[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.

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.

[6] The teams were announced by College Football Playoff selection committee on December 20, 2020.

at Mercedes-Benz Superdome • New Orleans, Louisiana This was the first time the Buckeyes beat the Tigers, after four previous attempts.

Coach Swinney grossly underestimated the strength of the Buckeye squad, ranking them as the 11th best team in the country.