2021 Allstate Sugar Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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College Football Playoff Semifinal 87th Sugar Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date | January 1, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Season | 2020 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Stadium | Mercedes-Benz Superdome | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Location | New Orleans, Louisiana | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
MVP | Offensive: Justin Fields (QB, Ohio State) Defensive: Tuf Borland (LB, Ohio State) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Favorite | Clemson by 7[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Referee | David Alvarez (Big 12)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 3,000 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Network | ESPN and ESPN Radio | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | ESPN: Chris Fowler (play-by-play) Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) Maria Taylor and Tom Rinaldi (sidelines) ESPN Radio: Sean Kelley and Barrett Jones | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nielsen ratings | (19.15 million viewers)[3] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
International TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Network | ESPN Deportes ESPN Brasil | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | ESPN Brasil: Matheus Pinheiro (play-by-play) Weinny Eirado (analyst) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2021 Sugar Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2021, with kickoff at 8:00 p.m. EST (7:00 p.m. local CST).[4] The Sugar Bowl was one of two College Football Playoff semifinal games, it featured two of the four teams selected by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee—Ohio State from the Big Ten and Clemson from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), with the winner advancing to face the winner of the Rose Bowl, Alabama, in the 2021 College Football Playoff National Championship. It was the 87th edition of the Sugar Bowl, and was one of the 2020–21 bowl games concluding the 2020 FBS football season. Sponsored by insurance provider Allstate, the game was officially known as the College Football Playoff Semifinal at the Allstate Sugar Bowl.
The game was carried by ESPN, with its lead college football broadcast team of Chris Fowler on play-by-play and Kirk Herbstreit on color commentary. Three days before the game, Herbstreit announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19 and would work the game from his home.[5]