No. 3 Ohio State defeats No. 2 Clemson 49-28 in the College Football Playoff (2024)

No. 3 Ohio State defeated No. 2 Clemson 49-28 in the Sugar Bowl, setting up a national championship game between two undefeated teams in No. 1 Alabama and No. 3 Ohio State on Monday, Jan. 11. Ohio State's quarterback Justin Fields led the way, despite taking a brutal tackle to his ribs, as he stayed in the game and completed 22-of-28 passes for 385 yards and six touchdowns. Running back Trey Sermon was a standout, too, running for 193 yards and a touchdoown on 31 carries.

After finding itself in a 14-0 hole, Ohio State's defense forced three punts in a row and in the second half, the Buckeyes's "D" forced a fumble and an interception, plus another punt and a turnover on downs.

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Leading 42-21, Ohio State forced a turnover as Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence lost control of the ball, forced by Tommy Togiai and recovered by linebacker Justin Hilliard.

Ohio State hit a home-run play to score its sixth touchdown of the game as Justin Fields found Chris Olave for a 56-yard strike to put the Buckeyes up 42-21.

After intercepting Justin Fields in the end zone, Clemson drove down the field and completed a 14-point swing, as a potential Buckeyes touchdown was thwarted and instead, the Tigers scored on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Trevor Lawrence to Cornell Powell. Powell had a 29-yard reception two plays before that.

Ohio State scored 35 unanswered points to take a three-possession lead over Clemson into halftime. The fifth and final first-half touchdown for the Buckeyes came on a 12-yard pass from Justin Fields to tight end Jeremy Ruckert after Ohio State traveled 80 yards in 12 plays.

In the first half, Fields was 16-for-18 passing for 223 yards and four touchdowns.

In his first play back in the game after leaving the field following a hard hit that disqualified Clemson linebacker James Skalski, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields found Chris Olave for a nine-yard touchdown pass to complete a nine-play, 75-yard drive that allowed the Buckeyes to double up the Tigers 28-14.

After Clemson elected to punt on 4th & 2 from its own 43-yard line, Ohio State took its first lead of the game, 21-14, as Justin Fields found tight end Jeremy Ruckert for a 17-yard touchdown, capping off a nine-play, 84-yard drive.

This game has all the offense you want, as three possessions in a row have ended in touchdowns, with 28 total points scored in the first quarter. After Clemson answered Ohio State's first scoring drive with a touchdown, the Buckeyes marched down the field, scoring after six plays that went 75 yards, with tight end Luke Farrell catching an eight-yard pass in the end zone from Justin Fields.

The longest gain on the drive was a 47-yard completion from Fields to Garrett Wilson, that took Ohio State within Clemson's 10-yard line.

Travis Etienne capped off a seven-play, 75-yard scoring drive with a three-yard touchdown run on the handoff from Trevor Lawrence. The Tigers had four plays of at least 15 yards on the drive, including two in a row to start the drive – a 15-yard pass to Braden Galloway and a 16-yard completion to Amari Rodgers.

After Ohio State and Clemson traded punts after Clemson's touchdown on the opening drive, the Buckeyes answered on a 32-yard touchdown run by running back Trey Sermon, who was the team's standout performer in the Big Ten Championship Game against Northwestern. On the play before Sermon's touchdown run, he took a pass from Justin Fields for 34 yards.

The second-ranked Clemson Tigers received the opening kickoff, then rattled off an eight-play, 82-yard scoring drive that ended with quarterback Trevor Lawrence taking a two-yard run to the house. A 27-yard completion from Lawrence to Cornell Powell on 3rd & 5 was the longest play on the drive, and running back Travis Etienne also ran for 26 yards earlier on the drive.

The 2021 Sugar Bowl is underway between No. 2 Clemson and No. 3 Ohio State. The Tigers start with the ball, so the Buckeyes will get the ball at the start of the second half.