No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Clemson are the two most balanced teams in college football this season, and they entered Saturday’s College Football Playoff semifinal at the Playstation Fiesta Bowl with top-5 offenses and defenses.
It was reasonable to think they’d make big plays on both sides of the ball, but Buckeyes running back J.K. Dobbins exploded with the first monster play of the game.
On 1st-and-10 from Ohio State’s own 32-yard line, Dobbins embarrassed Clemson’s defense with a stunning 68-yard touchdown, giving the Buckeyes an early 10-0 lead. Once he broke through a gap up front, he had nothing but open space in front of him and cruised to the end zone.
Clemson’s defense entered this playoff game No. 1 in the nation with 244.7 defensive yards per game and No. 9 with 106.2 rushing yards allowed per game. Dobbins came in with 1,829 yards on the season, averaging 140.7 per game.
But Dobbins’ run wasn’t just the one of the biggest the Tigers have given up all season. It was also the longest run they’ve allowed since October 2016, per ESPN Stats & Info, when former Florida State running back Dalvin Cook had a 70-yard run in Clemson’s win over the Seminoles.
That play gave Dobbins 75 rushing yards (in the first seven minutes of the game), which allowed him to pass Ezekiel Elliott for the second most rushing yards in a single season at Ohio State. And then with this wild 64-yard play in the final seconds of the first quarter, he passed Eddie George to be at the top of that category.
On 3rd-and-2 from Ohio State’s 28-yard line, Dobbins got the Buckeyes to the eight-yard line, but they had to settle for a field goal and a 13-0 lead.
At halftime, Dobbins had nine carries for 142 yards and one touchdown.
