THE PERTINENT INFO
When: Friday, January 1, 2021
Where: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, LA
TV: 8:00 // ESPN
Announcers: Chris Fowler, Kirk Herbstreit, Maria Taylor and Tom Rinaldi
This will be the fifth time Ohio State and Clemson have faced each other in football. It will be the sixth time the Buckeyes have played in the Sugar Bowl.
The Scarlet and Gray are 0–4 all-time against Clemson. In the Sugar Bowl, the Buckeyes are 3–2. Adding a crooked number in the win column is long over due against the Tigers.
Last week, Dabo Swinney's team defeated No. 2 Notre Dame, 34-10, in the ACC Championship.
Below, you will find some interesting facts about the teams, key offensive player stats, coach information, and team stats.
THE LAST TIME...
- Ohio State played Clemson, the Scarlet and Gray were cheated in a 29-23 loss.
- The Buckeyes played in the Sugar Bowl...Ohio State beat Alabama 42-35.
- Ohio State played on January 1st was the 28-23 win over Washington in 2019. .
- The Scarlet and Gray lost the seventh game of the season was Oct. 22, 2016. Unranked Penn State defeated No. 2 Ohio State, 24-21 in Beaver Stadium.
- An Ohio State quarterback threw for over 300 yards in a CFP Game was last year. Justin Fields completed 30 of 46 passes for 320 yards and a touchdown in the "loss" to Clemson.
ON THE HORIZON
- A victory will give the Buckeyes a winning record in the CFP and their second berth to the CFP Championship Game.
- Justin Fields is one touchdown pass away from tying Bobby Hoying (57) for second on the program's all-time career list.
- Chris Olave is three receptions away from 100 career catches.
- The program single-season record for receiving yards per game is David Boston's 119.5 in 1998. Wilson is currently averaging 103.5 yards per game.
- A win on Friday will be Ohio State's 943rd* all-time.
LET'S GO STREAKING
- Ohio State has lost to Clemson in four consecutive games.
- Ryan Day is 16–0 against Big Ten opponents.
- The Buckeyes have won four straight Big Ten Titles...and 11 since 2002.
*NCAA sanctions be damned.
Clemson University
GET TO KNOW CLEMSON
- Clemson is located in Clemson, SC.
- The university was established in 1889 as Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina. In 1965 the name was shortened to Clemson University.
- The Tigers are in their 125th season of playing football.
- The Tiger is the name of Clemson's mascot. Former Auburn football coach, Walter Riggs, decided on the a tiger being a mascot for Clemson in 1896. The tiger paw logo has been used since 1970.
- Clemson has won 26 conference titles (20 ACC, 4 SIAA and 2 SoCon) and three national titles (1981, 2016 and 2018).
- Notable alumni are Dwight Clark (All-Pro with the 49ers), DeAndre Hopkins (All-Pro WR), Will "Refrigerator" Perry (3x All-American and Super Bowl Shuffler), Sammy Watkins (2020 Super Bowl champ), Deshaun Watson (Pro Bowl QB), Nancy O'Dell (former host of Entertainment Tonight), Shawn Weatherly (Miss Universe 1980, Cadet Karen Adams in critically acclaimed Police Academy 3) and Robert H. Brooks (founder of the fine dining establishment, Hooters).
TODAY'S TRIVIA QUESTIONS:
- This will be the sixth time Ohio State has played in the Sugar Bowl, how many wins do the Buckeyes have?
- What is the most points an Ohio State team has scored in the Sugar Bowl?
- Can you name the Buckeye player with the school's longest rushing play from scrimmage in the Sugar Bowl?
Answers at the bottom of today's article.
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| OFFENSIVE LEADERS (PER GAME AVG) | ||||
| JUSTIN FIELDS | 253.5 YDS // 2.5 TD // 0.8 INT | PASSING | TREVOR LAWRENCE | 250.3 YDS // 2.0 TD // 0.4 INT |
| TREY SERMON | 112.5 YDS // 8.0 YPC // 0.5 TD | RUSHING | TRAVIS ETIENNE | 80.2 YDS // 5.6 YPC // 1.2 TD |
| GARRETT WILSON | 103.5 YDS // 16.3 YPR // 0.8 TD | RECEIVING | AMARI RODGERS | 87.8 YDS // 14.0 YPR // 0.6 TD |
| DEFENSIVE LEADERS | ||||
| PETE WERNER | 6.2 | TACKLES | BAYLON SPECTOR | 5.5 |
| TOMMY TOGIAI | 0.5 | SACKS | MYLES MURPHY /// TRENTON SIMPSON | 0.4 |
| SHAUN WADE | 0.3 | INTERCEPTIONS | NOLAN TURNER | 0.3 |
| SPECIAL TEAMS | ||||
| GARRETT WILSON | 8.5 | PUNT RETURNER | AMARI RODGERS | 7.1 |
| DEMARIO McCALL | 15.6 | KICKOFF RETURN | TRAVIS ETIENNE | 24.7 |
| DRUE CHRISMAN | 45.2 | PUNTING | WILL SPIERS | 43.6 |
| 8 | EDGE | 2 | ||
THE COACHES
Ryan Day
- 22–1 (.957) at Ohio State
- 22–1 (.957) overall
Day's hometown is Manchester, NH. He attended Manchester High School and attended college at New Hampshire. Day has been in coaching for 19 years and is Ohio State's 25th head coach.
Last season, Ryan Day and the Buckeyes outscored their opponents 656-192. That is an average victory of 47-14.
After 21 games with Day as head coach, Ohio State is beating teams by an average score of 48-17. He has the program record for points scored after his first 23 games with 1,080. The Buckeyes are outscoring their opponents by a whopping 700 points under Day.
Ryan Day and Urban Meyer are the only coaches in program history to start their careers with 16 straight consecutive victories. Meyer won 24 straight between 2012 and 2013.
William Christopher Swinney
- 140–32 (.814) at Clemson (13th year)
- 140–32 (.814) overall as a college head coach (13th year)
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3–0 (1.000) against Big Ten opponents*
*Clemson played Nebraska and Maryland, but the Cornhuskers were in the Big 12 and the Terrapins were in the ACC.
Swinney was born in Birmingham, AL and was given the name William Christopher. His brother Tripp would mispronounce "that boy" when referring to William Christopher and the name Dabo was born. Swinney was a walk-on wide receiver at Alabama from 1989-92. He earned three letters and was a two-time Academic ALL-SEC member while playing for Gene Stallings.
William Christopher began his coaching career as a graduate assistant for Stallings. In 1995, he became a full-time assistant coach for the wide receivers and tight ends. When Stallings' successor, Mike DuBose, was fired in 2001, Swinney was not retained. He did not coach that season while he was being paid by Alabama.
From 2001 thru early 2003, William Christian worked in real estate. Tommy Bowden brought him back into the coaching fold in February of 2003 by hiring Swinney as Clemson's wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator. William Christopher became head coach of the Tigers following Bowden's firing six games into the 2008 season.
Since then, Swinney's won a few games and now makes over nine million dollars a year. Oh yean, William Christopher also ranked Ohio State 11th in the final poll of the season.
CLIFF CLAVEN'S LITTLE KNOWN FACTS CORNER
- 1.......Ohio State's single-game rushing leader, Trey Sermon.
- 2.......seasons the Buckeyes have finished with an 8–0 record (1961, 1917).
- 3.......defensive scores for Ohio State.
- 4.......Fields touchdowns in the last three games.
- 5.......Fields INTs in the last three games.
- 6.......consecutive ACC titles for Clemson.
- 7.......total KO returns for OSU in 2020.
- 8.......number of Buckeye national titles.
- 9.......for the first time since 1961, Ohio State will not play in at least nine games.
- 10.....combined TD receptions for Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson.
- 12.....games in which Justin Fields has rushed and passed for a touchdown.
- 18.....straight wins for the Buckeyes over Big Ten AP ranked opponents.
- 20.....career touchdown receptions for Chris Olave, sixth all-time at OSU.
- 21.....consecutive conference wins for Ohio State.
- 23.....consecutive regular-season wins for the Scarlet and Gray.
- 24.....official bowl wins for Ohio State (we know it's 25).
- 25.....Ryan Day is the program's 25th head coach.
- 34.....victories for the Buckeyes when GameDay is at the game.
- 36.....true road game victories for the Scarlet and Gray since 2012.
- 39.....the number of Big Ten titles the football team has won.
- 46.....returning letterman are on the 2020 roster.
- 48.....number of times Ohio State has been at the site of College GameDay.
- 51.....official bowl game appearances for the Buckeyes (we know it's 52).
- 55.....yards Sevyn Banks ran on his scoop and score against Nebraska.
- 58.....B1G wins for the Scarlet and Gray since 2014.
- 84.....Buckeyes selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.
- 87.....consensus All-Americans.
- 91.....times Ohio State has played in a night game.
- 99.....seasons the Scarlet and Gray have played in Ohio Stadium.
- 103...straight years The Game had been played.
- 151...the number of years The Ohio State University has been in the education business.
- 207...career tackles for Tuf Borland.
- 253...OSU's average passing yards per game...school record for a season is 273.2 (1981).
- 300...Fields has thrown for over 300 yards in three of the past six games.
- 331...Sermon rushing yards against Northwestern.
- 378...total yards by Fields against Indiana, a career high.
- 460...victories for the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium.
- 620...offensive TDs by the Scarlet and Gray since 2012.
- 909...times Ohio State has been ranked in the AP poll.
- 930...number of official wins for the program (we know it's actually 942).
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| OFFENSE | ||||
| 42.5 | 8th | POINTS FOR | 44.9 | 4th |
| 275.7 | 5th | RUSHING OFFENSE | 163.8 | 65th |
| 253.5 | 42nd | PASSING OFFENSE | 343.8 | 7th |
| 529.2 | 6th | TOTAL OFFENSE | 507.6 | 11th |
| .512 | 6th | 3rd DOWNS | .467 | 28th |
| .765 | 103rd | RED ZONE | .875 | 37th |
| DEFENSE | ||||
| 21.0 | 24th | POINTS ALLOWED | 17.5 | 11th |
| 96.7 | 7th | RUSH DEFENSE | 99.8 | 9th |
| 261.3 | 104th | PASS DEFENSE | 198.6 | 27th |
| 129.8 | 47th | PASS EFFICIENCY DEFENSE | 114.9 | 13th |
| 358.0 | 34th | TOTAL DEFENSE | 298.5 | 6th |
| .341 | 19th | 3rd DOWNS | .304 | 9th |
| .833 | 62nd | RED ZONE | .769 | 27th |
| SPECIAL TEAMS | ||||
| 6.4 | 72nd | PUNT RETURN | 9.5 | 36th |
| 13.3 | 126th | KICKOFF RETURN | 23.1 | 34th |
| 39.6 | 43rd | NET PUNTING | 37.6 | 85th |
| MISCELLANEOUS | ||||
| +1.3 | 4th | TURNOVER MARGIN | +0.8 | 18th |
| 6.0 | 65th | PENALTIES | 5.6 | 53rd |
| 6 | EDGE | 12 | ||
TODAY'S TRIVIA ANSWERS
This will be the sixth time Ohio State has played in the Sugar Bowl, how many wins do the Buckeyes have?
Answer: Three. Ohio State defeated Alabama, Arkansas and Texas A&M in three consecutive bowl games played in New Orleans.
The last loss was to Florida State. You can read up on the Buckeyes' Sugar Bowl history here.
What is the most points an Ohio State team has scored in the Sugar Bowl?
Answer: 42. The Scarlet and Gray needed all 42 points in the 42-35 victory over No. 1 Alabama in the 2015 Sugar Bowl.
Can you name the Buckeye player with the school's longest rushing play from scrimmage in the Sugar Bowl?
Answer: Ezekiel Elliott. He ran 85 yards through the heart of the south. His touchdown run was a game-changer in the win against Alabama. Ohio State continued the march on its way to the 2015 championship.
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