Never a doubt, huh?
That’s sort of what this year’s Sugar Bowl win felt like. Despite entering Friday as a touchdown underdog, Ohio State boat-raced a seemingly less-prepared Clemson team for a 49-28 win to advance to the national championship game where it’ll face Alabama.
Let’s get into this week’s stock report.
Stock Up
Justin Fields
Arguably the two worst performances of Fields career came in two of the previous three games. He tossed a career-high three interceptions against Indiana then threw for 114 yards without any touchdowns, two interceptions and his first-ever sub-50 completion percentage in the Big Ten championship game. Oh, and he suffered what he described as a sprained thumb less than two weeks prior to the Sugar Bowl.
So, how would he perform against what most assumed to be the best defense he’d seen all season? It was a legitimate question. And man, oh man, did we get a legitimate answer.
Fields played quite possibly the best game of his career in a performance that’ll be remembered in Buckeye lore for as long as anybody talks about Ohio State football. He went 22-for-28 for 385 yards, throwing six touchdowns and one interception on a tipped pass. He added 42 rushing yards on eight carries. The 56-yard bomb to Chris Olave was legitimately jaw-dropping, and so was the 45-yarder to Jameson Williams.
Were still having fun. pic.twitter.com/g2dIL0TLo0
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) January 2, 2021
But the toughness, will and determination to get the job done is what’ll be remembered most. Every movement Fields made after James Skalski drilled him seemed to leave the quarterback in pain, and at times it was difficult to watch. Yet that didn’t stop him from delivering when his team needed him the most within the game he and his teammates had prepared over the 365 days to play.
His performance was downright legendary.
Trey Sermon
Sermon is amid the most unexpected in-season transformation since…? I don’t even know.
For four and a half games, he was exceedingly average, unable to make guys miss or quickly find and hit holes. I once compared his running style to a bad Tetris player. It felt like he was trying to take his time, process what was happening, move around and fit himself into a hole rather than finding it immediately and exploding through it.
Now, he’s running like one of college football’s best tailback.
Here are his past three stat lines:
- Against Michigan State: 10 carries for 112 yards and a touchdown
- Against Northwestern: 29 carries for 331 yards and two touchdowns
- Against Clemson: 31 carries for 193 yards and one touchdown, along with four catches for 61 yards
Insanity.
Were just gonna keep this on a loop for a while. pic.twitter.com/rwJ5bjX2zp
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) January 2, 2021
Next up? Alabama. It would be poetic if he finishes off a 2014 Ezekiel Elliott-esque end-of-season performance with a standout performance versus the Crimson Tide.
Justin Hilliard
I’m unconvinced he hasn't been Ohio State’s best defensive player the past two weeks. And given that he’s in his sixth year after battling through the numerous injuries that came close to ending his career, that’s unbelievable to think about.
He followed up his nine-tackle, one-interception, one-fumble recovery Big Ten title game performance with eight tackles, including one for a loss, and another fumble recovery in the Sugar Bowl. What a career. What a season. What a pair of games.
Hilliard started the season as a backup. But to beat Alabama, the Buckeyes need him on the field as much as possible. Who would have thought that a couple of months ago?
All Five Starting Offensive Linemen
It was nothing less than a butt-kicking up front all night.
Thayer Munford, Matthew Jones, Josh Myers, Wyatt Davis, Nicholas Petit Frere and Paris Johnson had their way with Clemson’s front seven. They moved the defensive line off the ball on called runs, opening up holes for Sermon’s 193-yard evening, and gave Fields the protection he needed to dice up the secondary. Week by week, this group has gotten better, and it all coalesced with its best performance of the season on Friday.
Trey Sermon picking up right where he left off. pic.twitter.com/XxEK3IVjzv
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) January 2, 2021
Quick side note: It was a bit weird why Brent Venables didn’t try to dial up more blitzes. Clemson rushed just four guys the majority of the time, which didn’t seem to make a ton of sense considering Fields was banged up for most of the game and he has struggled at times with decision-making under duress. I asked our film guru Kyle Jones for his theory, and he told me he figured Venables likely didn’t want to further put the defensive backs on islands. But at some point, it felt like Clemson should have tried to make Fields uncomfortable since this offensive line wasn’t having any issues with the four-man rush, and that just never happened.
Matthew Jones
His second-ever start at Ohio State and first-ever start at left guard between Thayer Munford and Josh Myers came in the most-anticipated, most-hyped game of the season by a mile, and he did his job well. He largely held his own in pass protection, and he thrived in the run game as he showcased some explosiveness off of the ball that helped the line get movement up front.
Sure, he’ll have some things to learn from, getting beat a couple of times in pass protection. But if you’re expecting perfection from somebody in that situation, you’re crazy. He did his job well enough that one would imagine he’ll be in the conversation to potentially start in the national title game whether Harry Miller is available to play or not.
All Four Starting Defensive Linemen
Ohio State named Jonathon Cooper, Tommy Togiai, Haskell Garrett and Tyreke Smith as its co-Defensive Players of the Game, which feels correct.
They made Trevor Lawrence uncomfortable early, and he continued throwing off of his back foot for much of the night because they remained in his face. In the second half, they started to get home, with Cooper and Smith sacking the quarterback. Stout as ever in the run game, the defensive front held the Tigers to 44 rushing yards on 22 carries. Travis Etienne managed only 32 yards on the ground.
Jeremy Ruckert
Does his Ohio State career have one more game remaining, or will he be back next season? Either way, whenever he goes to the NFL he’ll likely get drafted higher than many expect based on somebody with his statistics.
Ruckert has shown himself to be a prolific receiving tight end, and he’s also become an underrated run blocker. The third-year from New York showcased both aspects of his game on Friday, catching two of Fields’ six touchdowns and plowing holes for Sermon. The way he and Luke Farrell played this weekend gave Nick Saban even more to think about when considering how to possibly slow down this Ohio State offense.
This throw could not have been more perfect. pic.twitter.com/5tdA3Bi2uR
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) January 2, 2021
Miyan Williams
He’s not just another guy. The three-star prospect out of Winton Woods appears intent on not getting lost in the shuffle. Going into the game to give Sermon a rare breather, he picked up 21 yards on three carries against Clemson, including a 15-yarder that ended with him trucking a safety.
Williams has our attention.
Shameless plug: I went to his high school when he signed his National Letter of Intent for a story I wrote a year ago. I’ll always remember what his mother told me: “I put him into football because he was, honestly, beating up all the kids in the hood.” He likes to punish defenders, and that has translated in the few carries he’s had as a Buckeye so far.
Stock Down
Dabo Swinney
Ohio State spent over a year figuring out how to get back at Clemson after ending last season with a 29-23 loss, and it did so by smacking Swinney’s team around for four quarters. It lived up to everything Buckeye fans wanted.
Shaun Wade
As great as Ohio State was for most of the night, Wade had some rocky moments, getting beat several times by Cornell Powell who had eight receptions for 139 yards and two touchdowns.
Next up for Wade? Bama. And that means potential Heisman Trophy-winning wideout Devonta Smith and others are on the docket. He has a prime opportunity ahead of him to bounce back on the biggest stage possible. Ohio State needs him to come through.
Notre Dame
Not a great weekend to be Brian Kelly.
Marcus Hooker
Can’t say I predicted this.
Hooker was a non-entity in the Sugar Bowl after starting the entire regular season at free safety. In his place was Josh Proctor, who had started at the spot when Hooker was unavailable in the Big Ten championship. Proctor seemed to fill in fine, not getting challenged often – though he dropped what should have been an easy pick.
Me
I picked Ohio State to lose. Oops.
I didn’t account for Fields being a cyborg, Sermon being Zeke 2.0 and this defense allowing just 28 points. Just a remarkably impressive all-around performance by the Buckeyes in a game that’ll be talked about for decades to come.
