ARLINGTON, Texas – The last decade of school football was explained through the Alabama-Clemson rivalry, with the state of Ohio playing the role of the third wheel. During the peak of that rambling season, there was each and every explanation as to why believe the 2020s would start out the same way, with the Buckeyes not being smart enough to shake up the sport’s force dynamics.
But Ohio State’s dominant 49-28 victory over Clemson in the Sugar Bowl dramatically replaced the narrative, a National Championship game with Alabama on Jan. 11 that has a genuine air of mystery about it.
Are the Buckeyes powerful enough to succeed?
“This showed what they’re made of,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said.
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Before the COVID-19 pandemic, there would have been no question about the ability of the state of Ohio to earn the national name this season. The Buckeyes came so close to beating Clemson in the semifinals last year, and they knew they would return to the most talented passing game in school history led by quarterback Justin Fields and wide receiver Chris Olave. All undercover for a historic race.
But from Aug. 1 to Jan. 1, very little went as planned for the Buckeyes. Between the Big Ten shutdown and reboot, the shortened schedule, warring parties having to cancel games, and the Ohio State COVID-19 outbreak, the Buckeyes never had enough speed or momentum to succeed in its potential.
But the true state of Ohio appeared on Friday at that time.
“We hadn’t faced a team like Clemson,” Day said. “We have not played many games. We don’t play our most productive game on offense or defense. There is a lot of anxiety in the game.
Now the anguish is moving to Crimson Tide. Because after 12 games we know what Alabama is: one of the most effective and dynamic offenses in the history of school football, a team that scored twice in the 60s, 4 in the 50s and in the 40s on 4 occasions. If anything, Alabama’s 31-14 win over Notre Dame was a bit weak, basically because they ran away from their attack at full throttle in the moment portion to check and beat the clock.
“We have to be able to finish a little better and do better next time,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said.
The scary component of Alabama is that we don’t know if the state of Ohio has reached the red peak yet. The Buckeyes have only played seven games, and even the Sugar Bowl it seemed they were still struggling to locate others. No one may have realized Ohio State pulled off a 22-10 win over Northwestern in the Big Ten name game and got the idea that they would come back thirteen days later and put Clemson up for 639 yards.
But in any kind of playoffs of any sport, being hot at the right time is dangerous. And the state of Ohio turns out to be on fire.
“They were incredible,” said Clemson coach Dabo Swinney. “They surely ruled the line of scrimmage.
If there’s one thing we know for sure, the championship game at Hard Rock Stadium just outside of Miami will be two heavyweight offenses trading blow for blow. From Alabama’s perspective, it is projected even more of a damaging game than the Florida team that scored 46 points on them in the SEC Championship game.
As smart in a season as Florida quarterback Kyle Trask, Fields is a better running back and a more complete player who is very accurate on deep balls Friday with 56 and 45 touchdowns in the backyard in the third quarter. when Clemson threatened to turn it into a baseball game.
And he did it with what gave the impression of being injured in the ribs after receiving a blow in the fourth moment that left him limp and wincing, even doing something as undeniable as getting on a training motorcycle in the band .
It’s unclear exactly what kind of injury Fields suffered and if that’s something that will restrict him for the next week as Ohio State prepares for Alabama. You’ll want to achieve functionality like this and then a few to give the Buckeyes a shot at their first national name since 2014.
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But one thing you might not hear from Alabama is the lack of respect for the state of Ohio or the comments about how the Buckeyes only played six games to make the playoffs. Nick Saban is too wise and experienced for that. While Swinney almost seemed to delight in putting Ohio state in the eye by beating the Buckeyes’ 11th in his Amway Coaches Poll and complaining about the injustice of his reduced hours, Saban will focus on the constant disruption of his own. team and forget about everyone else. noise.
If Saban felt his team would have his hands full with Clemson, what happened on the court Friday gave his players an even more sense of urgency to get every detail of their preparation for Ohio State.
You never need to reserve a school soccer game as a classic. But if that functionality is a true representation of what the Buckeyes are capable of opposing to some other elite team, they more than just controlled their way into the conversation. They are smart enough to win it all.