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Clemson vs Ohio State Injury Report and Opt-Outs for CFP Semifinal Sugar Bowl

  • #2 Clemson clashes with #3 Ohio State in the 2020 Sugar Bowl 
  • The Tigers have a relatively clean bill of health, while the Buckeyes star QB Justin Fields headlines a long list of Ohio State players who are questionable for this game
  • See below for the injury reports of both teams and how potential key absences could affect the outcome

The 2020 Sugar Bowl is set to kick-off on Friday (Jan. 1, 8 pm EST) and there’s still plenty of questions surrounding the health of 20 Ohio State Buckeyes players thanks to COVID.

Over two dozen Buckeyes missed the Big Ten Championship game due to the pandemic, and the status of most them is questionable leading up to their date with #2 Clemson.

The Tigers are a 7.5-point favorite over #3 Ohio State, a number that likely would have been greater if the NCAA hadn’t stepped in to grant the Buckeyes some leniency. They reduced the 21-day sit down period for player with a positive test to 17 days, clearing the way for some, but not all of Ohio State’s infected players to suit up for the College Football Playoff semifinal.

Will COVID Crash the Party?

The most notable Buckeyes to miss the conference title game versus Northwestern were star receiver Chris Olave, starting safety Marcus Hooker and starting linebacker Baron Browning. Sans Olave, the Ohio State passing game struggled against the Wildcats, racking up just 114 yards.

Olave was back practicing this week and it’s expected he didn’t actually test positive for COVID, but was just a close contact of someone who did. The Buckeyes refuse to publish regular updates on the number of positive tests within the program so it’s unknown who the positive tests actually were.

Ohio State Injury Report

Player Position Status
Justin Fields QB Probable
Jagger LaRoe QB Questionable
Chris Olave WR Questionable
Gee Scott Jr. WR Questionable
Jaxon Smith-Njigba WR Questionable
Mookie Cooper WR Questionable
Corey Rau TE Questionable
Joe Royer TE Questionable
Steele Chambers RB Questionable
Paris Johson Jr. OL Questionable
Ryan Smith OL Questionable
Drue Chrisman P Questionable
Baron Browning LB Questionable
Tommy Eichenberg LB Questionable
Ben Schmiesing LB Questionable
Aaron Cox DL Questionable
Tyler Friday DL Questionable
Javontae Jean-Baptiste DL Questionable
Marcus Hooker S Questionable
Bryson Shaw S Questionable
Lloyd McFarquhar CB Questionable

Also of note, is the status of quarterback Justin Fields. The future Sunday star is listed as probable, but told the media after the Northwestern game that he couldn’t throw the football late in the 4th quarter due to a sprained thumb. His availability versus Clemson was never in doubt, however if he is anything less than 100% the Buckeyes could be in trouble.

Starting running back Master Teague left the Big Ten title game early with an undisclosed ailment, but isn’t even on the injury report this week. Of course it would be nice to have him on the field, but his replacement Trey Sermon rushed for a conference championship game record 331 yards in his absence, and has earned the first crack at the bulk of the carries.

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Clemson at Near Full Strength

Clemson meanwhile, will enter the College Football Playoff semifinal about as healthy as a team could wish for. Outside an undisclosed injury to defensive end Xavier Thomas and arm injury for linebacker Jake Venables, all the other key pieces of the program are off the injury report.

Clemson Injury Report

Player Position Status
Ty Herbstreit WR Questionable
Drew Swinney WR Questionable
Xavier Thomas DE Questionable
Jake Venables LB Questionable

Both are listed as questionable, but Dabo Swinney refuses to comment of the status of his players prior to game day.

Perhaps the biggest news to come out of Clemson this week was the positive COVID test of offensive coordinator Tony Elliott.

A former Tigers wide receiver, Elliott has been the offensive playcaller for each of the past six seasons, a run that includes multiple National Championships.

Clemson’s offense ranked 83rd in 2014 prior to Elliott’s hire, but since he’s taken over they haven’t been ranked outside the top-30. This year, they were one of only three teams in the nation to average north of 44 points, while racking up 507.6 total yards per contest.

Swinney told the media on Wednesday that quarterbacks coach Brandon Streeter will assist him with the playcalling duties in the Sugar Bowl, while C.J. Spiller will handle the running backs on the field.

The post Clemson vs Ohio State Injury Report and Opt-Outs for CFP Semifinal Sugar Bowl appeared first on Sports Betting Dime.



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