It sure looked like early on Ohio State was going to win this one going away. It raced out to a 16-0 lead that seemed like it should have been a lot more. Truth be known, it should have been. The Buckeyes went 0-3 deep in the red zone and had to settle for three field goals.
Like a champion does, Clemson then punched back and grabbed momentum just before half by getting a couple of touchdowns to make it 16-14 at the half. The second half was a nip and tuck affair that went back and forth. Both teams struggled at times to move the ball, and there was a little controversy mixed in for good measure.
The Buckeyes were able to regain a couple point lead mid-way through the fourth quarter on a gutsy call, but after working the clock and moving the ball into Clemson territory, it couldn’t convert on a key third down and punted it back to the Tigers.
You had a feeling the champs would make good on one final drive and they did — taking just four plays to score and getting a two point conversion to go up 29-23.
Ohio State had 1:49 left on the clock to try and do something, but despite getting a few key plays to move the ball down the field early deep into enemy territory, things tightened up and OSU couldn’t quite finish the deal when Fields threw an interception with just :37 left in Clemson’s end zone.
In the end, Ohio State battled but lost a game it probably should have won against one whale of a team.
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