December 28, 2019 Postseason Neutral site Belt changed hands

Clemson takes the belt, 29–23, at a neutral site over Ohio State.

Home · Defending Holder

Ohio StateAP No. 2 23

Away · New Holder

ClemsonAP No. 3 29

AP poll, week 16: Clemson No. 3 at Ohio State No. 2 · No. 1 that week: Georgia. The belt vs. the polls →

Belt context

Where this game sits in the lineage

Clemson took the belt here, ending Ohio State’s run of 413 days and 17 defenses (reign #306) and starting reign #307. It lasted 16 days and 0 defenses, until LSU took it on January 13, 2020.

For Clemson this was its 13th shot at the belt; it had held the belt 5 times before — and it took it back here.

This is the only time Clemson and Ohio State have met with the belt on the line.

AI-Written

Recap

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.

J.K. Dobbins' 68-yard touchdown run in Q1 gave Ohio State early momentum and a 10-0 lead
Trevor Lawrence's 67-yard touchdown run late in Q2 swung momentum as Clemson cut a 16-point deficit to just two
Trevor Lawrence's 53-yard touchdown pass to Travis Etienne in Q3 put Clemson ahead for good
Lawrence's final 34-yard touchdown pass to Etienne and two-point conversion to Tee Higgins sealed the belt for Clemson

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.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score

Ohio StateClemson

Total yards516417

Rushing yards196158

Passing yards320259

First downs2720

3rd down conv.7/185/14

Turnovers20

Penalties–yards8–776–47

Time of possession33:2726:33

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play

When	Team	Yards	Play
Q1 12:03	Ohio State	+21 yd	Blake Haubeil 21 yd FG GOOD
Q1 13:09	Ohio State	+22 yd	Justin Fields pass complete to Garrett Wilson for 22 yds to the Clem 5 for a 1ST down
Q1 8:44	Clemson	+49 yd	B.T. Potter 49 yd FG MISSED
Q1 11:16	Clemson	+21 yd	Trevor Lawrence pass complete to Tee Higgins for 21 yds to the OhSt 46 for a 1ST down
Q1 8:35	Ohio State	+68 yd	J.K. Dobbins run for 68 yds for a TD, (Blake Haubeil KICK)
Q1 7:29	Clemson	+27 yd	Trevor Lawrence pass complete to Diondre Overton for 27 yds to the Clem 49 for a 1ST down
Q2 14:11	Ohio State	+22 yd	Blake Haubeil 22 yd FG GOOD
Q1 0:10	Ohio State	+64 yd	J.K. Dobbins run for 64 yds to the Clem 8 for a 1ST down
Q2 11:40	Ohio State	+24 yd	Justin Fields pass complete to Austin Mack for 24 yds to the OhSt 45 for a 1ST down
Q2 9:17	Ohio State	+21 yd	Justin Fields run for 21 yds to the Clem 23 for a 1ST down
Q2 7:20	Ohio State	+33 yd	Blake Haubeil 33 yd FG GOOD
Q2 2:45	Clemson	+8 yd	Travis Etienne run for 8 yds for a TD, (B.T. Potter KICK)
Q2 1:10	Clemson	+67 yd	Trevor Lawrence run for 67 yds for a TD, (B.T. Potter KICK)
Q3 13:12	Ohio State	+22 yd	Justin Fields pass complete to K.J. Hill for 22 yds to the OhSt 39 for a 1ST down
Q3 7:54	Clemson	+53 yd	Trevor Lawrence pass complete to Travis Etienne for 53 yds for a TD, (B.T. Potter KICK)
Q3 4:13	Ohio State	-3 yd	Justin Fields pass intercepted Isaiah Simmons return for 3 yds to the Clem 36
Q4 11:46	Ohio State	+23 yd	Justin Fields pass complete to Chris Olave for 23 yds for a TD, (Blake Haubeil KICK)
Q4 2:10	Clemson	+38 yd	Trevor Lawrence pass complete to Amari Rodgers for 38 yds to the OhSt 34 for a 1ST down
Q4 1:49	Clemson	+34 yd	Trevor Lawrence pass complete to Travis Etienne for 34 yds for a TD, (Trevor Lawrence pass to Tee Higgins for Two-Point Conversion)
Q4 0:37	Ohio State	+0 yd	Justin Fields pass intercepted, touchback. Nolan Turner return for no gain

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

Ohio State

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT
Justin Fields	30/46	320	7.0	1	2

Clemson

Player	C/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT
Trevor Lawrence	18/33	259	7.8	2	0

Rushing

Ohio State

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
J.K. Dobbins	18	174	9.7	1	68
Justin Fields	14	13	0.9	0	21
Master Teague	7	9	1.3	0	5

Clemson

Player	CAR	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Trevor Lawrence	16	107	6.7	1	67
Travis Etienne	10	36	3.6	1	8
Lyn-J Dixon	1	17	17.0	0	17
Team	2	-2	-1.0	0	0

Receiving

Ohio State

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
K.J. Hill	6	67	11.2	0	22
Austin Mack	6	54	9.0	0	24
Chris Olave	3	50	16.7	1	23
Garrett Wilson	4	47	11.8	0	22
J.K. Dobbins	6	47	7.8	0	13
Binjimen Victor	3	38	12.7	0	17
Luke Farrell	1	11	11.0	0	11
Jeremy Ruckert	1	6	6.0	0	6

Clemson

Player	REC	YDS	AVG	TD	LONG
Travis Etienne	3	98	32.7	2	53
Justyn Ross	6	47	7.8	0	16
Amari Rodgers	1	38	38.0	0	38
Tee Higgins	4	33	8.3	0	21
Diondre Overton	2	30	15.0	0	27
Joseph Ngata	1	11	11.0	0	11
Lyn-J Dixon	1	2	2.0	0	2

Show more stats (6 more categories)

Defense

Ohio State

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD	QB HUR
Malik Harrison	6	5	0	0.5	0	0
Pete Werner	6	2	0	0.5	0	0
Jeffrey Okudah	5	4	0	0	2	0
Jordan Fuller	5	3	0	0	0	0
Josh Proctor	4	3	0	0	0	0
Davon Hamilton	3	2	1	1	0	0
Baron Browning	3	2	1	1	0	0
Tuf Borland	3	2	0	0	1	0
Amir Riep	3	1	0	0	0	0
Chase Young	2	1	0	0	0	1
Zach Harrison	2	1	0	0	0	0
Tyler Friday	1	1	1	1	0	0
Damon Arnette	1	1	0	0	1	0
Justin Hilliard	1	1	0	0	0	0
Robert Landers	1	1	0	1	0	0
Jake Hausmann	1	1	0	0	0	0
Chris Olave	1	1	0	0	0	0
Jashon Cornell	1	0	0	0	0	0
Tyreke Smith	1	0	0	0	1	0

Clemson

Player	TOT	SOLO	SACKS	TFL	PD
Chad Smith	12	8	0	0.5	0
Derion Kendrick	9	8	0	1	2
James Skalski	9	5	0.5	0.5	0
A.J. Terrell	6	5	0	0	1
Baylon Spector	5	4	2	2	0
K'Von Wallace	5	4	1	1	2
Justin Foster	5	4	0.5	1.5	0
Tyler Davis	4	4	0	1	0
Isaiah Simmons	4	3	0	0	0
Xavier Thomas	4	1	0	1.5	0
Tanner Muse	3	3	0	0	0
Jordan Williams	3	2	0	0	0
Team	1	1	0	0	0
Denzel Johnson	1	1	0	0	0
Elijah Turner	1	1	0	0	0
Logan Rudolph	1	1	0	0	0

Interceptions

Ohio State

No recorded stats in this category.

Clemson

Player	INT	YDS	TD
Isaiah Simmons	1	3	0
Nolan Turner	1	0	0

Kick Returns

Ohio State

No recorded stats in this category.

Clemson

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Travis Etienne	1	16	16.0	16	0

Kicking

Ohio State

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
Blake Haubeil	3/3	100.0	33	2/2	11

Clemson

Player	FG	PCT	LONG	XP	PTS
B.T. Potter	0/1	0.0	0	3/3	3

Punt Returns

Ohio State

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Garrett Wilson	2	3	1.5	2	0

Clemson

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	LONG	TD
Amari Rodgers	2	3	1.5	2	0
Derion Kendrick	1	1	1.0	1	0

Punting

Ohio State

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Drue Chrisman	6	272	45.3	0	3	53

Clemson

Player	NO	YDS	AVG	TB	In 20	LONG
Will Spiers	7	314	44.9	1	5	53

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.

Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 401135279) · This game in the downloadable dataset

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