Sugar Bowl 2021: Updated Odds and Comments for Ohio State vs. Clemson

When Clemson and Ohio State have gone head-to-head in recent years, it's been on a big stage every time. And each of the games ended the same way—with a Tigers victory.

At the end of the 2013 season, Clemson beat Ohio State 40-35 in the Orange Bowl. The past two meetings between the teams each came in a College Football Playoff semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl, with the Tigers winning 31-0 in 2016 and notching a 29-23 victory in 2019.

Clemson leads its all-time series against Ohio State 4-0, and it's currently a 7.5-point favorite to win when the teams face off in a CFP semifinal at the Sugar Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on Jan. 1, per DraftKings. The Tigers are 10-1 this season, and they're coming off their best win of the year so far, a 34-10 victory over Notre Dame in the ACC Championship Game.

It's nothing new for Clemson to be heading to the Playoff. The Tigers are making their sixth straight CFP appearance, as they've made it every season since the format started, except for the inaugural one in 2014.

Clemson won the national title two years ago and lost to LSU in the CFP National Championship Game last season. And the Tigers still have some key players from those teams, including junior quarterback Trevor Lawrence and senior running back Travis Etienne, a pair of offensive standouts who Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day will be hoping his defense can stop. However, Day also knows the challenge of going up against them.

"I think [Lawrence] and Etienne are two of the most dynamic players in college football, and probably in the history of college football," Day said, according to Phil Harrison of Buckeyes Wire. "Do I think that experience matters? Absolutely. I think the fact that a lot of those guys played in that game and having the experience of playing in that game is critical. I think that’s why these Clemson teams have won so many games, because they’ve played in this environment before."

Lawrence missed two games this season after testing positive for COVID-19 (including Clemson's lone loss, a 47-40 double-overtime defeat at Notre Dame on Nov. 7). In nine games, he passed for 2,753 yards, 22 touchdowns and four interceptions. Meanwhile, Etienne had 1,406 total yards (882 rushing and 524 receiving) and 15 touchdowns in 11 games.

Not only are the Tigers an experienced team that's had success, but they know what it takes to beat the Buckeyes in a CFP semifinal game, considering they did so less than a year ago. And that could be beneficial as they prepare to go head-to-head again.

"I think anytime that you are playing someone that you have some familiarity with, that's a positive," Swinney said, according to Garrett Stepien of 247Sports.com. "You can look back at tape where you matched up and just like playing an opponent every year, you can look back at your last year's game and you have different people and things like that, but you can still get a feel."

On the other side, Ohio State will be looking to play better than it did against Clemson last season. However, that previous matchup could have been a valuable experience for the Buckeyes.

"We are going to have to play our best game of the season and I don’t think we have played it yet," Day said, according to Lou Bezjak of The State. "The margin for error is tiny when you play a team like Clemson, and we are going to learn from last year. ... We have to do a great job in all three phases, and in the red zone. If we do those things, it will give us our best chance."

Although Ohio State is undefeated, it's only played six games this season due to cancellations caused by COVID-19 testing and contact-tracing protocols. The Buckeyes still won the Big Ten championship, though, beating Northwestern for the title last Saturday.

It turns out that Swinney put Ohio State at No. 11 when he voted for the last edition of the coaches poll, lower than any other coach who participated, and there's a chance that was due to the number of games the Buckeyes played in 2020. However, he had previously praised Ohio State as a team.

"We look forward to competing against a great Ohio State team," Swinney said, per Harrison. "We all know how talented they are, how well-coached they are. Got a lot of respect for Ryan Day and Ohio State."

Clemson may be favorite to win, but it certainly wouldn't be surprising to see another close game between these two teams. So, there's a decent chance that this will be the more competitive of the two CFP semifinal games, as the betting lines are indicating.