Ohio State football: Buckeyes will be short-handed vs. Clemson in Sugar Bowl

The No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes will be missing three starters in the Sugar Bowl matchup vs. the No. 2 Clemson Tigers.

Just hours before kickoff, Ohio State football head coach Ryan Day announced that the No. 3 Buckeyes will be missing 16 players, including three of its starters, ahead of Friday’s Sugar Bowl matchup with the No. 2 Clemson Tigers.

Starting left guard Harry Miller will be sidelined for Friday’s CFB Playoff semifinal contest after testing positive for COVID-19, per his mother via Facebook.

Miller has started five of the six games for the Buckeyes as the left guard. His other start this season saw him slated as the center against Michigan State to replace the injured Josh Myers.

Ohio State football still has the talent to beat Clemson in the Sugar Bowl

Ohio State will most likely have redshirt sophomore Matthew Jones fill in for the sidelined Miller.

Starting running back Master Teague and defensive linemen Zach Harrison and Tyler Friday will also be sidelined on Friday ahead of its Sugar Bowl contest with Clemson.

Teague has excelled as the Buckeyes starting running back this season, rushing for 449 yards on 89 carries in six games. The junior running back, who has accumulated over 1,300 rushing yards over his three seasons with the program, scored six touchdowns and averaged over five yards per carry.

Trey Sermon, who exploded for a 331 rushing yards performance in the Big Ten Championship game against Northwestern, will most definitely fill in as the starting tailback.

Harrison, the sophomore defensive end, will miss Friday’s CFB Playoff semifinal matchup with Clemson, leaving the Buckeyes with a huge hole to address in the front seven.

Harrison, a Second-Team All-Big Ten selection, led the Buckeyes with 4.5 tackles for a loss this season and recorded two sacks. Ohio State will need to heavily depend on veterans Jonathon Cooper and Tyreke Smith to lead the front seven and prevent Clemson star quarterback Trevor Lawrence from having a breakout performance.

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