It was right there for the taking. Ohio State jumped out to an early lead and punched Clemson in the mouth. Then a few things went the wrong way, like controversial calls, second-chances and big plays from Clemson. Just like that, the ball game was on, and it stayed tight right through the end.
The Buckeyes got one last chance to wrestle redemption from despair at the end of the game, but a break down in communication resulted in an interception in the end zone that sealed the deal.
A fantastic season is now over, and it feels so premature for this team. As is customary, here’s five things we learned after the heartbreak in the desert.
The best team doesn’t always win
I’ll probably get hate mail from sweet tea and grits country on this one, but the better team didn’t win tonight. Give all the credit in the world to Clemson for making one more play than Ohio State did, but if you watched the game I did, the Buckeyes were more talented and probably should be the one playing in New Orleans instead of Clemson.
Ohio State has dramatically outplayed Clemson but because they couldn’t finish drives we’ve got a close game now. OSU needs to relax to get back to what was working. They’re clearly the better team
— William Joy (@WilliamKMBC) December 29, 2019
OSU got more yardage, more rushing yards, more passing yards, more first downs and won the time of possession yet still somehow lost this game. It seemed like every big call and every break went the way of the Tigers, and then when they needed to make something happen to win this thing, they did.
I’ll go to the grave though believing this is one that should have been in the win column.