threw a fourth touchdown — tight end Jeremy Ruckert’s second — in the final seconds of the first half. He’s up to 223 passing yards and has completed 16 of 18 passes while also scrambling for 50 rushing yards on seven carries. Running back Trey Sermon has added 121 rushing yards on 17 carries. For Clemson, Lawrence has completed 12 of 18 passes for 152 yards, but the Buckeyes held the Tigers scoreless in the second quarter.b
Clemson’s Henry shaken up
Clemson defensive end K.J. Henry limped off the field late in the first half of Friday’s Sugar Bowl against Ohio State. Henry, who has started five games this year, was eventually able to limp to the sideline under his own power.
Skalski called for targeting: Ohio State 28, Clemson 14
Already without safety Nolan Turner for the first half due to a targeting penalty in the ACC title game, Clemson will now be without defensive leader James Skalski for the remainder of the game after he was called for targeting after a hard hit on Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields. Down on the field for an extended period and appearing to grab his ribs, Fields missed a play, then came back in the game and threw his third touchdown of the first half. Cameras showed him limping to the sideline and walking with team athletic trainers to the medical tent after the throw.
Fields TD: Ohio State 21, Clemson 14
For the second time tonight, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields found his tight end for a score, this time completing a 17-yard pass to Jeremy Ruckert to give the Buckeyes a one-score lead in the opening minutes of the second quarter.
Fields TD: Clemson 14, Ohio State 14
Considered one of the top quarterbacks in his class, alongside Trevor Lawrence, Justin Fields has matched Lawrence blow for blow early on, connecting on all four pass attempts for 100 yards and a touchdown. A 47-yard bomb on a go route to receiver Garrett Wilson set up an eight-yard touchdown strike to tight end Luke Farrell.
Etienne TD: Clemson 14, Ohio State 7
The Tigers offense continues to roll despite not having Tony Elliott in the booth to call plays. Lawrence has spread the ball around, completing eight of 11 passes to five different receivers for 128 yards. Running back Travis Etienne punctuated the drive with a three-yard touchdown run to give the Tigers the lead with 5:01 left in the first quarter.
Sermon TD: Clemson 7, Ohio State 7
Red-hot Ohio State running back Trey Sermon ripped off a 32-yard touchdown run to pull the Buckeyes even with the Tigers, 7-7, midway through the first quarter.
Lawrence TD: Clemson 7, Ohio State 0
Much of the conversation surrounding Clemson heading into this game was the absence of offensive coordinator Tony Elliott due to COVID-19. So far, so good for the Clemson offense. The Tigers scored on the game’s very first drive. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence complete four of five passes, including a 27-yard deep shot to wide receiver Cornell Powell that set up a short touchdown run for Lawrence.
Alabama wins Rose Bowl, awaits winner
Behind wide receiver DeVonta Smith’s three touchdowns, the Crimson Tide defeated Notre Dame, 31-14, in Friday’s Rose Bowl, moving into the College Football Playoff National Championship game. Should Clemson defeat Ohio State, the Tigers would face Alabama in the national title game for the fourth time since 2015.
Clemson’s Xavier Thomas, Joseph Ngata out
Clemson defensive end Xavier Thomas and receiver Joseph Ngata are out for Friday’s game against Ohio State, the university announced Friday night. Thomas also missed the ACC championship game, while Ngata has not played since early November against Notre Dame.
Here’s the full list of players the Tigers will be without against Ohio State: DE Jack Brissey, DE Justin Foster, CB Jack McCall, Ngata, TE Luke Price, WR Justyn Ross, Thomas, LB Jake Venables and DT Tré Williams.
Ohio State down 2 starters vs. Clemson
The Buckeyes have released their availability report for the Sugar Bowl and will be down two starters Friday night.
Starting running back Master Teague and starting left guard Harry Miller will miss the game, Ohio State announced. Backup defensive ends Tyler Friday and Zach Harrison are also out.
With Teague out, Trey Sermon should take over the running back duties. Sermon rushed for 331 yards in the Big Ten championship game against Northwestern.
Where is Clemson University located?
Clemson University is located in the town of Clemson, in the far northwestern region of the state of South Carolina. The university, with an enrollment of around 25,000, is actually larger than the town, which has an estimated population of 17,102, per the U.S. Census Bureau. Greenville, South Carolina, with a population of roughly 70,000, is 30 miles away.
This story was originally published January 1, 2021 at 6:32 PM with the headline "Clemson vs. Ohio State: Justin Fields has 6 TD passes as Buckeyes win."
