Ad Disclosure
ESPN analyst Trevor Matich explains how Ohio State can avenge last season’s defeat to Clemson
Published:
Ohio State spent all offseason stewing on their 29-23 loss to Clemson in last season’s College Football Playoff.
On Friday night, the Buckeyes will get their chance at revenge.
College football analyst Trevor Matich discussed missed opportunities from a year ago and how Ohio State can rebound from their mistakes.
“When they look at that tape from last year, the Buckeyes will be thinking two things,” Matich said. “‘We had them’ and ‘We blew it.'”
Matich outlined Ohio State’s biggest mistake of the game — an interception by Justin Fields that was caused by a miss-communication with receiver Chris Olave.
Here’s the clip:
When Ohio State looked at the tape of their loss to Clemson in the semis last year, it would have given them more confidence, not less. They will be thinking that if they don't beat themselves, Clemson won't beat them either. @MattBarrie and I discuss why… #OSUvsCLEM pic.twitter.com/yk5dqPYFe7
— Trevor Matich (@TMatich) December 31, 2020
With that in mind, Matich emphasized the importance of the Buckeyes not beating themselves. Ohio State made several other mistakes that allowed Clemson to overcome a 16-0 deficit.
Unlike last season, Fields is coming off the worst game of his collegiate career. He was stifled by Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship Game a couple weeks ago, and some are questioning the health of his right thumb heading into this matchup.
However, if Fields can get back to his normal form, Ohio State will have a shot to upset Clemson — something they were very close to doing a year ago.
Kick off is at 8 p.m. ET.
Spenser is the news manager at Saturday Road and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.