COLUMBUS, Ohio — In a year where football seemed unlikely, the Ohio State Buckeyes have made their mark and are now set to face the Clemson Tigers in the Sugar Bowl in the College Football Playoff semifinals. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Ohio State Buckeyes won its fourth-straight Big Ten Championship and will make its second straight College Football Playoff appearance

  • The Buckeyes will face Clemson in a rematch of last year's nail biting loss

  • Coach Ryan Day said he's extremely proud of his team for working through such a difficult year to get back to this point and playing for a national title

​A day after hoisting the Big Ten Championship trophy, Ryan Day and his players are getting the chance to chase their ultimate goal of a national title.

“The journey that we’ve gone on as a program to get back right here to have another chance to play Clemson in this game is like nothing, you can’t even make it up," Day said.

The Big Ten Championship win cemented the Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff for a rematch against the Clemson Tigers. A  rematch of the game the Buckeyes lost in final the minutes one year ago.

“Coming out of that game, we didn’t get over it in one day," Day said. "It took time. But then as we got into spring ball, we started to move forward and then the quarantine happened and then the goal was to get back to this situation.”

But the task this year isn’t any easier. Clemson’s only loss came early in the season to Notre Dame, the same team they beat handily on Saturday in the ACC Championship game.

As for the Buckeyes, they don’t feel like they’ve peaked yet.

“We’ve played good games, but we need to play our best game to beat Clemson," Day said.

For players on this team, it’s been a journey to get to this point. Linebacker Justin Hilliard had to step up in a big way for the Big Ten Championship with nearly two dozen players out because of the coronavirus. 

Hilliard said, through the adversity of the year, the team has accomplished its goal of winning a Big Ten Championship and look forward to the playoffs.

“We have a saying around here, ‘Get to Indy,’ because we know if we get to Indy and win and dominate that game then we have a great chance to make the playoff," Hilliard said. "So that’s been the whole focus right now, it’s been the whole focus the whole season. Just to get to Indy. And now we did that, we won this game and we’re looking forward to the next mission.”

The Sugar Bowl is set to kickoff at 8 p.m. on New Year’s Day.