Sugar Bowl 2021: Odds, Daily Fantasy Tips for Ohio State vs. Clemson
The Clemson Tigers and Ohio State Buckeyes have an abundance of talent on their rosters to choose from for Sugar Bowl daily fantasy contests.
In their most recent meeting—the 2019 Fiesta Bowl—Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields put up strong numbers in a game that Clemson won 29-23.
Lawrence, Fields and Travis Etienne are among the offensive stars returning for another playoff go-around, but there are a few new faces who should make a big impact as well.
Ohio State running back Trey Sermon could be the most important newcomer to the matchup, and he may be the Buckeyes' ultimate difference-maker, like he was in the Big Ten Championship game.
Sugar Bowl Odds
Spread: Clemson (-7)
Over/Under: 66.5
Moneyline: Clemson -295 (bet $295 to win $100); Ohio State +230 (bet $100 to win $230)
Daily Fantasy Tips
Trust Trevor Lawrence Over Justin Fields
Fields threw for 61 more yards in the first meeting between potential 2021 NFL first-round draft picks.
However, the Ohio State signal-caller averaged 0.8 fewer yards per attempt than Lawrence and was turned over twice through the air.
Lawrence comes into the Sugar Bowl with a slight advantage from last year's matchup and from his most recent performance.
The Clemson junior lit up the Notre Dame Fighting Irish defense for 322 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air.
Lawrence was also more dynamic on the ground on conference championship weekend, totaling 90 yards and a pair of rushing scores.
The potential No. 1 overall pick in April ran for a touchdown in each of his two playoff contests last season. He added 26 carries to his 70 pass attempts against Ohio State and the LSU Tigers.
If he displays the same effectiveness in both aspects of the offense on Friday, Lawrence could turn out to be a much stronger lineup anchor than Fields.
Use Trey Sermon as Top Non-Quarterback
After Sermon ran for 331 yards and a pair of touchdowns in his last outing, it will be hard to keep him out of DFS lineups.
The transfer from Oklahoma averaged over 11 yards per carry in each of his past two appearances.
Sermon's realistic rushing-yard total for Friday could be somewhere between 100 and 150 yards if Ohio State tries to push the ball down the field with its ground game.
J.K. Dobbins had plenty of success against Clemson's front seven last season, as he wracked up 174 yards on 18 carries.
Clemson allowed 163.8 rushing yards per game in ACC play, so it could be susceptible to a few long runs before it makes adjustments, like it did in the second half of the 2019 Fiesta Bowl.
If Sermon gets going and takes some early pressure off Fields, Ohio State could be in contention for a victory against Clemson yet again.
If you stack your lineup with Lawrence, Sermon and Etienne, you should be in pretty good shape to land in the prize-winning positions.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from ESPN.com.
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