How to Watch Ohio State's Playoff Game with Clemson on Friday

All Ohio State wanted during the COVID/football debate was a chance to play for a national title. They've got in now, with a rematch against Clemson on Friday in the semifinals of the College Football Playoffs in New Orleans.

Tom Brew | Jan 1, 2021

NEW ORLEANS, La. — Ohio State, you asked for it, and now you got it.

When Ohio State pressured the Big Ten to relaunch the league season, the reason behind it was because the Buckeyes, to a man, thought they were good enough to win a national title this year. They've only been able to play six games, but they made the playoffs anyway, and get another shot at Clemson on Friday night in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans as part of the College Football Playoff.

Clemson is a familiar foe for Ohio State in the postseason. This will be their fourth meeting since 2013 and its third against Ohio State in the College Football Playoff since 2016. Clemson has won every time.

"Ohio State wanted Clemson all along, that look who they got,'' ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit said Friday morning. ''I don't know if six games in enough, but it was enough to get them in and now they get their chance.''

Here's how to watch the Ohio State-Clemson semifinal game:

No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Ohio State

WHAT: College Football Playoff Semifinal, Sugar Bowl
WHEN: Friday, 8 p.m. ET
WHERE: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, New Orleans, La.
POINT SPREAD: Clemson is favored by 7.5 points on Friday morning, according to the DraftKings.com gambling website. That line has stayed very steady since it opened on Dec. 20. The over/under is 68.
TV: ABC/ESPN
Stream: ESPN-Plus
TV Announcers: Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), Tom Rinaldi and Maria Taylor (sideline reporters)
RECORDS: Clemson (10-1); Ohio State (6-0)
LAST GAME: Clemson beat Notre Dame 34-10 in the ACC Championship Game on Dec. 19 in Charlotte, N.C. Ohio State beat Northwestern 22-10 in the Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis on the same day.
ALL-TIME SERIES: Clemson leads the all-time series 4-0.
LAST MEETING: Clemson won 29-23 in the College Football Playoff semifinal last season in Glendale, Ariz.
COACHES: Clemson's Dabo Swinney is in his 13th season with the Tigers and has a 140-32 overall record. He has won two national titles at Clemson in 2016 and 2018. Ryan Day is in his second season at Ohio State and is 22-1 overall, including 3-0 as an interim coach in 2018. He has won consecutive Big Ten titles and his only career loss was last year against Clemson.

SERIES HISTORY

2019 — Clemson 29, Ohio State 23 (CFP Playoff)
2016 —Clemson 31, Ohio State 0 (Fiesta Bowl)
2013 — Clemson 40, Ohio State 35 (Orange Bowl)
1978 — Clemson 17, Ohio State 15 (Gator Bowl)

Here are 3 things to look for in Alabama-Notre Dame game

1. Does Trevor Lawrence go out in style?

Trevor Lawrence has been nearly perfect during his three years at Clemson, posting a 34-1 record as a starter. He's the surefire No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and he's the greatest prospect since Peyton Manning, the experts say. So can Ohio State stop him, and ruin his dream?

The answer would appear to be no. The Ohio State pass defense has been shaky at times during this up-and-down season, and nothing is more evident than the time that Indiana quarterback Michael Penix Jr. threw for 491 yards against them in a 42-35 Ohio State victory in November.

The Buckeyes will have their hands full on Friday. The fact of the matter is the Buckeyes are about to play against a guy who has lost just once in his college career — last year to Joe Burrow and the LSU Tigers in the national championship game. Sevyn Banks, Marcus Williamson and Shaun Wade must avoid giving up big plays over the top of the defense. While that's what the scheme of this defense is designed to do, it hasn't always worked out that way this year.

2. How healthy are the Buckeyes through this COVID outbreak?

Ohio State had 22 players miss the Big Ten Championship game against Northwestern for a variety of reasons, but the majority of those players are believed to have missed that game because they were either diagnosed with CoVID-19 or were have deemed a close contact with someone who had contracted the virus.

Ryan Day said he's gotten "a bunch" of players back and the Buckeyes appear to be on track to have a healthy group available for the Sugar Bowl (knock on wood). But as Wyatt Davis pointed out to the media on Monday, the scariest thing about this season is how quickly things can go from normal to disastrous. With kickoff now just one day away, anyone who tests positive here on out would certainly be unavailable on Friday.

Several of those guys have not been able to practice for much of the past two weeks. It's going to be interesting to see if they can play 60 minutes on Friday.

3. Is six games a reasonable sample size?

Ohio State was considered a national title contender in the preseason, but then the Big Ten stopped its season, only to reconsider and start on Oct. 24. The hope was that everyone would play nine games, but because of COVID issues, Ohio State has only played six times, and has started and stopped their season often.

That's an incomplete resume to many.

No one really knows for sure how good this Ohio State team is. They've looked great in spurts, but they've also struggled at times as well. Justin Fields, once considered a Heisman Trophy candidate, has thrown 15 touchdown passes but also has five interceptions. He's going to need to be perfect to keep up with Clemson, and there's no certainly that can happen.

No. 2 Clemson vs. No. 3 Ohio State

1. Does Trevor Lawrence go out in style?

2. How healthy are the Buckeyes through this COVID outbreak?

3. Is six games a reasonable sample size?

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