COLUMBUS, Ohio - It's been nearly a week since Ohio State's gut-wrenching loss to Clemson in the Fiesta Bowl and despite time passing, not all wounds have been healed.

Debates about officiating and red zone struggles will rage on for years as the Buckeyes reflect on the Fiesta Bowl loss that would have sent them to the National Championship game.

Instead, the offseason will soon begin for Ohio State much earlier than anybody would have wanted or anticipated. Before you know it, the 2020 recruiting class will show up on campus and spring practice will be the talk of the town.

Before the offseason begins, however, it seems appropriate to take one last look at Ohio State's loss to Clemson and see where exactly it all went wrong for the Buckeyes. These aren't all mistakes made by the Buckeyes, but simply the moments that defined and shaped the Fiesta Bowl for Ohio State.

If you're searching for the one point where the game shifted for Ohio State, look no further than Shaun Wade's targeting penalty on a sack of Trevor Lawrence that led to his ejection.

The call against Wade was correct, but whether or not the spirit of the rule was applied will be debated for a while in how this play impacted the game.

Instead of the Buckeyes' defense getting off the field and forcing a fourth consecutive Clemson punt, Wade's penalty gave the Tigers new life not just in the drive, but in the game as a whole.

Amir Riep, Wade's backup, was immediately picked on by Lawrence and picked up a pass interference penalty to set the Tigers up close to the end zone. Travis Etienne would score an eight-yard rushing touchdown just three plays later to make it an entirely new game.

Going from a potential punt to consecutive scoring possessions for the Tigers was a serious shock for Ohio State as Clemson gained momentum, and there isn't a clearer moment where the Tigers began to take over than Wade's ejection.

Again, this is not the place to debate whether or not the call was correct. Everyone from fans to athletic director Gene Smith have weighed on in the call to overturn Jordan Fuller's fumble return for a touchdown, and the ad nauseam discourse isn't likely to fade any time soon.

Instead, consider the impact it had on the game for Ohio State. Clemson had all the momentum going into the drive having scored a touchdown to take the lead on their previous drive and forcing an Ohio State punt on the Buckeyes' ensuing drive.

The incomplete pass came on 3rd and 19 as the Tigers looked to avoid going three and out for the fourth time in the Fiesta Bowl. Lawrence tossed the ball to Justyn Ross well short of the line to gain, so it almost certainly would have been a stop for the Buckeyes regardless.

While a stop would have been nice for Ohio State, they would have much preferred the seven points off the touchdown to retake the lead and shift momentum back in their direction. The Buckeyes would later take the lead, but a touchdown being taken off the board in that fashion was certainly disheartening for an Ohio State defense that had mostly played lights out in the first half.

J.K. Dobbins was an unstoppable freight train early on. With a touchdown run of 68 yards and another run of 64 yards, he finished the first quarter with 141 rushing yards against one of the nation's best rushing defenses.

After a big first quarter, he only saw three carries in the second quarter before he took a bad tackle around the ankle. He would walk off under his own power, but he was never the same after that.

In fact, not only did Dobbins' day on the ground slow after his injury, but it stopped almost completely for Ohio State. The Buckeyes had only 26 rushing yards in the second half despite 20 attempts on the ground. After starting with 141 rushing yards in the first quarter, Dobbins would pick up just 33 yards in the final three quarters.

In Dobbins' absence while trying to tape up his ankle and recuperate his injury, Master Teague III struggled in limited action with just nine yards on seven carries, and Justin Fields' mobility was still an issue, so Ohio State couldn't make anything happen on the ground after Dobbins' injury.

It's hard to say whether or not the Buckeyes would have prevailed had Dobbins not gotten injured, but with how effective he was early on, it's difficult to not think about what he could have done with a full game's worth of carries against the Tigers.

Similar to the targeting penalty, this was another drive-extending call that went in Clemson's favor. This time, however, it was completely avoidable by Ohio State.

With the Tigers punting from their own 15-yard line, Ryan Day and Matt Barnes brought the house on a punt block attempt. Cameron Brown and Chris Olave both got to Clemson punter Will Spiers nearly simultaneously, but some miscommunication between the two led to Brown barreling into Spiers and drawing the roughing penalty.

Had Brown or Olave allowed the other to pursue the block instead of nearly interfering with each other, the play may have had a different result for Ohio State. Even normal punt coverage would have set Ohio State up with the ball with at least some decent field position.

But, the penalty would again give Clemson new life on a drive. Just two plays later, Lawrence would find Etienne for a 53-yard touchdown to take the lead and add insult to injury.

Despite all the misfortune and miscues that Ohio State experienced during the Fiesta Bowl, they were fortunate to still have a chance to win the game on the final drive.

The Buckeyes moved down the field with ease as Fields completed his first four passes to get Ohio State down to the Clemson 31-yard line with 1:13 remaining and it seemed that the Buckeyes would inevitably find their way to the end zone.

Converting another first down, Ohio State got down to the Clemson 23-yard line and called a timeout. It was here they would draw up the fateful play that led to the miscommunication between Fields and Olave.

Olave was meant to go inside on a post route and would have had his man beat, but as the play developed, it seemed to Olave that Fields was planning to escape the pocket and begin a scramble drill. This led to Olave taking off towards the left side of the end zone while Fields, still believing Olave to be running a post, threw it where he expected his man to be.

Unfortunately for Ohio State, the only man there was a Clemson defender who would pick off the pass and end any comeback hope for Ohio State. It was unexpected given how careful Fields had been with the ball all season, but upon further reflection, it fits in perfectly with how bizarre of a game it was for Ohio State.

The Fiesta Bowl loss (and the losses to Clemson that are quickly piling up) will be on the minds of Ohio State this offseason as they look forward to 2020. It remains to be seen how this experience will be used as a motivational tool for the Buckeyes, but one thing is certain, and it's that Ohio State knows they belong on the national stage with the razor thin margins that lost them the Fiesta Bowl.