2021 Sugar Bowl

The 2021 Sugar Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2021, with kickoff at 8:00 p.m. EST (7:00 p.m. local CST).[4] The Sugar Bowl was one of two College Football Playoff semifinal games, it featured two of the four teams selected by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee—Ohio State from the Big Ten and Clemson from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), with the winner advancing to face the winner of the Rose Bowl, Alabama, in the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship. It was the 87th edition of the Sugar Bowl, and was one of the 2020–21 bowl games concluding the 2020 FBS football season. Sponsored by insurance provider Allstate, the game was officially known as the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl.

2021 Allstate Sugar Bowl
College Football Playoff Semifinal
87th Sugar Bowl
Ohio State Buckeyes Clemson Tigers
(6–0) (10–1)
Big Ten ACC
49 28
Head coach: 
Ryan Day		 Head coach: 
Dabo Swinney
APCoachesCFP
333
APCoachesCFP
222
1234 Total
Ohio State 142177 49
Clemson 14077 28
DateJanuary 1, 2021
Season2020
StadiumMercedes-Benz Superdome
LocationNew Orleans, Louisiana
MVPOffensive:
Justin Fields (QB, Ohio State)
Defensive:
Tuf Borland (LB, Ohio State)
FavoriteClemson by 7[1]
RefereeDavid Alvarez (Big 12)[2]
Attendance3,000
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN and ESPN Radio
AnnouncersESPN: Chris Fowler (play-by-play)
Kirk Herbstreit (analyst)
Maria Taylor and Tom Rinaldi (sidelines)
ESPN Radio: Sean Kelley and Barrett Jones
Nielsen ratings(19.15 million viewers)[3]
International TV coverage
NetworkESPN Deportes
ESPN Brasil
AnnouncersESPN Brasil:
Matheus Pinheiro (play-by-play)
Weinny Eirado (analyst)

The game was carried by ESPN, with its lead college football broadcast team of Chris Fowler on play-by-play and Kirk Herbstreit on color commentary. Three days before the game, Herbstreit announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and would work the game from his home.[5]

College Football Playoff
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, site of the Sugar Bowl
Semifinals Championship
January 1 – Rose Bowl
AT&T Stadium, Arlington
  1   Alabama 31  
  4   Notre Dame 14   January 11 – National Championship
Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens
 
      1   Alabama 52
January 1 – Sugar Bowl
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans		     3   Ohio State 24
 
  2   Clemson 28
  3   Ohio State 49  

Teams

The 2021 Sugar Bowl was held between the Clemson Tigers of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference. The game was a rematch of the 2019 Fiesta Bowl, where Clemson defeated Ohio State to advance to the 2020 National Championship Game. It was the 18th Sugar Bowl featuring a matchup of two teams ranked in the top 5.[6] The teams were announced by College Football Playoff selection committee on December 20, 2020.[7]

Only 3,000 ticketed spectators were permitted because of the coronavirus pandemic.[8] There were 728 tickets for family members of Ohio State players and coaches, 728 tickets for family members of Clemson players and coaches. The remaining 1,544 tickets were for sponsors, business partners, and local Sugar Bowl season ticket holders.[8]


Clemson Tigers
Main article: 2020 Clemson Tigers football team

Clemson entered the game with a record of 10–1 (8–1 ACC) after defeating Notre Dame in the 2020 ACC Championship. Clemson's only loss was to Notre Dame earlier in the season, a double-overtime loss in a game the Tigers played without starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence.[9] Other than Notre Dame, Clemson's only win over a ranked team came against Miami (FL). The Tigers were ranked No. 2 entering the game.

Ohio State Buckeyes
Main article: 2020 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

Ohio State entered the game with a record of 6–0 (5–0 Big Ten) after defeating Northwestern in the 2020 Big Ten Championship. In addition to Northwestern, Ohio State defeated two ranked teams during the season, Penn State and Indiana. The Buckeyes were ranked No. 3 entering the game.

Game summary

Scoring summary
College Football Playoff Semifinal at the 2021 Allstate Sugar Bowl
Period 1 2 34Total
No. 3 Ohio State 14 21 7749
No. 2 Clemson 14 0 7728

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome • New Orleans, Louisiana

Game information
First quarter
  • (12:10) CLEM – Trevor Lawrence 2 yard rush, B.T. Potter kick (Drive: 8 plays, 82 yards, 2:50; Clemson 7–0)
  • (7:59) OSU – Trey Sermon 32 yard rush, Blake Haubeil kick (Drive: 3 plays, 77 yards, 1:12; Tied 7–7)
  • (5:01) CLEM – Travis Etienne 3 yard rush, B.T. Potter kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 2:58; Clemson 14–7)
  • (1:36) OSU – Luke Farrell 8 yard pass from Justin Fields, Blake Haubeil kick (Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards, 3:25; Tied 14–14)
Second quarter
  • (10:35) OSU – Jeremy Ruckert 17 yard pass from Justin Fields, Blake Haubeil kick (Drive: 9 plays, 84 yards, 4:16; Ohio State 21–14)
  • (5:12) OSU – Chris Olave 9 yard pass from Justin Fields, Blake Haubeil kick (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 4:25; Ohio State 28–14)
  • (0:11) OSU — Jeremy Ruckert 12 yard pass from Justin Fields, Blake Haubeil kick (Drive: 12 plays, 80 yards, 3:09; Ohio State 35–14)
Third quarter
  • (7:56) CLEM – Cornell Powell 10 yard pass from Trevor Lawrence, B.T. Potter kick (Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 3:49; Ohio State 35–21)
  • (4:55) OSU – Chris Olave 56 yard pass from Justin Fields, Blake Haubeil kick (Drive: 7 plays, 91 yards, 3:00; Ohio State 42–21)
Fourth quarter
  • (14:03) OSU – Jameson Williams 45 yard pass from Justin Fields, Blake Haubeil kick (Drive: 2 plays, 59 yards, 0:49; Ohio State 49–21)
  • (10:42) CLEM – Cornell Powell 26 yard pass from Trevor Lawrence, B.T. Potter kick (Drive: 10 plays, 75 yards, 3:21; Ohio State 49–28)

Statistics
Statistics OSU CLEM
First downs2623
Plays–yards72–63970–444
Rushes–yards44–25422–44
Passing yards385400
Passing: comp–att–int22–28–133–48–1
Time of possession34:0525:55
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
Ohio State PassingJustin Fields22/28, 385 yards, 6 TD, 1 INT
RushingTrey Sermon31 carries, 193 yards, 1 TD
ReceivingChris Olave6 receptions, 132 yards, 2 TD
Clemson PassingTrevor Lawrence33/48, 400 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
RushingTravis Etienne10 carries, 32 yards, 1 TD
ReceivingCornell Powell8 receptions, 139 yards, 2 TD

Trivia

This was the first time the Buckeyes beat the Tigers, after four previous attempts.

References
  1. "Ohio State-Clemson odds". Oddsshark. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  2. Austro, Ben (December 23, 2020). "2020-21 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  3. "CFP semis hit New Year's Day low, but top non-NFL events in year". www.sportsmediawatch.com. Sports Media Watch. January 5, 2021. Retrieved January 6, 2021.
  4. "College Football Bowl Schedule | 2020". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  5. "ESPN star Kirk Herbstreit to call Clemson-Ohio State from home after getting COVID". New York Post. December 29, 2020. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
  6. Team, WDSU Digital (December 20, 2020). "Clemson and Ohio State to Meet in College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl". WDSU. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  7. Dinich, Heather (August 5, 2020). "College Football Playoff selection committee moves final ranking release to Dec. 20 from Dec. 6". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 6, 2020.
  8. Rowland, Kyle - Sugar Bowl among the most expensive college football games ever. Toledo Blade, December 29, 2020.
  9. Selbe, Nick (November 8, 2020). "Ian Book, Notre Dame Outlast No. 1 Clemson, D.J. Uiagalelei in Double-Overtime Victory". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
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