While the Tigers went on to lose to LSU in the National Championship Game, and Ohio State went to work trying to use the bitter taste of a 29-23 Fiesta Bowl loss to its advantage.
Winter workouts went on as planned, and spring practice began in early March.
Then the novel coronavirus hit, and nothing has been the same since.
“How we got back here is just amazing,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “The journey we’ve gone on as a program to get back right here — to have another chance to play Clemson in this game is like — you couldn’t even make it up.”
With star quarterbacks set to return and star-studded recruiting classes to absorb into their winning cultures, both programs were expected to have a good chance to be back in the CFP in 2020, but in January no one anticipated the unique challenges they faced in making that reality.
The Buckeyes were looking at integrating a bevy of new receivers and defensive backs into the program to replace graduations and early NFL Draft entrants. They also needed to break in a pair of freshman backup quarterbacks for Justin Fields, two new starters on the offensive line and a handful of new players in their defensive rotation.
All of that was hindered by players being sent home after COVID-19 hit, training camp being lighter-than-usual on contact and multiple games being canceled once the season finally began.
“Some of the best storytellers of all time couldn’t have come up with this story, but here we are,” Day said.
While Clemson began the season Sept. 12 with a 37-13 win over Wake Forest, Ohio State had to wait until Oct. 24 to kick off their campaign with a 52-17 win over Nebraska.
The Buckeyes emerged from it all undefeated but having played only six games, a fact Clemson coach Dabo Swinney seems to have taken an issue with after his team played 12.
“Any time you step in between the lines in the game of football, that’s a lot of practices, that’s a lot of physicality,” Swinney said Sunday before his coaches poll ballot with Ohio State ranked 11th became public. “I definitely think that it matters, but at the end of the day, none of that matters in New Orleans. What matters is who plays the best in those four quarters.”
Ohio State’s new-look offensive line had some struggles clearing running paths early in the season before an explosion against Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship game.
Pass protection is still a concern, though, and quarterback Justin Fields will enter the CFP coming off his worst game of his college career.
The revamped secondary remains a work in progress, too.
Whether or not these questions could have been answered with more game reps or if they would have led to Ohio State suffering an upset that kept the Buckeyes out of the CFP will never be known.
What is certain is the Buckeyes and Tigers are scheduled to play in one semifinal on Jan. 1, and Alabama and Notre Dame will play in another in Arlington, Texas. Ten days later, the winners are to play for the national championship in Miami, though everything this season comes with the caveat of being allowed by the pandemic.
“I think we have an opportunity to write one of the greatest stories in the history of college football,” Day said. “I don’t know what it all means. We certainly don’t have the game reps, especially for the younger guys, to find out what they can do. And we haven’t had our best game yet this year. Played some good games, but we haven’t played our best game this year, and we’re going to have to play our best game again to beat Clemson.”
Meanwhile, Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence is coming off perhaps his best game of the season. He threw for 322 yards, ran for 90 and accounted for three touchdowns while the Tigers trounced Notre Dame 34-10.
That put a nice bow on a season in which the Tigers had to replace five starters on defense, four starters on the offensive line and star receiver Tee Higgins.
After beating the Demon Deacons soundly, Clemson blew out The Citadel, Virginia, Miami (Fla.), Georgia Tech and Syracuse by an average of 50-13.6.
Then Lawrence tested positive for COVID-19 and had to miss two games.
The first was a 34-28 win over Boston College in which the Tigers had to rally from a 28-10. Then they lost 47-40 in overtime at Notre Dame and had three weeks without a game before trouncing Pitt and Virginia Tech by a combined score of 97-27 to set up the rematch with the Fighting Irish in the ACC title game.
Whether there was a game on the docket for the following Saturday or not, players on both teams have had to maintain strict protocols to limit the chance COVID-19 infiltrates the locker room.
“We’re going on Week 21,” Swinney said. “These guys have had no break. It’s been a grind, not just football-wise, but the mental challenge and the personal sacrifice and commitment that everybody’s had to make to be able to play and continue to play. It’s been incredible. Our guys have been so committed in that regard.”
How each separate season prepared the teams for the playoffs remains to be seen.
“It’s a great question,” Day said. “I don’t know, because it’s never really been done before. So what does it really mean? I don’t really know. I think at the end of the day, it’s who executes better and plays tougher in the end.
“When you play in big games, you have to execute at a high level. That’s really what it comes down to. Both teams are going to play hard. Everything is on the line. It is who executes better is going to pull it out. We have to do that. Whether we played six, eight, ten, or they played 12, I don’t really know what that really means, so we’ll try not to focus on that. We’ll try to execute the best game we could possibly, do the best job we can (in the Sugar Bowl).”
SUGAR BOWL
Friday, Jan. 1, 2021
Ohio State vs. Clemson, 8 p.m., ESPN, 1410
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