Ohio State dominated the early going, with J.K. Dobbins bursting through for a 68-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and the Buckeyes extending their lead to 16-0 with three field goals. Clemson's offense sputtered early, with B.T. Potter missing a 49-yard field goal attempt, but the Tigers suddenly caught fire in the second quarter when Travis Etienne punched in an 8-yard touchdown and Trevor Lawrence ripped off a stunning 67-yard scoring run to cut the deficit to 16-14 at halftime. Clemson's defense tightened in the second half, and Lawrence orchestrated two more touchdown drives in the third and fourth quarters—including a spectacular 53-yard completion to Travis Etienne—to overcome Ohio State's late touchdown pass to Chris Olave and secure the belt with a two-point conversion pass to Tee Higgins with 1:49 remaining.
Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.