Sugar Bowl game odds: Opening line for Clemson vs. Ohio State

For the second consecutive season and the third time since 2016, the Clemson Tigers and Ohio State Buckeyes will meet in the semifinal round of the College Football Playoff. The second of the two semifinals on New Year’s Day will start at 8 p.m. ET in New Orleans, Louisiana. The game can be seen on ESPN and the WatchESPN app.

Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook.

Clemson vs. Ohio State

Point spread: Clemson (-7.5) vs. Ohio State
Point total: 65.5

How they got here

Clemson heads into this game with just one loss, and it came against Notre Dame in double overtime in South Bend. The Tigers continued on through a positive coronavirus test for quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who was unavailable for that matchup. Clemson got its revenge on the Irish with a blowout win in the ACC title game.

As for Ohio State, the Big Ten bent and continue to bend its rules to give the Buckeyes their best chance to compete for a national title. Ohio State didn’t meet the six-game minimum requirement set before the season and that was changed. In addition, the conference changed its 21-day minimum shut down of a player who tested positive for COVID-19 to 17 days as Ohio State has been dealing with an outbreak in the program. The Buckeyes come in at 6-0 after beating Northwestern in the conference title game.

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