Ohio State QB Justin Fields says doubters provided additional motivation for the Buckeyes

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney may believe he did not provide extra motivation for Ohio State, but Justin Fields says the Buckeyes were pushed by their doubters.

By now, everyone is well-aware of the fact that Swinney ranked Ohio State No. 11 on his final Coaches Poll ballot. He continually claimed it had nothing to do with the Buckeyes as a team and everything to do with the fact they only played six games before the College Football Playoff.

Despite the blowout loss, Swinney said after the game that he doesn’t regret ranking Ohio State outside of the top 10. He went onto say that the polls do not provide extra motivation to the preparation that goes into a game.

Whiles Fields did not address any specific “doubter” in his postgame comments, he clearly pointed out that the doubters of the Buckeyes were heard. It only pushed Ohio State further heading into the Sugar Bowl:

Justin Fields: “I just think everybody doubting us just pushed us a little more.”

— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) January 2, 2021

For what it’s worth, Swinney was not the only person doubting Ohio State heading into the Sugar Bowl. Few analysts gave the Buckeyes a shot against Trevor Lawrence and the Tigers who were 7.5-point favorites for the game.

Beyond the doubters, Fields also acknowledged the criticism from his performance against Northwestern led to his even more extensive preparation before the showdown with Clemson:

Justin Fields said he “prepared like I've never prepared before” this week, and he “definitely had an edge” after the criticism he received following the Northwestern game.

— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) January 2, 2021

Whatever fueled his fire, it definitely worked as Fields produced a performance for the ages on Friday.

Paul Harvey

Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.