NEW ORLEANS –– With the final seconds ticking away and both teams flooding the field at the Superdome Friday, Ohio State running back Trey Sermon stood out in the crowd by springing into a celebratory backflip.

It was far from the first acrobatic feat he pulled off in the Sugar Bowl, as the Oklahoma transfer ran over, through and around Clemson defenders en route to a near 200-yard game on the ground, a fitting encore for his Big Ten Championship Game performance as Sermon continues to piece together a postseason run for the ages.

“I’ve gotten extremely comfortable over time,” Sermon said after the game. “Just getting used to the flow of the offense, really just getting in sync with the offensive line. I mean, each week I feel I’ve been getting better and better.”

No one expected Sermon to match –– or even approach –– the Ohio State single-game record 331 rushing yards he chewed up in the Buckeyes’ last outing, a 22-10 win against Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship Game on Dec. 19.

He wasn’t too far off though, as Sermon finished Friday’s 49-28 win over Clemson with 254 yards from scrimmage, with 193 of those coming on the ground and a touchdown to boot.