NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JANUARY 01: Trey Sermon #8 of the Ohio State Buckeyes carries the ball against Lannden Zanders #36 of the Clemson Tigers in the first quarter during the College Football Playoff semifinal game at the Allstate Sugar Bowl at Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 01, 2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)Ohio State suffered a major injury blow early in last night’s national championship game, losing running back Trey Sermon in the first quarter. Sermon went to the hospital, and during the game it was reported that he underwent an x-ray of his collarbone, though the results of that scan weren’t shared.
Sermon had been a huge factor for the Buckeyes over the previous two weeks. When nothing else in the Buckeyes offense worked against Northwestern in the Big Ten Championship, Serman exploded for 331 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Last week, in the semifinal game against Clemson, he went for 193 yards and a touchdown, with an additional 61 yards through the air.
Sermon had just one carry on Monday night, gaining two yards before he was gang tackled by a group of Alabama defenders. He’d leave, head to the hospital, and could not return for the Buckeyes. The team would finish with 147 rushing yards on 29 carries, with Justin Fields leading the way at 67 yards on six carries. Running back Master Teague III picked up 65 and two touchdowns on 15 carries.
According to Dan Hope of Eleven Warriors, Sermon is “doing well” after the injury. He will be able to travel back to Ohio State with the team, which is a good sign.
Update from Ohio State: Trey Sermon, who went to the hospital after suffering a shoulder injury last night, is “doing well” and will be traveling back to Columbus with the team today.
— Dan Hope (@Dan_Hope) January 12, 2021
Sermon, a senior who began his career at Oklahoma, finished with 870 yards on the season for Ohio State, averaging a career high 7.5 yards per carry. In those Northwestern and Clemson games, it looked like he might have an Ezekiel Elliott-esque run through the postseason for the Buckeyes, which ultimately propelled the former Ohio State back into superstardom. Unfortunately, Sermon’s run was cut short.
Without him, the team managed a solid rushing performance overall, but Ohio State could not make the big plays through the air that they connected on over and over against Clemson. Fields was held to just 194 passing yards and one touchdown on the day. Alabama outgained the Buckeyes 621 yards to just 341.
We’ll see what the future has in store for Trey Sermon. Assuming this injury isn’t too serious, he still helped himself a lot over the last few weeks, and could find himself projected to go in the first few rounds of the 2021 NFL Draft.
[Dan Hope]
