2021 Sugar Bowl
College Football Playoff Semifinal bowl game
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2021 Sugar Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2021, with kickoff at 8:00 p.m. EST (7:00 p.m. local CST).[4] The Sugar Bowl was one of two College Football Playoff semifinal games, it featured two of the four teams selected by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee—Ohio State from the Big Ten and Clemson from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), with the winner advancing to face the winner of the Rose Bowl, Alabama, in the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship. It was the 87th edition of the Sugar Bowl, and was one of the 2020–21 bowl games concluding the 2020 FBS football season. Sponsored by insurance provider Allstate, the game was officially known as the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
| 2021 Allstate Sugar Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| College Football Playoff Semifinal 87th Sugar Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Mercedes-Benz Superdome | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | New Orleans, Louisiana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP |
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| Favorite | Clemson by 7[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | David Alvarez (Big 12)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 3,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Chris Fowler (play-by-play) Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) Maria Taylor and Tom Rinaldi (sidelines) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | (19.15 million viewers)[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN Deportes ESPN Brasil | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | ESPN Brasil: Matheus Pinheiro (play-by-play) Weinny Eirado (analyst) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The game was carried by ESPN, with its lead college football broadcast team of Chris Fowler on play-by-play and Kirk Herbstreit on color commentary. Three days before the game, Herbstreit announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and would work the game from his home.[5]
Background
College Football Playoff
The four teams competing in the Playoff were chosen by the CFP selection committee, whose final rankings were released on December 4, 2022. The committee selected No. 1 Alabama from the Southeastern Conference (SEC), No. 2 Clemson from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), No. 3 Ohio State from the Big Ten Conference, and No. 4 Notre Dame, an FBS independent playing as an ACC member for the 2020 season.[6] Alabama entered the playoff with an undefeated 11–0 record, Clemson and Notre Dame both entered 10–1, and Ohio State entered 6–0.[7]
| Semifinals | Championship | |||||||
| January 1 – Rose BowlAT&T Stadium, Arlington[a] | ||||||||
| 1 | Alabama | 31 | ||||||
| 4 | Notre Dame | 14 | January 11 – National ChampionshipHard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens | |||||
| 1 | Alabama | 52 | ||||||
| January 1 – Sugar BowlMercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans | 3 | Ohio State | 24 | |||||
| 2 | Clemson | 28 | ||||||
| 3 | Ohio State | 49 | ||||||
- The 2021 Rose Bowl was moved to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in California.
Teams
The 2021 Sugar Bowl was held between the Clemson Tigers of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference. The game was a rematch of the 2019 Fiesta Bowl, where Clemson defeated Ohio State to advance to the 2020 National Championship Game. It was the 18th Sugar Bowl featuring a matchup of two teams ranked in the top 5.[8] The teams were announced by College Football Playoff selection committee on December 20, 2020.[9]
Only 3,000 ticketed spectators were permitted because of the coronavirus pandemic.[10] There were 728 tickets for family members of Ohio State players and coaches and 728 tickets for family members of Clemson players and coaches. The remaining 1,544 tickets were for sponsors, business partners, and local Sugar Bowl season ticket holders.[10]
Clemson Tigers
Clemson entered the game with a record of 10–1 (8–1 ACC) after defeating Notre Dame in the 2020 ACC Championship. Clemson's only loss was to Notre Dame earlier in the season, a double-overtime loss in a game the Tigers played without starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence.[11] Other than Notre Dame, Clemson's only win over a ranked team came against Miami (FL). The Tigers were ranked No. 2 entering the game.
Ohio State Buckeyes
Ohio State entered the game with a record of 6–0 (5–0 Big Ten) after defeating Northwestern in the 2020 Big Ten Championship. In addition to Northwestern, Ohio State defeated two ranked teams during the season, Penn State and Indiana. Due to a six-win campaign, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney stated that the Buckeyes "weren't a Top 10 team", voting them at No. 11 prior to the game.[12] The Buckeyes were ranked No. 3 entering the game.
Game summary
The game's officiating crew, representing the Big 12 Conference, was led by referee David Alvarez and umpire Rob Richeson.[2] The game was played indoors at Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 1, 2021, with a start time of 7:20 p.m. CST.[13]
The pregame coin toss was won by Ohio State, who deferred their choice to the second half, thereby giving Clemson possession of the ball to begin the game.[13]
First half
Clemson began the game with possession of the ball following Blake Haubeil's opening kickoff.
Scoring summary
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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| No. 3 Ohio State | 14 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 49 |
| No. 2 Clemson | 14 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 28 |
at Mercedes-Benz Superdome • New Orleans, Louisiana
- Date: Friday, January 1, 2021
- Game time: 8:20 p.m. EST (7:20 p.m. CST)
- Game weather: n/a (game played indoors)
- Game attendance: 3,000
- Referee: David Alvarez (Big 12)
- TV announcers (ESPN): Chris Fowler (play-by-play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst), Maria Taylor and Tom Rinaldi (sidelines)
- ESPN game summary
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Statistics
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