Ryan Day

The semifinal performances of the Alabama Crimson Tide and Ohio State Buckeyes suggest the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship on January 11 will be a high-scoring affair.

This year's finalists combined for 80 points, and both have averaged more than 43 points and 500 total yards this season.

Alabama has the most playoff experience, as its senior class played in two title games, but that may not matter against an Ohio State offense that showed no fear against Clemson.

If Justin Fields turns in another strong performance in the pocket, Ohio State could give Alabama its closest game of the season, which may grant us the most entertaining final of the CFB playoff era.

National Championship Prediction

Alabama 35, Ohio State 30

A one-score game would be a welcome sight for college football fans after the last two national championships were decided in blowout fashion.

The last close title clash was Alabama's last victory, which came by three points in overtime against the Georgia Bulldogs three years ago.

DeVonta Smith caught the game-winning touchdown from Tua Tagovailoa in that game as a freshman, and he could be the most dangerous player on the field at Hard Rock Stadium.

The 22-year-old had five touchdown receptions in the SEC Championship Game and the Rose Bowl, and he put up 10 of his 20 receiving touchdowns against ranked opposition.

Mac Jones should look for Smith on a consistent basis. The senior wideout should be matched up with Shaun Wade in a battle of potential first-round picks in the 2021 NFL draft.

Ohio State's passing defense wasn't stellar in the Sugar Bowl. It allowed eight catches and 54 yards to Amari Rodgers, who is Clemson's top wideout. Cornell Powell led the Tigers with 139 yards on eight catches.

For the Buckeyes to stop Alabama, they need to improve on their concessions through the air. If Jones throws for 400 yards, as Trevor Lawrence did, the Crimson Tide should be able to put up enough points to come out on top.

Alabama's 31 points in the Rose Bowl marked its lowest point total of the season, but the low number did not help the Notre Dame Fighting Irish stay in the contest.

If the Crimson Tide post a similar total on January 11, all they may need is one or two stops of the Ohio State offense.

Although Alabama gave up 139 rushing yards in the Rose Bowl, Notre Dame did not have any player average over four yards per carry and it took the Irish 38 carries to reach that total.

If Alabama takes away Trey Sermon on certain drives, it could hone in on stopping Fields in long-yardage situations.

Even if Alabama holds Sermon around the 100-yard mark and keeps his average per carry down, it can make the stops necessary to win what could be a tight matchup.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90. Statistics obtained from ESPN.com. 

Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is reportedly not interested in accepting NFL interviews during the 2021 offseason after leading the Buckeyes to the national championship game against Alabama.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the update Sunday.

Day's name popped up in the conversation Saturday when Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported he would be a candidate for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who are expected to fire Doug Marrone, if his OSU predecessor, Urban Meyer, opts to stay retired.

It sounds like the 41-year-old New Hampshire native doesn't have any imminent plans to leave the Buckeyes, though.

Day has done a terrific job with one of the country's top football programs since replacing the retired Meyer in 2019. He's guided the Buckeyes to a 23-1 record, including a 15-0 mark in Big Ten play, with the only loss coming to Clemson in last season's Fiesta Bowl during the playoff semifinals.

Ohio State avenged that defeat Friday when it scored a 49-28 victory over the Tigers to punch its ticket to the Jan. 11 national title game against Alabama.

Regardless of what happens against the Crimson Tide, Day and Co. have continued to build for future success with the nation's No. 2 recruiting class for 2021, per 247Sports. They trail only Bama in the rankings.

In November, Day explained he preferred the structure of college football to that of the NFL, which he said is built to enhance parity.

"I believe this is the best place in America, the best job in America," he told reporters.

All told, Day would immediately become a top-flight coaching candidate if he were to express interest in making the transition to the pro level, but it appears Buckeyes fans can rest easy for now.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are preparing to move on from head coach Doug Marrone and are expected to target Urban Meyer and Ryan Day as his replacement, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. 

Meyer, who retired from coaching in 2018, is seen as the team's top target, with Day, his successor at Ohio State, likely next on the short list. 

The Jacksonville job figures to draw some notable attention if the team does end up parting ways with Marrone. The franchise owns the No. 1 draft pick this spring, features a talented receiving corps in Chris Conley, Laviska Shenault Jr. and DJ Chark Jr., and boasts a defense being rebuilt around 2020 first-rounder K'Lavon Chaisson at linebacker. 

That makes Marrone expendable after a four-plus-year stint with a 23-42 record. 

Day's stock surged Saturday after he led No. 3 Ohio State to an improbable 49-28 rout over No. 2 Clemson. While his focus now turns to a championship matchup against No. 1 Alabama next Monday, NFL executives are beginning to hone in on him as a potential fit. He would be the second high-profile college coach to make the leap from the NCAA to the NFL in as many offseasons after Baylor's Matt Rhule was named Carolina Panthers head coach last winter. 

In two seasons leading the Buckeyes, Day is 23-1 with two first-place finishes in the Big Ten East. That's made only more impressive by the fact he had to follow Meyer, who led Ohio State to the 2014 national championship and went 83-9 over seven years. 

According to Rapoport, Meyer has been intrigued by NFL jobs in the past but has yet to make the leap to the pros. At 56 years old, and with previous health issues spurring his retirement, it's unclear how much interest he has in returning to the sidelines. 

There's no shortage of jobs available should Meyer want back in the game. If not, Day might be next in line. 

Ohio State coach Ryan Day told reporters he's unsure how ready players who were forced to quarantine after having or being in close contact with another person who had COVID-19 will be for Friday's semifinal matchup with Clemson. 

"Full strength is a floating target right now," Day said Thursday. "Those guys who come off quarantine and isolation, they have a protocol to get back on the field. You don't just play football after not doing anything for nine or 10 days. All those guys we were missing for the last month are working their way back. We are getting a lot of guys back, but to say 100 percent, it's different. The good news is they're working their way back and getting stronger every day."

The Buckeyes were without 22 players for the Big Ten Championship Game against Northwestern, most notably receiver Chris Olave and linebacker Baron Browning. 

Clemson will be without offensive coordinator Tony Elliott, who tested positive for the virus Wednesday. The team will also be without two undisclosed players because of COVID-19 protocols. Because of the ACC's rules on testing, the Tigers' roster is set for the semifinal.

"It's a unique situation that we don't have the same protocols going into the game, but I'm not going to spend time thinking about that," Day said. "I'm tired of that. As long as the guys are healthy playing the game, that's what matters. We'll have PCR before we get on the plane and go from there. At the end of the day, the goal is to have a clean field, so we'll follow the protocol that's been set forth."

Ohio State still has to undergo two more rounds of testing to satisfy Big Ten protocols.

For the third time in five seasons, Clemson and Ohio State are matched up in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

While the two previous games happened in the Fiesta Bowl, the ACC and Big Ten powerhouses will meet in the 2021 Sugar Bowl. And since Clemson won both the 2016 and 2019 clashes, Ohio State will be looking for some revenge.

Additionally, the Buckeyes haven't won a national championship since the 2014 campaign. Clemson, on the other hand, has celebrated two national titles in the past four years.

The winner of this showdown will face either No. 1 Alabama or fourth-ranked Notre Dame in the CFP title game.

2021 Sugar Bowl

When: Thursday, Jan. 1, at 8 p.m. ET

Where: Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana

TV: ESPN

Spread (DraftKings): Clemson -7.5

Latest News

Managing emotions is a key part of any game, but Ohio State is surely reliving some feelings of bitterness after losing to Clemson in the CFP last season.

"Fresh off of that game, it was right on our minds and something that, when we got back to work in winter workouts, January and February, it was right there for us," Ohio State coach Ryan Day said, per Spencer Holbrook of Lettermen Row. "Coming out of that game, we didn't just get over it in one day. It took time."

For the Buckeyes, their red-zone inefficiency must have lingered as one of the most frustrating takeaways from the loss. Despite gaining 516 yards, Ohio State only kicked field goals on its three possessions that reached Clemson's 20-yard line.

That is once again a relevant issue for Ohio State.

During the Big Ten Championship Game, Northwestern held the Buckeyes to just two touchdowns in six red-zone trips (excluding the clock-killing drive in the fourth quarter). Failing to take advantage of scoring opportunities is just asking for trouble against Clemson and its fifth-ranked defense.

But those two details aren't minimizing the respect Clemson has for Ohio State's offense.

"[The Buckeyes] have a great offensive line," Clemson linebacker Baylon Spector said, per Patrick Murphy of 247Sports. "They have great skill, obviously. They bring a ton to the table. They run the ball really well. They're a great team."

Justin Fields is one of the nation's top quarterbacks, and Trey Sermon just rushed for a program-record 331 yards. Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson are both averaging 100-plus receiving yards, too.

Given the upside of Clemson's offense, though, Ohio State may need 35-plus points to keep up with the Tigers.

Trevor Lawrence is seventh nationally with 329.3 yards of total offense per game, and running back Travis Etienne is averaging 148.6 all-purpose yards. Plus, Clemson has tallied better than eight yards per play in the last two games.

"We're trending in the right direction," Lawrence said, according to Grace Raynor of The Athletic. "We're playing our best football, and our best football is ahead still."

Clemson is surging at the perfect time to reach a third straight championship game. But if the Buckeyes can contain Lawrence, they'll earn redemption and a shot at the national title.

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Ohio State fans can breathe a sigh of relief because star quarterback Justin Fields will apparently be fine for the Buckeyes' College Football Playoff showdown with Clemson.

Head coach Ryan Day told reporters Sunday that Fields "will be fine" after he suffered a thumb injury during Saturday's win over Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship Game. 

Fields said he believed he sprained his thumb during the 22-10 victory:

The Fox broadcast showed the Ohio State medical staff wrapping the thumb on his throwing hand during the game. He also grimaced while grabbing the area in the second half and did not appear to be his typical dominant self as the game unfolded.

The Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year was just 12-of-27 for 114 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions while taking three sacks as Ohio State's offense struggled to gain traction against a stout Northwestern defense for much of the contest.

With Fields struggling and star wide receiver Chris Olave sidelined, the Buckeyes turned to running back Trey Sermon.

The Oklahoma transfer rescued the four-time defending Big Ten champions with the most Ohio State rushing yards in a game (331) and two touchdowns. It was an all-time performance in a pressure-packed spot and helped Ohio State clinch its CFP spot.

While the emergence of Sermon was key and should help the Scarlet and Gray against the Tigers, it is difficult to envision them winning without a healthy Fields. The quarterback was a Heisman Trophy finalist last year and is widely expected to be an early draft pick with the ability to hurt opposing defenses with his arm and legs. 

Ohio State lost to Clemson 29-23 in the CFP last season in a game that was marred by questionable officiating, and Fields will need to play well if his side is going to enact some revenge this time.