Ohio State 49 Clemson 28: Position Grades From Tigers Sugar Bowl Loss

Position grades from the Tigers 49-28 loss to Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl.

The 2020 season for Clemson is officially over after Ohio State's dominating 49-28 win over the Tigers in the Sugar Bowl. 

It was one of the more disappointing performances in quite some time for this Clemson football team, and the players and coaches will now head into the offseason with the mindset of using the setback as a learning experience and as motivation as they start preparing for the 2021 season. 

Position Grades

Quarterback: Trevor Lawrence did a lot of good things in this game, but he also missed on some throws he probably wishes he had back. One, in particular, was the overthrow to Davis Allen early in the game while he was running free behind the secondary. At the same time, a lot of that had to do with being under constant pressure and not having the time he is accustomed to having in the pocket. On a night in which he wasn't at his best, Lawrence still finished with 400 yards and completed 69 percent of his passes, but he did have one interception and put the ball on the ground three times..... C+

Running Back: After getting so far behind in that second quarter, the Buckeyes basically took the running game of the Tigers out of the equation. Travis Etienne did finish with 96 yards and a touchdown, but with the Tigers being forced to have throw, he just wasn't much of a factor. Lyn-J Dixon had a couple of good runs and has looked much better in limited action down the stretch..... B-

Wide Receivers: Cornell Powell was one of the few bright spots, as he consistently beat Shaun Wade, finishing with eight catches for 139 yards and a touchdown. Amari Rodgers also finished with eight catches but was only able to average 6.8 yards per catch. E.J. Williams had a decent night, hauling in five catches for 45 yards, and even Frank Ladson Jr. had a nice catch on the sideline. The numbers do not always tell the whole story though, as there was some inconsistency in their blocking out on the perimeter..... C+

Offensive Line: After playing their best game of the season in the ACC Championship Game, the Tigers' offensive line was worked over in the Sugar Bowl. The Buckeyes defensive front just had their way with the Tigers and was able to consistently push the line of scrimmage backward. The run blocking has been lacking most of the season, but even the pass protection was subpar on Friday..... F

Defensive Line: It isn't very often that you see a Brent Venables defensive front pushed around the way the Tigers were in New Orleans. The Clemson defensive line was gashed all night long as the Buckeyes rushed for 254 yards. The ends struggled to set the edge and regularly took terrible angles in pursuit. Even when they got to guys, the tackling was not very good. Tyler Davis and Bryan Bresee had their moments but overall a very uncharacteristic performance..... D+

Linebackers: The backers played just a little bit better than the front four. Even before James Skalski's ejection for targeting, things were starting to unravel..... C-

Secondary: The back end of the Clemson defense was absolutely torched by Justin Fields and the Buckeyes' offense. Busted coverages, missed assignments, terrible tackling and just flat out getting beat in coverage. Not to mention the safeties getting caught too often peaking in the backfield..... F

Special Teams: Will Spiers did average more than 47 yards per punt, which was one of the few bright spots on the night. However, Etienne did have the one mental mistake on the kickoff return..... B