Business As Usual for Lawrence and Tigers
Before Clemson’s game against Florida State, critics may have been wondering if there was a chink in starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence's armor, as he had thrown five picks up to that point, more than all of last season.
But Lawrence seemed to go a long way in answering concerns about his own potential productivity or his ability to lead the Tigers (6-0, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) to another national championship with three passing touchdowns and another one on the ground as part of a 45-14 shellacking of the Seminoles.
“I felt like we had a really good rhythm all night, and I was really proud of the way we responded from two weeks ago,” Lawrence said, referencing Clemson’s narrow 21-20 win against the UNC Tar Heels. “We had a good two weeks of preparations, some really good practices, so it was good to see. … We knew we were going to play well just based on how we prepared. Every day we were really focused, so it was good to see.”
Lawrence and the Tigers got off to a fast start against Florida State, going up 28-0 heading into the locker room. The quarterback said jumping ahead early was attributed to the coaching strategy the team worked on during the bye week following the UNC game.
“We usually come up with those kinds (of things) towards the end of the week as far as just set in stone on what we're going to do,” Lawrence said about the fast start in the game. “At first, just get some looks. We just wanted to attack this week. The coaches did a really good job of game-planning those, and they worked well.”
Coaches and players were looking to go on the offensive early, he said.
“I think just going out and playing — fast tempo, be more aggressive,” Lawrence said. “Just taking some shots, and we did that right. It worked out well and just letting our guys make plays. Not thinking too much, just go out there and play.”
Lawrence went 17-for-25 for 170 yards in the air, with three touchdowns and an interception, and he added a rushing touchdown.
He said the Tigers also sought to use an up-tempo strategy to keep Florida State off balance in the game.
“The defenses have to either stay in their base calls or have to try to switch it up, which puts them in a bind,” Lawrence said. “Guys are open across the field, so that was something we really wanted to work on — our tempo and (to) speed things up.”
After escaping Chapel Hill, N.C., with a one-point win against UNC, the Tigers dropped from the No. 1 position and currently sit at No. 3 behind Alabama and LSU.
Lawrence said the Tigers’ main motivation in the dominating win against Florida State was returning to form after the UNC game, not just to respond to the naysayers.
“I mean, not necessarily just that,” he said. “Just kind of the way we played two weeks ago we wanted to prove we're a better team, and we can do a lot more than what we did, and we have high expectations for ourselves just like a lot of people do, so it's the same thing. We just want to play well, and we think we played really well tonight.”
