After a controversial back-and-forth Fiesta Bowl loss last December, Ohio State will get another crack at the Clemson Tigers this postseason.
The Buckeyes moved up one spot to claim the No. 3 ranking during the College Football Playoff selection show on Sunday, earning the program its fourth bid in the playoff since its inception in 2014.
Ohio State defeated Northwestern 22-10 in Saturday’s Big Ten Championship Game to finish 6-0, and Clemson earned the No. 2 slot after cruising past then-No. 2 Notre Dame in the ACC Championship, a rematch of a game that the Tigers lost 47-40 in double overtime without starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence earlier in the season.
Alabama retained the No. 1 seed with a 52-46 win against then-No. 7 Florida in the SEC Championship on Saturday, and Notre Dame got a spot in the playoff as the last team in despite the loss to Clemson.
Ohio State lost 29-23 to Clemson in a CFP semifinal matchup last season, although the Buckeyes had a chance to tie the game or take the lead in the final minute before a game-winning interception from the Tigers in the end zone with 37 seconds remaining.
The game was not without its controversies, as several officiating decisions were scrutinized, and not least of which a targeting call on Ohio State cornerback Shaun Wade for a hit on Lawrence.
That defeat was cited by head coach Ryan Day on a number of occasions in the offseason as a key motivating factor for the Buckeyes ahead of the 2020 season.
This year’s meeting, set to take place Jan. 1 at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, will be the fourth time the Buckeyes and Tigers have faced off in a postseason bowl game in the past eight seasons, with Clemson having gotten the better of Ohio State in each of the previous three matchups.
After losing out on national championship contention with a loss to Michigan State in the 2013 Big Ten title game, Ohio State lost to Clemson 40-35 in the Orange Bowl.
At the end of the 2016 season, as Ohio State received its first playoff berth since winning the national championship two years earlier, the Buckeyes were shut out in a 31-0 loss to the eventual champion Tigers.
Each time the two teams have met in the CFP, it has been the No. 2 versus No. 3 matchup, although this year marks the first time that Clemson is the higher-ranked team.