NEW ORLEANS – During the Ohio State race for the national championship in the 2014 season, Ezekiel Elliott took his game to new heights by running 220 yards in the Big Ten Championship Game, 230 yards in the College Football Playoff semifinal in the Sugar Bowl and 246 yards in the game of the national championship.
In Ohio’s last two games to put the Buckeyes in this season’s national championship game, Trey Sermon has taken his game to similar levels of grandeur.
After racing for a 331-yard school record against Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship Game two weeks ago, Sermon continued running for 193 yards and a touchdown on 31 charged and adding four receptions for 61 yards in Friday night’s 49-28 victory about Clemson in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Sugar Bowl.
After a smooth start to the season for Sermon, the Oklahoma graduate transfer emerged as a legitimate star in the most important games of the year, and he certainly made a big impression on his head coach.
“In the last two games, he has been excellent. He’s made a difference, “said Ryan Day.” He really wasn’t at the beginning. I think he was finding his way. But, wow, I mean, whether in the pass game, in the protection and, obviously, running football, he has been special ”.
Sermon says he was “extremely comfortable with the weather,” as he has now played seven games in the Ohio state attack.
“Just getting used to the flow of the offensive and really just getting in sync with the offensive line, every week I feel like I’m getting better at it,” said Sermon. “I know what I’m doing. I trust my ability. And I’m just letting the game come to me, and just being decisive.”
Olave gets his redemption
There may not have been a single player who was more eager to beat Clemson on Friday night than Ohio State wide receiver Chris Olave, whose run error in the final minute of last year’s CFP against Clemson semifinal led to the closing of Nolan Turner’s interception game that ended the Ohio State season.
In this year’s game against Clemson, Olave achieved redemption, playing a key role in the Buckeyes’ 21-point victory while leading Ohio State with six receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
After Olave tested positive for COVID-19 before the Big Ten Championship Game, there was some doubt whether he would be able to play this week’s game, especially before the Big Ten changed its return protocol from 21 to 17 days. He failed to practice much before Friday’s game. But just as he did in many important games over his three years in Ohio, Olave seized the opportunity against the Tigers, reestablishing himself as the number one recipient of the state of Ohio after his presence was clearly lost against Northwestern.
“We were very nervous when we sank with COVID, we weren’t going to bring him back,” said Day. “He practiced, he didn’t practice at all. So it was a little risky to get into the week, but started putting his legs back under him at the end of the week and then went out and played the way he does in a big spot.
“One of the most clutch players, I think, as a receiver perhaps in Ohio State football history, when you think about it. Wow, what a player he is. ”
The chance to return to the CFP and make up for the mistake at the end of the season last year fueled Olave throughout the off-season, and making it happen on Friday made all the hard work in a challenging year worthwhile.
“It has been a difficult year. But I just had to fight against adversity and, luckily, I came out at the end and played a great game today, ”said Olave. “Just being able to beat these guys and have fun with my teammates, I am blessed and proud to be here.”
Chris Olave had reason to smile after obtaining redemption against Clemson.
Three tight touchdowns
The narrative that the state of Ohio does not use its narrow spikes in the passing game as much as it could or should have been widespread has surrounded the Buckeyes for years. On Friday, however, tight ends Luke Farrell and Jeremy Ruckert had their moment to shine on the biggest stage.
Farrell scored the second Ohio State touchdown of the night when he managed a pass through the cover of Clemson’s cornerback, Derion Kendrick, for an 8-yard score. Ruckert scored the third and fifth Ohio State touchdown, both in the second quarter, in 17- and 12-yard passes.
His three touchdowns corresponded to the total number of touchdowns that Ohio State tight ends had throughout the season before Friday’s game, as Ruckert had three touchdowns in the Buckeyes’ first six games, while Farrell had none. Throughout the year, however, Farrell and Ruckert never complained about just doing their job and functioning as race blockers – in which they have been excellent, by the way – and on Friday, they were rewarded with the opportunity to do great moves in a great game.
“Everything is week after week. Coach Day is one of the best I’ve seen in just planning defenses and making sure he finds the game open, ”said Ruckert. “Our tight end has always been able to be a group that you could trust if you were in the running game or being able to make plays, and I think you saw today that no moment is too big for us.
Luke Farrell scored his first touchdown of the season against Clemson.
Justin Fields was happy to have had the opportunity to throw some important passes in his direction – five in all, as Ruckert had three 55-yard receptions and Farrell had two 11-yard receptions – on Friday night – recognizing that he didn’t always do a good job in previous games to find them when they are open.
“I think that throughout the year, I lost a lot of tight ends in many plays,” said Fields. “So it was basically going back to basics and seeing the moves they played and kind of using these guys. These are two of the best tight tips in the country, and I’m happy to finally be able to use them. ”
Defense intensifies after unstable start
There were tons of questions in Friday’s game about whether the Ohio State defense would be able to do the job against the attack by Trevor Lawrence and Clemson, and early on, those concerns seemed to be validated. The Tigers scored touchdowns in two of their first three possessions in the game, driving 82 yards in their first series and 75 yards in the third.
From that point on, however, the state of Ohio allowed only two more touchdown attempts on 10 more Clemson possessions. The Buckeyes forced three consecutive punts after Clemson’s second touchdown in the game, came up with two results (a fumble recovery from Justin Hilliard on a Tommy Togiai track and a Sevyn Banks interception) in the second half and also forced a downover turnover. in the fourth quarter.
The Ohio State defense defense certainly still had its strikes against the Tigers, allowing Lawrence to shoot for 400 yards. But the Buckeyes ‘running defense was dominant, keeping Clemson at just 44 yards and, most importantly, they did what they needed to limit the Tigers’ score in the final three quarters of the game, allowing the Ohio State attack to take over the games.
The Buckeyes knew that Clemson’s attack would make some moves on Friday, and that it would not be realistic to launch a shutout or never give up on any moves. But the defense responded as necessary for Ohio State to win the game by a comfortable margin.
“Look, we knew Clemson was one of the best offensives in the country,” said Ohio state linebacker Tuf Borland. “We couldn’t lower ourselves. We couldn’t lose confidence in what we were doing. And these guys, throughout this process, I think it shows the character of this group, kind of recovering like that. ”
Day said he thought Ohio State’s defensive coaches had devised an “excellent” game plan and that he was proud of the way the players performed.
“We knew they were going to make plays. But we stayed together, “said Day.” We didn’t flinch when they got some touchdowns. We just remain behind them. It was perfect? I do not know. But it was brave. And they played very well. And we played complementary football tonight.
“I thought that our defense did a good job, they didn’t give up on the big game. They kept him up front. They kept making them go one more move, one more move, one more move. And that is the idea. I think we learned our lesson from that Indiana game there. And because of that, we were able to play the way we did and finish the game the way it should be. ”